The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
by Habuki
Summary: Chapter VII now up! The Spirit Temple is about, and a new refinement to the Lens of Truth...
1. Prologue: A Dream of Dreams

Prologue: A Dream of Dreams.  
  
Copyright: I do not own Zelda, Nintendo does. Story by Habuki Productions.  
  
Before life began, before the world had form, three golden goddesses descended upon the chaotic land of Hyrule. The goddesses were Din the goddess of Power, Naryu the goddess of Wisdom, and Farore the goddess of Courage. Din, with her strong flaming arms, cultivated the land to create the earth. Naryu poured her wisdom onto the earth to give the spirit of law to the world. Farore's rich soul created all life forms that would uphold the law. These three great goddesses returned to the heavens, leaving behind the gold sacred Triforce. Since then, the Triforce has become the basis for Hyrule's providence, and where the Triforce stood become sacred land.  
  
Fear. It is a phenomenal feeling, isn't it? For one's self- consciousness to shatter into thousands of pieces spiraling into the pit of hell, and to be able to perform this act of persuasion is very much incredible. Humans sometimes slow their emotions mistaking fear for another unorthodox feeling that is curiosity. The unknown ponders humans because he thinks only of himself, yes, it's also a blend of selfish pride. Seated along with curiosity makes up the substitute for true accusation of fear, the true part is always mistaken at some point in time, even by animals. Instinct is what the animals want, yet when humans revert, and see the fear in their eyes; they revert back to the instincts as the animals did.  
  
Let me explain just what this ear-shattering feeling that has been mistaken for thousands of years is, the name fear, coming from the Greek root meaning 'half-alive.' This is explained how when truly met with fear half of the human is alive, sometimes a glimpse of true fear is met when the so- called 'life occurrences' appear. Do not fret the little humans, for fear is the way and guidance for all of us, it shows us the right and wrong paths in this life and maybe the next. Significant to the appearance of fear is pain, which also is not the same, pain is suffering which would be a synonym to fear, but whey are far from alike to each other. Some are so similar, yet others recognize the others with fear, yet most are mistaken when they try to find the real meanings of them.  
  
Fear is that burning sensation you get inside the bottom region neither of your mouth, the dry raspy realization of death, not at all like life experiences, nor like the other experiences explained in this speech. Back to the matter, fear is when death is upon you and it will not go away, death and fear are more compatible, but still different. Death is quick and easy while the fear would be slow and painful, the figure of death loving the feelings that flow through the mind. Torture; almost would be a nice reference as to other means of punishment, sometimes the one being innocent, other times not. This seems to have nothing to do with the following material, but just let it be into reference, that what this boy fears is not death, nor is it fear, it is a moral mentality. A scary thing, indeed, but this is to show you what the emotion the young boy feels in the following dream.  
  
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Giant swirls of darkness over veiled the once pure land, the source of evil seemed to be dwelling from a bittersweet course, the large block of mentality in the ground, and planted onto was a flag, showing the portrait of three triangles pressed together. A holy aura that surrounded the castle instantly flashed away by the presence of a darker aura, the one of evil, an unsure energy about. The present one that conquered all of this old land, the once Holy Land was masquerade, crusaders of evil dancing around the bonfires. Screams and murmurs of fear escaped the land, seeming to have infiltrated the once purified land with a lustful evil, the evil shot out in the area. Surrounding the forest, the ever so still purified land emitted another light, just as the same, but this time the light stayed, reflecting in full colours. Shining ever so brightly until it formed the shadow of a boyish figure surrounded by another flow, fluorescent aquamarine, with a pair of insect-like wings. The land, evil and unfulfilled quieted for this figure, a name printed across it in beautiful landmarks which read, 'Hero of Time.'  
  
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The scene seems to disappear from the mind of it, reclining to another request, this time not so symbolic, but a little more visual. The figure of a lad seen from the last appearance seems to have taken a more requested view, his clothes matching that of the dream. Turquoise hat landed onto of the boy followed by the same matching tunic, all in matching colours, attached was the blade, a sweet sincere one. Innocence and justice, was the aura that circled the warrior, not at all one-inch of evil planted into his heart, his mind clean from the evil. Yet that didn't seem to stop him from conquering evil, to get rid of it without it consuming his insides, eating it out for eternity, nothing penetrated it.  
  
A mystical being, he was, but in all the same, it was a nice picture of all, the reflection of him being displayed for all that would watch. The clouds swirled all around a giant stone structure, followed by the bridge pulled all the way down, and there was the turquoise paired lad. The dagger of some sort replaced in that hand of his, and he could feel it, the trembling echoing through his body, the pain of the journey. Adventures courage, and protection, but enough for the boy, the boy was through with his journey, it was time to take the source of evil down. There was something different about it. An aquatic-coloured figured scenario hovering over him. Butterfly-like wings surrounded the majestic cerulean figure, blue, as the sky would be without this horrible rounding. The boy pushed back the cap once more before a sudden neigh sprang from the area, turning his attention back towards the stone pillars and not so much the background. It seemed the time had come, before looking up towards the neigh, a beast sprang off with the up-brink hoof beats, and gazing forward he saw the holy mare jump on by before another holy blue light instrument sailed into the waters below. This was it: the hovered above figure had all of the lust and evil scribbled into one. A man plated in dark midnight armour along with the steed. It was also an impure colour, and just staring up at the tanned figure sent spiraling shivers down his spine. No audio was revalued in this scene, but by the actions seen the man was angry and frustrated, even more when the boy shook his head in some sort of comply.  
  
Circulating iron gloved digits upon the man's hand cupped together, just one, before a small chi light came out, even thought bright as day it extracted demonic feelings, making the dark clouds feel alone. Before the boys shield could comply with a blocking motion out the light of chi sprayed surrounding the boy and pouncing on, not that blocking would have helped him. Convulsions, along with a screech of pain, surrounded the boy's body in a monstrous rage, his sword dropping down on the ground, making all his adventures seem endless. Yes, there was nothing to do except make the pain come, take it in full, so that one day it might disappear from him, and end the pain.  
  
Pain and impurity engulfed the once purified boy's body; the extreme pain followed by fear, the fear was taking its place once more. Yes, fear this is were it all connects together, with fear, but before the over expelled fear could strike with its accomplice, death. The clouds hovered down over the impure boy and a small-brightened firefly sending them down in a swirl of souls, the long screeches causing his ears to bleed. No one was there to stop the pain, nothing was there to calm the screeches, and nothing would stop him from dying at the hands of it. Cries of terror and unhappiness at all poked his elven appearance ears of his once more before the cloudiness shut down. Inside the spiral of fear echoed the once forth- young innocence shattering within every other new scream echoing.  
  
Even after the torturous event a loud piece of laughter is heard from the only present world of this forbidden dream sequence, too frightening for words to explain all that would happen was fear. It was a tremendous sound echoing only throughout minds of those that were visible, although there were none around to experience this. Flurries of powerful contradictory circles kept flowing inside the terrible globe remembering the destruction of a land never established in ones mind. There it was the land of no returning thought, destroyed, and sending shivers down the spine tingling ensemble, the warrior discriminated for the time being. Nothing was safe now, the land would be eaten up from bacteria, and the man from the desert claiming what he wanted a triangle.  
  
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Outside of this world a giant guardian is watching this dream, but its form was not a particular one of a keeper, the form of a tree. Then again maybe he was, and about in the length, a two hundred feet long tree that's trunk reached up farther than seen in the sky. The protector top branches were aligned in a tremendous filled together gap so that no light went through it, but around it circled in the air. Mentioning the air, small dots of light surrounded the tree in a Holy Grail fashion; maybe the tree could have been a holy god of something. Finally a voice sounded out of the powerful tree, a deep, but conscious voice, one that could inspire ones self-ambition, just as deep as tall it was. The guardian was speaking to no one at all. It seemed if you looked into a closer stance there was something or maybe someone aside the tree, and yes it was, a small swirling dot, not at all like the others. The one seemed to move at reflexes like any other living thing, but the small swirling dot was a good distance away. Finally after some anticipation the tree spoke out, loud and booming speech.  
  
"In the vast, deep forest of Hyrule. Long have I served as the guardian spirit and I am known as the Deku Tree. The children of the forest, the ancient Kokiiri, live here with me, and every Kokiiri has his or her own guardian force. However, there is one boy who does now have one guardian farie." There was a small, ample shiver showing the picture of the same boy in the dream, hence forth curled up on a small wooden bed with no cover except ones behind him. Seeing the shiver was of chills or just that of fright, we wouldn't know for quite some time, all we knew that the boy had no one with him, nothing to protect him. No force that the tree spoke of was with him, the place dusty from not having been cleaned in the longest time, and it didn't seem to bother him. Again the setting changed once more back to the tree's forest arena, where sparkles were all around, maybe the fireflies making their daily routines.  
  
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"Navi. Oh, Navi, where art thou? Come hither."  
  
Springing from within the tree was the same small sparkle it was resided, Navi, floated over towards the tree, the veiled thing carrying wings. It was seen that the little dot was wearing a veil over it's entire body, but with two insect-type wings springing out of the blue barrier, used to fly, it seemed. Flying over towards the tree, the thing was silent; its composure kept the place that maybe this was the master of the domain. Keeping its silence was quite respectful, that made this tree seem even more and more like a god, or at least a spirit of the forest, either one holding the most respect.  
  
"Oh, Navi the farie, listen to my words, the words of the Deku Tree. Dost thou sense it? The climate of evil is descending upon this realm and malevolent forces that is new mustering to attack out at the land of Hyrule. For so long the Kokiiri Forest, the source of life, has stayed as a barrier, blocking outsides and restraining the order of the world."  
  
"Yes, Great Deku Tree, I do sense the power that dwells inside of this forest and outside in the great land of Hyrule." Judging from the voice technique it was shown that Navi, the farie, was a female of gender, now we know the barrier was just a cover-up, for those not supposed to see her? Scared of outsiders seeing its true form, then the rest of the sparkles around the area were maybe the same species of them, a fairie. The fairies were a very extraordinary race, but from this place they seemed to be down on the ladder, having such small bodies and a boss. Each other fairie kept its mouth shut, unless it was spoke too, but most of them were crowded around the Deku Trees, the stray ones.  
  
"But before this tremendous power of evil my own is nothing aside weak. It seems the time has come for the boy without a farie to begin his journey, fly Navi, the boy whose destiny is to lead Hyrule into an age of gold. This lad can fulfil this so that the land will be in truth and justice to live onto greater days. Navi! Go now! Find the young hero and lead him to me, be this guide, for I only have to little time left. Fly out, Navi, fly, the fate of the forest, nay, the world depends on thee."  
  
"Yes, Great Deku Tree, I will fulfill your request." The small farie took off with a spark of speed, sprinkles emitting from within the barrier and swirling around, and even though so fast, the little farie was still slower than most creatures at flying. That didn't mean it was too slow, after leading down the mountain carved corridor, past the plants and such a village came into view, and what one it was. Most of the houses, well the majority of them, all carved from wood and placed on the ground, there were bridges leading from some of the houses to higher ground where some of the Kokiiri lounged around or worked. Maneuvering through a small bridge, the young fairie bopped her head upon the wooden fence, giving a growl at the wonder of it, then going back out. Keeping the flying lower, she slipped through the small gate and kept her pace at a slower one, to avoid any more little accidents.  
  
Sprinting in the air past the children, waving back to each other she passed, Navi continued on her journey past move of the houses and the delicate training center. This was where some of the children trained in the art of fighting or just to keep up in tiptop shape, although none of them ever really fought. Moving all the way to the end of the forest, she passed a small house resided inside of a tree, a tree house it was called, the only one in the whole forest. Every other place was on the ground, it was weird that one person would build a house here, or it could be he was an outsider, outcast by the rest. Maneuvering through the ladder at the top, the farie went up to the top of the house entering through the window looking for the young boy.  
  
Indeed he was there, but this boy, not much older than ten, was asleep in the bed cover now pulled all the way across head so he was seeping through the cover into the bed like quicksand. The other children woke up at about six in the morning, did their morning chores, since there were no grown-ups in the village and kept up until late that night. Something was weird here, the boy looking like he had just gone to sleep a few hours ago, when everyone else was supposed to have been asleep he may have been up. Every other Kokiiri was up at this time, but the boy had abnormal sleep patterns, making her way up to him, she landed on top of the covers speaking.  
  
"Hello, Link, wake up." There was no response so the now impatient farie once again tried to wake him up, and the fairie was known to be a little impatient, wanting her way. "Link, the Great Deku has summoned you, get up now, Link!" It seemed the boy wasn't responding to anything, and so lazy, so maybe she would have to take the direct approach and do something worthwhile. She took the strong approach by surrounding him, flying back and forth, brightening the barrier so it illuminated the entire room brighter than it had every been, then shouted. "Can Hyrule's destiny depend on such a lazy boy! Come on and get up!" Finally, she pulled the cover up off of his face, yanking it off hard, so that it flew across the room and fell upon the floor, making him shiver.  
  
Small digits upon hands pulled the cover back in a bountiful manner before he sat up all the way, well propping up at the most, waking up to his fulfillment. With a long yawn the boy's eyes peered open, staring at what had possibly awoken him from his sleep, he wasn't supposed to be up for a while now. The boy was so young that he really didn't have many chores, except keeping his own house clean (which didn't work out most of the time.) Blonde tresses of cornstalk now covered his face and those long elven ears, before brushing them away and pushing self up producing a very long yawn. Well, another yawn produced through his lips, staring out at the roof, there just as he said that, he turned his attention towards the person who awoke him.  
  
"Hmm? Who are you, Miss Farie-sama?" Very polite, he was and glanced at the little farie with every-crescent sky-blue hues, those eyes peering down at her, quite confused.  
  
"Finally you awaken! I am Navi the Farie, and the Great Deku Tree has asked me to be your partner from now on. It is nice you meet you, but down to business, the Great Deku Tree has summoned you, so let us get going."  
  
Those beautiful eyes swelled up in excitement as he leapt from the bed, shirtless, and in a pair of long green boxer related undergarments. He cried out in pure joy, wrapping his arms around the small farie, pressing her up against his bare chest, not very muscular. The boy was not scrawny or heavy, and giggling sweetly he fell upon the floor with her inside his palms, caressing the girl very much. Well, it was quite a surprise to him having a fairie and to the fairie whom was being touched in ways she had never been touched before. "I've gotten a farie? Yippee!" The boy had never had one of his own, so this was quite a surprise and a joy to receive one, now he would be excepted, quite a joy. Mido would just have to accept him!  
  
"Whoa, slow down there, what is all the excitement about. Oh, yeah, you've never had a farie before, have you?" Of course that would have excited him and with the gentle touch from him as she was held, she soon returned to nice embrace. When cupped in his hands, she began to flutter and glow bright to glow inside of his hands, a bluish light at all. It all illuminated a warm between his fingers that only she could give with that aquamarine veil. Besides, she rather liked the attention he was very sweet, something that she had never been shown, or if she did it had been so long that she'd forgotten. Being with him seemed like it was going to be a lot more fun than she imagined; not so stuck up as some of the fairies she was used to being near.  
  
After a few minutes, the boy pulled away from the bed, setting her down, and walked to his chest drawer's section of the tree house pulling out that green tunic, along with the hat. Next followed him sitting down and slipping on the tradition cloth-made brown Kokiiri boots, both part of the suit, and finally the belt made of leather with a golden buckle slipped on along the waist firmly held. On a side note, the tunic had a dress kilt falling down instead of the other shorts, worn by males, maybe it was a joke or the girls made the clothing and liked the way he looked. Smiling and straightening long cap that fell just past his shoulders, Link pulled a bag of rubies inside a large wallet and hung at his side. The tree house was only one ever, so not much there. Just some drawing equipment, a kitchenette, and a small bath tub. Gathering up an apple, he headed out nibbling upon it. The young lad walked over to the outside of the house taking a large deep breath of the Kokiiri fresh air.  
  
It was a sweet and sincere scent indeed, with a flavor of that forest small, but not so much the nasty, hasty smell, something he was used to. Walking forward a few steps, the boy looked down towards the ground and what he saw made his heart skip a few beats. There she was the wise and beautiful Saria, the Kokiiri girl, wise beyond her age and with the looks of a child a little older than he is. With flowing turquoise locks flowing just past the shoulder area, her fashion looked a little manlier than his were, sad as it was. Clothes were the same colour as his, but not a tunic, it was more of a green sweater with shorts, aligned a belt with matching boots, all the same colour as the tunic.  
  
The first thing the little girl did was look up with those deep mahogany hues and let out a loud giggle before calling out his name. It seemed the boy had a deep affectionate crush on her, but she didn't seem to mind at all, it was just she didn't feel the same way? It wasn't shown at all, but the important thing was those two were the best of friends, and that will come into effect a little later in this story. The girl's affections were hidden deep with in, maybe masked with a deep reflection she used upon people, to keep them from worrying? Saria looked up upon him once more, and, noticed the farie. He had a farie! She cried out in happiness.  
  
"Yoo-hoo! Hi Link! Come on down and let me see your new friend!"  
  
With the small farie perched upon his shoulder, she just watched how the boy handled himself, and it seemed he wasn't doing a great job. It seemed the two had some little bond, or just a first- worn crush or something in the matter, but it seemed to be one-sided since she wasn't the nervous one. She didn't mind, nah, this was his life after all, and fairies weren't supposed to invade in their partner's personal lives, it was just annoying. It wasn't like she liked the boy that way, they were partners and partners they would remained until the very end, or until they were done with whatever the Deku Tree wanted. So she looked back at Link urging him to hurry upon, they had to go see the Great Deku Tree; after all, it was rude to keep the master waiting.  
  
Link turned around at the Deku bleached ladder scaling it all the way down, sliding it down in a few seconds instead of climbing down. Such a dangerous move was stupid, for he could of probably tripped on the ladder and broken a leg, rendering him useless for the Deku Tree. When he turned around Saria ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug, the boy melting in a figurative sense. Another giggle escaped turning towards her eyesight, very well seeing the farie that he had, and the excitement was rushed even more. Placing her hands into a clapping gesture, in a single bound with an excited little glee in her voice, the chiming sound beautifully sounding.  
  
"Link, you finally have a farie! I am so excited for you, Link, now you can become a true Kokiiri, and hopefully Mido won't torture you anymore. Mm- hmm, you can finally be equal."  
  
"I hope you are right, Saria, but I sadly doubt whatever I do will change his mind. Then again, you never know. Oh! I do have a farie now." Mido was the oldest of the Kokiiri, but the wisest, well maybe in his own little world he was the most mature, yet he seemed to favor right behind Link. Mido was the boss around here, or so he claimed, the most manipulative so he was awarded the chair thanks to the handiwork of everyone else. He was very immature and teased Link for one main reason, Saria, the only reason was that, except the fairie cracks every now and then. Yes, he craved attention from her, but was rewarded with nothing, since she teased the young Link and bossed the rest of them.  
  
"So, why are you up so early. For you it is. I mean you are usually up near the middle of the day from now. Does this farie have anything to do with your sudden awaken?"  
  
"Actually, yea, she came to me because I was summoned by the Great Deku Tree. Her name is Miss Navi and she is my official partner...she--" Navi, clearing her throat, cutting him off a little; she didn't need a speech for her arrival, she would announce herself, without the need for introductions. She had heard of Saria before, the wisest of the Kokiiri, and spoke in full intention, not holding back any of her feelings, whom she hurt caring whom she hurt.  
  
"Yes, the Great Deku Tree has summoned Link, but we must be going now, Saria. It is a great matter that this boy has to take care of. You understand, right?"  
  
"Well, sure I do, Miss Navi. Link, come see me when you are done, I'll be waiting her for you, so you had better go on and hold your meeting with the Great Deku Tree." The answer actually surprised the farie, it seemed that the rumors were true, she really was nice and wise, with not a dishonest bone in her body. Smiling, the farie perched deeper into Link's shoulder before the boy nodded. "Alright, I will you later, Saria. Come on, Miss Navi, let's go." With that the boy took off walking towards the Deku Tree's domain, his mind clear that he had his friend's blessing, so whatever happened he would do in good hands. Having confidence in himself was sort of hard, yet with her backing him up; he always seemed to have more the reason to get on.  
  
He started off by passing his house and next to it was Saria's house, living next door was convenient, because she could go home and wait if she wanted too. Stepping past her house he came upon the twin's house, they were two girls that lived in the same house, sort of nice in Link's eyes. They were the only identical twins in the whole forest, Sati and Hati, but when he passed the house no one was there so moving along he did. Next up was the small stream, it was a little deeper than usual from the rainfall that came a few days ago, so walking along the sides until he reached the shop. The only place with a red roof, on top of the roof was someone, a little girl. It was Sati, the twin was sitting on the roof, why was one of the reasons, yet she was known to be the weirder of the twins, so it was expected.  
  
"Hey, Link! Up here on the roof!" The older girl giggled, kicking her feet from where she sat, looking over at him with those eyes of blue, it wasn't that she liked him very much, the girls were just nicer. All of the children were older than him, of course, so they naturally thought of him as a little boy, which he was since most of them were hundreds of years older. Now her hair a darker shade of orange than his was, his being a more blonde and hers more the colour of the sun, so it was easy to distinguish them. Never the less, it was a bit longer, with it falling down to her shoulders. She wore a light green dress with the same dainty boots as Saria. Actually this girl was one of the nicer girls in the forest; all of the others didn't like him very much. Turning around towards her, Navi went up also circling her, turning a darker shade of blue than usual.  
  
"You have a farie, wow. I am so excited for you. Hey, using the farie you can target people, like me up here and talk to them. Anyway, I heard the Great Deku Tree has summoned you. You better hurry up and miss Mido; he is guarding the post today and might not let you in. Go on now!"  
  
"Oh, thanks Miss Sati, tell your sister that I said 'hi'." Saying his goodbye, the boy wondered over to the rocks and hopping across each of them, his thoughts peering from on his own destination. Talking fall away was a nice advantage, but he realized how was he able to hear her from so far away, shrugging it off. Must be that the fairies could carry sound waves or something, yea that must have been it, since she was about twenty feet in the air. The blocks were a lot bigger than he was; only being three was they were coloured an ash-like painting that Mido had specialized with the center have a small block in it. When the boy hopped across the third one and back on the ground a sparkle appeared from the sky while a large blue ruby appeared in his hands, eyes illuminating at the money. "Wha?"  
  
"Oh, no one told you? That is a special trick to earn rubies, the blues ones are worth five and the greens are worth one each. If you are wondering, there are the red rubies, rare, but worth 20 rubies each, purples are worth 50 each and finally the ancient silver ones are worth 100 rubies each." Navi poured that information out from upon the hat, before coming back onto his shoulder, placing her down into it now, and being so informative. "Let's continue on, Link."  
  
".Wow, thanks for the information, Miss Navi." Next, he hopped across a few large rocks, keeping his balance not to fall off as he kept going across the rocks as to not damping his boots. Missing the fun of wetting his boots, but there was no time to deal with that he was on a mission of his own now, keeping fun out of the way. Running across it later, he saw the large meadow opening, moving past the gates and moving down inside of the place, hands crossed at his chest. The huge meadow was just past the boy that guarded it and just his luck Mido had gotten there to take the post from Luki, another boy who disliked him, but would let him through if Mido wasn't there. Walking over towards Mido he placed his hands onto of his sides, speaking out now, trying to keep the confidence level at a high rate. "Mido, I don't want trouble, so just let me through."  
  
The Kokiiri boss despised this boy for frankly that Link had all of Saria's attention spend on him, and none on Mido, broiling his blood. The older Mido was deeply in love with her and since those two always hung out together, he was always jealous of the friends. Well, the only thing he loved more than Saria was his ego, but Saria really despised Mido for what he had done to Link a long time ago. A grudge was held and never broken, even as much as he apologized to Saria, never even making an attempt to apologize to the victim. The second reason he didn't like Link was because he didn't have a farie. Every Kokiiri was assigned a farie at birth until something happened to him or her or the farie was killed in some horrible way. A farie of Navi's colour floated across Mido was quiet, it seemed no other faries talked much to other Kokiiri, aside Navi that is.  
  
"It's Mr. Mido! Now, you expect me to let you through, you mangy mutt. I am not that stupid as the others are, now get out of here before I kick your scrawny little ass."  
  
".You're not in charge of the forest, Mido."  
  
".Shut up and leave." Replied the boss Kokiiri.  
  
"I-I can't do that, Mido, the Great Deku Tree has summoned me now, and I have to be on my way to see him. Please, just this once, please won't you let me through." Link looked up at him: the freckled boy was just a bit larger than he, with the darker hair as Sati's was, except his was shorter than both of theirs. Clothes were almost as Link's aside the fact he wore shorts and the sleeves on his suit were a bit shorted than Links', and the cap was shorter on Mido, the boy having a bit more power too. Yes, the boy worked out here and at the training center so he would be considered one of the most powerful Kokiiri, no one could beat him, yet he wasn't buff. What Mido had was power, using that to assign fear into the other children, except that of Saria and now Link, whom thought he was an idiot.  
  
"You expect me to believe that, you idiot, you don't even have a farie! Oh, well, it seems you have a farie, well that proves nothing! You are probably holding the stupid thing ransom so you will get something in return. Never have you lain eyes on the Great Deku Tree and never will you. I will make sure of that."  
  
Stupid? That angered the little farie so she steamed up and raced towards his face, circling him ad loudly began to curse in her native tongue, showing the other farie backing away frightened a bit. Mido just swatted her away utterly missing, this was because the faries were not fast on flying speed but when it came to dodging abilities and evasion, they were the fastest in the Hyrulian World. Nothing compared to that, and a little Kokiiri's fist was not going to harm the girl, who continued to dab infront of it, cursing harsher in the language. Link just looked off to the side, not saying anything, nor understanding it, yet from the look upon the other fairy's face it wasn't nice.  
  
"Come on, Mido, I need to see him. It is a matter of urgency, can't I do anything to get us through?"  
  
He considered this for a long while before nodding his head once in tolerance, all right, maybe the boy needed to or would be killed by a Deku Baba later on. "Yes, I'll let you pass, but at least properly equip yourself with a sword and a shield. Get the hell out of here before I change my mind, now go on child."  
  
"Thank you, Mido." Blood curdled saying those simple words to the Kokiiri boss this was because he did too despise Mido as much as the boy loathed him. It was a mutual feeling in both areas, the boy not having a grudge against the older boss at first, yet not liking him, but now he didn't like the boy at all. He was just too stuck up, granted the power by the Deku Tree, yet taking the power and using it to his own good, not what the tree had wanted. Turning around, Link walked back towards the stepping stones which he hopped around equivalently once before another ruby landed in his palms, making himself forty rubies at the spot this time. "Where should we get a shield, Miss Navi?"  
  
When they were a good whiles away, the boy stared back at her, a confused look plastered on his face, holding back the giggles from the expressions the other fairie made. "Just what did you say?"  
  
"You saw that look on her face, Link, what do you think?"  
  
"Words Saria taught me never to say.the ones Mido uses sometimes?"  
  
"Exactly I hate that boy, Link, you should stick up for yourself. Back to the mission, the shield would be in the shop for right about forty rubies. You have that many?"  
  
"Yup, just enough."  
  
"Alright, well the sword maybe somewhere, but I am just as confused as you. Maybe Saria knows something, she has been around longer than both of us."  
  
Pressing the door open by pulling the knob forward, and turning it, he opened the door all the way before stepping inside. It was a very traditional little shop while they sold Deku nuts; sticks, arrows, and heart containers, but occasionally they had a new item for a limited time. There newest product was a Deku shield made of the finest deku wood and spliced with a red painting mark, an old runic of the old language, possibly meaning protection. Moving to the counter, he took out his ruby wallet, which could hold ninety-nine in all and pulled out forty rubies, placing them upon the counter. Eight blue rubies, he had, and that went out to forty rubies, exactly, he had no use for any other money, since the food was free here, so he did give the stuff up without regret. "Yes, I would like a Deku Shield, please."  
  
A short little Kokiiri ran the shop, and the man nodded walking over to the displayed counters taking off the shield, only to be replaced another Kokiiri in record time. It seemed they didn't want to run out of those things, so the shield was back in its place, a new one that was, and the place ready for more business. When he was handed the shield, another item went with it, a black strap with two golden hooks, the thing looked like something out of an old story. He didn't quite know how it went, yet he could guess that it was so the shield could be taken out without the thing getting tangled. "This goes on the shield so you can strap it to your back, young man."  
  
"Ah, well, thanks." Turning around from the counter, he strapped the shield to his back, walking over to the mirror and studying it fully, and it was very nice indeed, making the shield strap to his back for protection and easy access and better handling. Looking through the fitting mirror, the young boy grabbed the shield, practicing grabbing it quickly, and with in a few minutes he had it down. Leaping for joy, she boy spun around to see how it would look, practicing how to dodge things, loving the feel of it on, how it felt. Making him feel like a true warrior, the boy nodded to the man, who smiled at him, before turning back to his little fairie with a grin.  
  
"How do I look, Miss Navi?" He didn't ask the little man, he was working with another customer.  
  
"Link, you look just like a hero." The farie giggled landing back upon his shoulder, still watching quietly now, her mind wandering back to something more important. Where was a sword at when you needed it? This was going to be very hard, since she had never seen a sword in here, she heard of one from legends, yet that was just a legend. She turned towards him, and shook her head sadly before taking another deep breathe and spoke towards him staring at the handsome frame, shield upon his back, again. "Now, to Saria." Yes, maybe the older and wiser Saria would know, if anyone else knew they wouldn't tell, and maybe Mido knew; yet he wouldn't share the information.  
  
Nodding in response, the two partners headed back over out of the shop and trailed back to the entrance of the twin's house, neither still there. Shrugging a shoulder at it he walked back the rest of the way, repeating the trail back to Saria's house, catching him another fairie on his way back. Well, it was nice to be here, the place of his own in the way, wandering towards his house to check for her, hoping she was there. Finally stopped at the house and saw the older girl was sitting upon his ladder now, looking down at some instrument inside of her palms. A flute it seemed to be, and more beautiful one at that, made of some beautiful deku wood as he gazed at it, eyes fixed upon it.  
  
".Saria?" Gasping, her attention reformed from the Ocarina back up towards him, quickly placing it back into her bag and took off from the ladder, walking over towards him, hands clapped together. From the way she acted, the thing was a memento, or just so sacred that no one else could see it, sort of hurting the boy's feelings. He'd heard the flute whenever he had followed her into the Lost Woods, yet she always put it back down where it belonged before he got close enough to see it. Asking about it, she would just shrug a shoulder, telling him that it was hers, she didn't know how long she had had it, and the songs she played he loved. "How did it go? Oh, that shield makes you look so handsome, Link." Giggling, she looked down at him, just a gazing at the little guy with her own eyes fixed on him now, the boy shrugging a loose shoulder.  
  
"Um, Mido wouldn't let me pass without a sword and a shield, so I bought a shield at the local shop, but a sword, I don't have any idea where it could be. Do you know, Saria?"  
  
Frowning at Mido's actions, she growled a little more before turning back at his questions and solemly shaking her head back and forth in disappointment. "I'm sorry, I just don't know either, but maybe the Know- it-all-Brothers know. All I can tell you is that the blade is over fifteen hundred years old, made by the Goddess Farore-sama with all her blessings towards the forest. It is made of pure silver and literally indestructible. Oh, also it can't be refined in any way. A jewel is placed in the middle that prevents outsides from using it, the jewel is red and the hit is made of gold and that's about it."  
  
"Thanks for your help, Saria. I will be back as soon as I can with or without victory towards the Great Deku Tree, then I will tell you all about it." Smiling, he gave her a large hug, then looked aside flushing, twirling a foot in the dirt in nervousness, before turning back to her and showing a V for victory sign. That was when him and his guardian walked away from the house and looked around for the Know-it-all-Brothers, him detesting the walk. Well, just past his house was the training center and on top of the hill was the center was the Know-it- all-Brother's house. They were a set of triplets, all alike, and all of them were snobs, none of them were liked by anyone, aside Mido, who seemed to not appreciate them either. Thinking they were smarter than anybody else was, aside Mido...they are the second oldest, after all, comparing to everyone as gods. They also didn't like him, so he figured he would get no help from them, so turned his attention away.  
  
"Link...at least try them, they maybe in a good mood."  
  
"Your right, I need to try."  
  
Yes, a he trailed up the hill, all the way, and stopped a few feet from a pretty large-size house, admiring the marksmanship. Him and Saria had made his house, some of the girls helping, yet none of the boys even contributing any lumber, nor an axe or any kind. Now Mido, the brothers and all the other boys made this one, and it certainly showed, the girls probably helping. The house was quite beautiful, made by the triplets themselves, and moving into the doorway, he knocked upon the deku-made door. Everything was made of Deku, since these woods were only Deku, there were other woods somewhere, he had heard of them from the stories, yet he could only imagine.  
  
"Come in!" Three unsigned voices spoke at once, yea the Kokiiri's voices were all deep, the men anyway, his was the only guy's that was feminine.  
  
"Okay, it's Link!"  
  
"--Link?" The brothers were cut off with the doorway opening and Link walking inside moving towards the center of them, standing in the center. The three each had their own space, one was at the top of the circular house, and the other two were at the other two sides. The top was Liki, the left side was Miki, and the right side was Hiki, the rhyming names was sort of annoying, but there was nothing he could do about it. Link walked over towards Liki and spoke, calming his nervousness down and just speaking his mind, determined to get this sword. "Mr. Liki, I need some help finding the sword."  
  
".Sword, the Kokiiri sword?" Of course, Mido was way ahead of Link; he had visited Link just a few minutes before and told them to not tell him where the sword was. The three didn't know, but they were not to guess either, they were just as frightened of Mido as the rest of them, not even considering the circumstances. If they all combined their powers, the group could have taken Mido down from his reign, yet the Kokiiri were never that smart, or at least some. Saria didn't care if Mido was in power, she was never really one of the power-hungry types, she was just happy with the way things were. She was the gentle soul who didn't care about anything like politics; she only cared for nature and a few people, mainly Link since she didn't get along with any of the girls.  
  
"We don't." chimed Liki.  
  
".Know where the sword." added Miki  
  
".Is Link, and we don't care." finished Hiki  
  
Navi inched up towards his ear and spoke quietly. "Why are they speaking together."  
  
"Because they are triplets. They have a way that is co--"  
  
"You have..." snorted Hiki  
  
".A nice farie, there." nodded Miki  
  
".Link, what's her name?" Questioned Liki  
  
"Her name is Miss Navi, Know-it-all Brothers. So, you don't know the sword's location?" He thought they probably did, of course, but he knew they would never tell him, the boy's were to big of snobs to help him. It was useless, and he knew it, the futile attempt was pretty pointless, something he knew from the beginning, yet he did it all for her. The boy had just done it because he wanted to please Navi, the fairie was his first and probably his only fairie he would ever get. He wanted to please her to every extent there was in this world, it was like a weird bond had been established between them now. She made him feel quite excited, the only person to ever make him feel that way was Saria, and that was a good feelings to have.  
  
"That's."  
  
".Correct."  
  
".Link."  
  
He couldn't take this anymore, and nodding his goodbye, he hurried out of the house, slamming the door shut and turning back towards her. "Weird, huh?"  
  
"Very, those three must practice that."  
  
"Oh, Miss Navi!" He broke up in some giggles and patted her softly. "They can hear you!"  
  
"Don't care, Link-. They are a-- bunch of snobs!" This last part she shouted, and was rewarded a loud scoff from three particular Kokiiris.  
  
Shaking his head, Link turned towards the large hill and noticed he was only halfway up the hill, the place had seemed so large when he was younger. How time passed so quickly, his own eyes filling with the sweat dripping from his head, wiping it off easily, then turning back to climbing the hill. Wiping the sweat from his corn silken brow, he pushed the shield on his back, like a burden that was on his back seeming to become heavier. It was becoming heavier and heavier by this rate, he might need a break before they reached the top, but he wouldn't because he was not gonna be weak. Weaklings were what Mido thought he was, that wasn't what he was gonna do, he would prove that stuck-up jerk wrong, yes he would.  
  
Walking up the hill to the top of it, he shook his head once more, before maneuvering back towards the center and resting his behind on a stump to think of where it could be? I mean somewhere in the Lost Woods or could it be somewhere else, like inside of the ground, buried in Farore's soil for all eternity? Or maybe a Skullkid had it; it had found the thing and decided that the blade was his, yet he doubted that because those creatures were nice to them. Not even knowing how to use a sword, the creatures would probably hit each other in the head or something, they weren't that smart either. Looking aside, he took his attention off of Navi, just closing his eyes and concentrating on thinking he was good at that, he would think of something.  
  
Meanwhile, the farie, Navi had been quiet and quick to notice that in the center was a large stone covering something, like it had been placed there. First thing she did was fly away while he was thinking and slipping through a crack near the wall and what she found astounded her. It was a brand new landmass, the place was covered by a rock so that there was no where else to get through, except that small rock. It was giant with grass and other things streaming about, looking like it had been carved by hand, the girl flew to the back of the entrance seeing a treasure chest, wow, this was it! She zoomed back over to and through the crack landing on Link's shoulder, giggling a lot, hardly able to contain herself now. "I think I found it, Linky! I found the opening where it is. Behind that stone!"  
  
"Wow! Really? Thanks, Miss Navi." Smiling a little, the boy went down towards the stone and after a few grunts, picked the thing up flinging it across the center into the grassland. Yep, the boy was pretty strong for his age, but he just was too kind-hearted to ever use that kind of force, wishing sometimes that he could pound Mido. Panting from the big warm-up, the boy got down on his hands and knees, seeing the small hole just his size and began to crawl through. It led all the way until he reached the end, which he pulled his head through, staring through and glancing at the new area, amazed. Sitting up and looking forward before a giant rock just missed him by a couple of inches. Gasping, he looked again after a few minutes until it passed the next time, he used tactics and ran behind it following it around until another path led up a small hill. Scaling that, he went forward until he saw a treasure chest. "You were right!"  
  
"Yup, now let us go on and see what is in here so we may find the Deku Tree." She didn't know what the Great Deku Tree had planned, but whatever it was, it must have been special to choose a boy that had never seen him.  
  
Stepping forward upon three smaller steps, he leaned forward pressing digits on top the rim of the chest and tanked it up as a small white glow emitted. Ha, she was right because sticking out of a sheath was the sword and in all its beauty, just as Saria had described, the glistening sword was all he needed. Pulling the strap, it came out easily enough and placing the sheath on his back, he pulled the sword out and began to play around with it. Being ambidextrous, he tried it in both of his hands, flicking the sword with each one, yet he found that the right hand was the best. It was easier than if he had been right-handed, because the other hand felt just as good, cursing how he could write with both hands.  
  
The sword actually only took a few more slashes, but by then he got the hand of it, having used Deku sticks in swordplay for as long as he could remember. He let out a long giggle, re-slashing the air for more balance, and Saria was right that it was very lightweight, the blade wasn't heavy at all. Holding onto the hilt of the blade, he threw it into the air, catching it by the hilt once more, slashing the air once again, nodding to himself. Yes, it felt so good to do this and with that he did feel like a true warrior, one like in the stories he always read as a kid, feeling like them now. The blade of the Kokiiri was sheathed as he turned towards the farie, smiling lightly; strapping it to his back with that strap that came along.  
  
"How do I look, now?"  
  
"Hee, more handsome than ever!"  
  
With that, the boy's cheeks crimsoned and he shrugged a shoulder shyly. "Nah, hee. Your just saying that."  
  
Breaking off into a run, Link evaded the boulder and made his way out of the hole, quickly replacing the rock back on its foundation. The Kokiiri boy, Lonki, looked back up at Link scoffing a little bit; he was one of Mido's goons, so he would probably report that Link was here. Most of the boys didn't mess with him either, unless Mido was around, which they used all their power to seem cooler. None of the girls just did care, they would never hurt Link, and they always called Mido a jerk for his doings, how no one liked him. It was true, but didn't affect the boy; he would just shrug it off as being a little unpopular by the boys and continue to tease him.  
  
"What are you doing here, punk?" Mido's little crony smiled a grin at him, the other two cronies of Mido's were guarding the entrances to the Lost Woods and the outside world the boy was basically dressed like Mido, aside his hair covered most of his face, shaggily. These three people would pick on Link even when Mido wasn't around; they were just that mean and loved the feelings of such power. Each was still frightened by the older boy, yet they loved to exert their power to each other and loved to let out that they were the ones who hurt Link. Some stupid game, the other boys or girls weren't picked on, it was so weird that Link wondered who Mido picked on before he was alive.  
  
"Um, I was--" but Link was cut off by an angry farie at his side, preferably, Navi.  
  
"None of your business! Link is on official business from the Deku Tree! So mind your business before you are reported!" That shook the little Kokiiri up and he nodded solemly at the farie and Link, but mostly Navi more than Link.  
  
"Sure, Link, if it is for the Deku Tree, that's quite fine. Y-you can move along." With a small whimper, he went away as he scurried back to performing his training flips, keeping his distance from the spicy fairie.  
  
Shocked, the young boy moved away from the pack, with a still mad farie, lowering his head a little until they were past the center and moving back down the hill. Heading past the rocks again, the sword ready for some action to show to Mido, the boy shrugged a small shoulder at the ground. It was embarrassing how she acted, yet he appreciated how she did it, she was sticking up for him just like Saria did, but in a weirder way. Meaner than ever, she made Saria seem like a nice girl when she wasn't mad, the Kokiiri could be vicious when she was mad. When they were about halfway to the Great Deku Tree, Link spoke up tenderly.  
  
"Miss Navi, you didn't need to yell. I was just going to tell him I was looking for some rubies."  
  
Clearing her throat, she lowered upon his now and spoke up now. "Link, you need to stand up for yourself more often, and stop being such a wimp. If whatever the Deku Tree wants it is most likely going to be very tough and you need to stop taking their orders and everything they say. If you don't, I don't think you will do very good, basically I want you to stick up for yourself."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Nodding clearly, he cupped her inside of his hands, giving her a gentle hug, before continuing down the path towards where the Great Deku Tree, and maybe she was right, he needed to stop being such a baby and learn to act grown up.  
  
--------------------  
  
Standing against the wall was Mido, his eyes open and ever since peering looking for the boy, not really expecting him to come back. He surely doubted that idiot would find the Kokiiri blade since no one else knew about it, aside him and he had never told anyone else. Just in case someone decided to start a rebellion or something, that is, he would be able to take care of the resistance with the sword. Looking ahead once more, he saw him and looked widely, his own eyes almost bulging, if they could they would have fallen out. No way, he didn't'? How could he! When he got closer up, Mido began to laugh out loud, doubting the sword was there, that it had been his own imagination.  
  
"Ha! You may have a shield, but you need--" cutting himself off, he started forward in a gaping manner at what was attached at the boy's shoulders, or sheathed at his back was that sword, the Kokiiri, but how. He knew all about it, he had seen it before.  
  
"T-the Kokiiri Blade? Where the hell did you find that!"  
  
"It was under a r-"  
  
"I know where it was! I-I errs! Just get out of my face! You may have a sword and a shield, but it takes real skill in battle to win anything for anyone, especially the Great Deku Tree. Go ahead and pass."  
  
Letting out a squeal of joy, he passed by the frustrated Mido, but couldn't help but hear the mumbling Kokiiri and what he said was this: " How could this boy be in favor of the Deku Tree and the wise Saria? I just won't ever understand this world, where rejects become the fascination of all the land."  
  
That was over and he maneuvered past the stricken Mido, he hadn't moved so Link had to slip past him, looking down the brown corridor. It looked Kokiiri-made, but it was carved from the earth as if someone took thousands of years using a spoon or something? Well, the place was very beautiful with very much peaceful with its lush green grass and the flowers sticking out of the ground. Staring the walk down the road, he smiled to his fairie once again before keeping his hand down on the hilt of the blade, ready to pull it out whenever the time was right. Hee, there was nothing to fear and nothing at all to be scared of, he was safe and sound and a sword seemed the least of his worries.  
  
--------------------  
  
Twenty minutes into the walk was the quietest, nothing at all, it was almost sad that he had gotten the sword, there was no need to use it. That's when he heard it, and only a fourth the way from the ending meadow, his elven ears should have picked up the sound earlier. For some reason the sound he didn't pick up, cursing his luck later on that if he had heard it, none of this mess would have ever happened. Then there was a sound that made him jump from his seat, or would have, when he heard the sound, cringing for his ears to not bleed. Just staring over towards ahead of him and saw nothing and what it was like slow motion as he heard the screech again.  
  
-Kreahhh  
  
Spinning around in a fanciful motion, he saw what was a monster, but this thing was at least six feet tall, a plant and it looked carnivorous. The plant had a purple head, it swelled past relief, as purple lips stood open, making the sound a pair of razor sharp teeth shown along with the red tongue showing that it was hungry. No eyes were on it, showing it was blind and no nose, so he must have depended upon taste or maybe motion detecting? Just like a snake it probably could sense his heat whenever he did something, or just as he stood there, which freaked the boy out. Staring at the creature, that was a very weird creature at that, although he had never seen a monster in his entire life, the boy just froze.  
  
-Krrreiiahhhhh  
  
Oh, that sound was louder and seemed even hungrier, and it must have just noticed him now because it turned towards him and screeched some unintelligible text. The sound was either in another language, the thing's own language, or it was some war cry that it gave before pouncing upon its food. Yes, he imagined that his life would be over, the courage he had just had, the confidence was gone in a matter of seconds disappeared forever. Crying out to no one in particular, wishing that this was just a dream he would wake up from in a sweaty bed, yes that was all he wished. He covered his hands over his head and fell to the ground, crying out loud...his life was over?  
  
Not really, before he would die a small speckle slammed against the monster, knocking it back against the narrow corridor, knocking it out for a few seconds. Whirling back around, she wasn't through yet, because before it could come out again, the girl charged at the creature, knocking it across the face again. Well, that was enough for the creature, because the next time that she came, it slapped her away with the tentacle, crying out in fury. The creature recoiled and there its tentacles wrapped up around her, the speckle that was Navi, trying to save her partner now. She called out, with all her might, the tentacles beginning to crush her, not at all in a fast rate, but one that called for a slow and painful death.  
  
"Link use your strength, you're inner power. Kill them!"  
  
Them! What does she.? Oh no!  
  
Turning around, another had sprouted up from the ground and had its eyes set upon the little guy, basically his next meal was targeted at Link. Pressing his body up against the wall, he reached for the sword, but yanked out the shield instead, cursing his bad luck for all the time. There was no time to fret when he heard her cry or pain and help, so he turned towards the enemies, facing them with the sword held by the little impressions inside of it. Staring down at the enemies, hurting his little friend, the boy couldn't help but cry in fury that someone was trying to hurt his friend. It was weird, but he felt empowered, most powerful than he could ever be, even without a shield he felt that he could do it.  
  
NO!  
  
Jumping back and performing a back flip, he slammed the protecting Deku inside of the mouth of the monster, making the tentacle drop its prey, the little farie. Crying out in fury, the thing began to shake around in all directions, the tentacles slammed with the shield this time, it loosening the grip. It launched her on the other side of the wall, safe from the battle scene, but receiving a little damage on the way down, letting her get away from the scene. Letting out a growl, it threw the shield aside, but the shield slid across the boy's leg, slicing it, giving him the worst splinter ever. Fuming out a cry, he turned around with a look of determination upon his mark. That was when the young hero drew his blade, thinking what Navi had meant by some inner power.  
  
Trust yourself. Guide yourself, hero of time.... Use your power.  
  
What? What was that? He turned and saw nothing, but the monsters, so he placed his sword in his hands turning around as the blade began to glow, wandering what the voice was. It turned a deep blue before developing to a light crimson, the lights seeming to scare him, causing him to gasp in terror of the power. A small power illuminated from it. What is that? Gaping upon it, he dropped the sword, but instead of it hitting the ground, the sword began to shimmer a pure yellow and ricocheted off of the forested walls, first slamming inside one of the Baba's heads. Moving backwards, it ricocheted once more and went through the other one's neck, killing them all as green juice sloshed across Link's entire body.  
  
That wasn't the end of it, though, that was not the end of it by a long shot, he was far from finished with this battle, or the sword was. While he wiped off his clothes, another one appeared, but this one was looking different than the others were, not as vicious, or as dangerous. This one is pretty stiff. The thing teetered around with its' teeth bared up towards the air, and as he saw this and walked towards it, the blade a few feet from its neck. It just sat there! It just sat there! Quite a funny story, actually, because now he could take care of the monster with no fear of anything, gripping the blade of the dropped sword now. The way it just sat there and looked aside, or smelt aside. Pushing forward, he leapt into it and slammed the blade down the middle of this tyrant.  
  
A gasping scream erupted from its now impaled body, it slumped in half and the goo slid all which way, except on his body. The thing stared off into space with its eyeless souls, gave one last growl and collapsed, seeming to collapse on the ground now. Grinning at the death of it, one that actually counted as the first thing he had destroyed, he felt good all inside, killing the thing. Nodding, he cleaned the sword off and sheathed onto of his back, wiping it on the grass so that not to get his shirt any more dirty than it had been. Well with the sword back in its place, the shield was picked back up and assigned into its own designated spot, hoping next time he pulled the right one out.  
  
The actual scene of the sword took place in, what seemed like, and slow motion, but it was a smaller considerate amount of time. Taking less than two minutes, but it felt like an eternity to him with all the emotions that flowed through, all that he felt now. Covered in guts and dirt, he leapt forward and grabbed the small farie off of the ground, not caring about his clothes at this minute, only her. Moving her inside of his arms, he gently checked for any breathing and saw she was just unconscious, not having a fatal wound or any broken bones. Sighing, he lay upon the grass and kept her inside of his arms, now looking upon her, wondering if she was bleeding internally, it was possible. What if she was dying? What if? What if?  
  
He let out a small cry as the tears began to stream down his cheeks and fall upon her, sprinkling her in a shower of water and salt. It was just couldn't contain himself, and he broke down, hugging on her harder than ever, but with that soft little touch of himself. He pushed upon her veil and it opened revealing a woman, the thing actually disappeared instead of falling off, meaning it was a ball of energy. She was more developed and looked nothing like the female Kokiiri, with long blue hair falling down her shoulders with such pale skin. Was this Navi without the veil? He shrugged his shoulder mentally, flushing all over, but nevertheless prayed to whoever was guiding the earth to protect her soul, his new partner.  
  
--------------------  
  
Hmm? The farie wondered what was going on, it was quite blurry from her viewpoint. Now she felt a shower, but when he lips opened she could feel the salt and automatically knew what it was. Tears. Who could be-- and then it came back to her and she knew it was Link, she was the only one that he was with, those things didn't cry. Why was he crying? What had-- oh, those Babas, but why were they there? Awakening up from her sleep her veil automatically turned back on and, her eyes open, and caught some of the tear inside her mouth. Feelings those eyes open up, she blocked herself with her hands so that she couldn't get any in her eyes, getting it in the mouth instead again, fluttering up.  
  
"Linky? Link, why're you crying?"  
  
Oh and then he gasped and curled her up inside his arms, kissing her face and all together being friendly with her. S-she was alive, he cried louder and continued to kiss and smother her with affection, nuzzling her softer than he ever had, his eyes were watering once again. Oh, Goddess she was alive, she was alive now and there was nothing that could change it, he would make sure to always protect her. He shouldn't have acted like that before and to change that, he mentally vowed to never be a coward again, to protect his new partner.  
  
"Navi! I thought you had died. Oh! What were those things? I was so scared and then they hurt us both," He pointed towards his leg and shrugged, before continuing. "You were so brave and I was such a coward, I am so happy you are around here, saving me and risking you life." He had given her no opportunity to speak up, or interrupt him.  
  
Eh? Her cheeks turned a deep crimson as she thought about him weeping about her, on how someone could worry about her. Wow, little old me? Well, she smiled and pecked his cheek, before sitting back upon his nose, a nice warm spot that would prove to be good in the future. But, she heard what he said about the cut and spied upon it, looking over at it with those eyes cutting in concern, gasping a little bit. Wow, it was quite bloody and would infect if she didn't prove probable cause, it would infect itself and then he might die from it. Moving over towards his tunic, she gathered up some of it, tearing it along the hem, wrapping it around the wound before wetting it with saliva.  
  
"Navi!" He pulled away, pulling the hem down as if he were a little schoolgirl with the older boys looking up her dress, and looking upon her, he felt a bit of pain, then the cloth of his tunic were wrapped around his cut.  
  
"That's cut was some of my aura in it, it won't heal it, that happens naturally. The cloth if to prevent infection until the wound clots."  
  
"Oh.thank you Navi."  
  
"Your welcome, Linky."  
  
A nickname, eh? Well, that was all right with him, and there he leaned against the left wall of the narrow corridor and spoke up with his voice spread out at her. "So, what are those things? I've never seen them before."  
  
"That was something called a Deku Baba, but they haven't been in this forest for at least three hundred years. I wonder why they are back here? Hrm, I'll be sure to ask the Great Deku Tree."  
  
"Should I be warned if any other little surprises are out there?"  
  
"Hrm.Wolvos, maybe, but I doubt it. They haven't been around here for five hundred years. Deku shrubs are usually deep inside the lost woods, but they maybe around. That's about it, which are the only enemies around here. There was another, though."  
  
"Another?" Inquired Link, she seemed to be flustered around this.  
  
"A Inu-warrior, I forgot the ancient name. They haven't been around for two-thousand years, or that's what the Great Deku Tree has told me."  
  
"Inu, what is that?" Link inquired, looking over at her.  
  
"It means dog, but it was more of a pig than anything."  
  
"Alright, Navi, let's go."  
  
Nodding, she pointed up ahead with a lack of concern hidden from that plated veil.  
  
"Linky, we are almost there, but watch out for any other of those Baba or-- Oh! I almost forgot to go on and check where the Baba were, go on and look."  
  
Gingerly, he bent down towards the graves of the dead plants, since they were only a few feet away from the victim's graves. Down was a stick, it was hard and he picked up two of them, the things hard and made of Deku Wood, the things that he had trained with from before. Picking up the stick, he hit it against the wall, nodding that when it didn't snap that it indeed was the Deku sticks he had always had. There was a little slot on the side where he stuck the stick, not inside of the side pack, but hanging off the side so that he could grab it easily. He giggled and slapped them down into his pack as he looked up at her now with amazement spread into his eyes, not knowing that. "Wow, those are from the Deku Babas?"  
  
"Well, their offspring, but whatever the case, you can use those as tools, they are unbreakable and when burned it takes a long time for them to burn out or any other case."  
  
Well, he grinned and scooped her up as he headed down towards the path where the tree was up ahead; it was seen in the distance, but a while away. That was basically an understatement because after three more Babas, three more sticks and of course about an hour and fifteen minutes later, the path opened up into some sort of boundary area. Not as close as he thought, the tree was there in the distance when he grabbed the last of the dead Baba's offspring, grabbing it and sticking it close. He gasped as the grass was a lush and more greatly than ever, the garden of the Deku Tree made the Kokiiri forest look like a wasteland. Looking aside, it was dark and he moved forward a little more, and the more closely he got that was the more darkly it got, and turning towards her.  
  
"Navi?"  
  
"Yea, Linky?"  
  
"Why do you keep it on?"  
  
"Keep what?"  
  
"The veil, Navi, the veil." Link inquired.  
  
"Oh, so other people don't see me when I don't want them too, and you felt the warmth," she giggled.  
  
"I saw you." Link whispered, shyly. "When you fell and that incident, and well, I saw you without your veil and thought you were very pretty."  
  
"You saw me! " she gasped and repeated." You saw?"  
  
"When you were unconscious. . I'm sorry."  
  
"It's not your fault, but never mind that, let us continue we are almost there."  
  
Nodding, the boy followed the farie for about twenty extra minutes before the path split and the narrow was no more, what was there seemed to be all that was around him. It opened up into a long and huge field, the size of the entire forest, it stretching back across the place, yet now there was nothing in here unlike the forest. All that was in the way was the tree, still in the distance, still so far away that he couldn't help but sigh that it seemed so far away now. The place was empty, nothing at all, it was so depressing at how a field could be all alone that he blew out a long sigh of breath. So despaired that the boy couldn't think of anything, focusing all his attention upon the tree, wondering if that was the one.  
  
Here was a tree, but just not any other tree, the tree was about two- hundred and fifty feet tall and wider than that, he stared upward at the branches. That extended and blocked the sun was this some sort of a monster, it was like a giant eclipse, or a moon was blocking all of the sun. Letting her go, keeping so she could flutter into the air, resting the flying pace right by his own side, the boy looked over at her now. When she did flutter, he nodded towards himself, unsheathing his sword and ran towards the tree, crying out loud as he raced up towards the tree. When he was twenty-five feet from the tree, she screamed and zipped right infront of his face, her aura growing a deep blue.  
  
"Link! Stop that!" A slap across the face, made him wince with pain and he looked aside, sadly and just sighed softly what had he done to make her did that, and it was awfully that bad?  
  
"W-what did I do!"  
  
"Linky, are you nuts!" Spoke Navi, very sternly and she stared up, "That is the Great Deku Tree, now show some respect!"  
  
"I thought it was a monster, like before. I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry, Navi."  
  
Turning towards the giant tree, his father and creator, he knelt down on one knee and bowed once, reimbursing for trying to attack it. Was it going to punish him for his disobedience, even though it was just an honest mistake and he was acting like the hero that was to be summoned? He didn't know, but he didn't want to be smacked around by one of those long branches, that wouldn't feel too good on the head. Then he stood up and turned back towards his newfound guardian, facing her with his hands lying limply at his sides, blowing a sigh out. As he did this, Navi just shook her head in an embarrassed manner, trying to apologize to her master at what happened was a mistake, never getting it out.  
  
He automatically cupped her back inside of his hands, he had let her be when he saw the tree, but she was back inside those peach palms, securing her, yet giving her room to see through and breath. Was he being to forward and smothering her with love, well maybe that was the case, but it didn't seem to bother her in the least. Being lit up again, his palms began to glow the colour, making him flush and sigh along with the pleasure of the overbearing warmth. Yes, she was just that warm, not even paying heed if the master was watching him or not, he was being sort of rude this way, yes, he was. Clearing his throat some, the boy leaned forward into his palms, kissing the little fairie on the tip of the head, letting her go free now.  
  
The Giant Guardian, Farore created that, when she made the forest of the land, he was watching them now with delight spread in the large face. He saw the young child and his companion and began to laugh the humorous scene it was he did not at all mind that the child tried to attack him. Wishing more children were this protective of his fairies, the tree continued to laugh, the laugh deep-throated and displaying he was a male. The laugh was very much like him--great and huge, and the boy shook around, stumbling for balance, causing the tree to laugh harder. The abrupt laughter stopped with a coughing fit that sounded off, but he stabilized it in a few seconds, clearing his large throat.  
  
Finally, he composed himself speaking with great pleasure. "Yes, thou hath returned, Great Navi, is this the child without a farie? What is thou name, Child?"  
  
His voice was huge, but he stared forward up at him and felt a bit confused at this, how a tree could talk, for one, he had always thought it was a large Kokiiri. Even though they always called him a tree, he thought that that was maybe some sort of names, like a title you called the leader of a forest. Now he wasn't a bit surprised to find out it was a tree, given the circumstances at all that had happened in the past hour or so, nothing surprised him. The speech was also kind of confusing, something he had read in an old book of plays, and the speech of the old land they called it. Thou?  
  
The next five feet he walked, so the tree could see hear his tiny, feminine voice. "I am Link, Great Deku Tree, my name is Link."  
  
"Ah, Link, such a phenomenal name. Yea, Link. I shall tell thee a story, one thy may or may not have heard before. Nevertheless, thou need to learn of the story of the Three Goddess: Din, Naryu, and Farore."  
  
"T-They're not legends?"  
  
"Oh, no." The Deku Tree chuckled, "they are as real as you and me, or were. The Kokiiri elders need to start teaching you younger ones more responsively."  
  
Positioning himself evenly, Link lay down on his stomach, laying forward and stared forward at the giant tree, still holding Navi in his hands. Keeping the little fairie secure was one of his top priorities from this moment on, not letting anything stray him from protecting her. Yes the place they were sitting was a hill; he was on his stomach, yet somehow he held her with those arms extended forward to keep her secure. Navi didn't mind the attention, sitting on his fingers and staring forward for it was a legend she had heard before, yet seemed vital for the mission. He had mostly been doing it since the accident that almost seemed a million years ago, the thing was gone and now only happiness was there.  
  
The Great Deku Tree cleared his throat, beginning the long tale of the Three Goddesses. "In the beginning there was only vast darkness and nothing existed except the three Goddesses: Din, the Goddess of Power. Secondly, Farore, the Goddess of Courage. Finally, Naryu the Goddess of Wisdom would complete all of them. All three of the Goddess' created the each and its resources.  
  
"Din, with her strong flaming arms, cultivated the land to create the earth. Naryu poured her wisdom onto the earth to give the spirit of law to the world. Farore's rich soul created all life forms that would uphold the law. These three great goddesses returned to the heavens, leaving behind the gold sacred Triforce. Since then, the Triforce has become the basis for Hyrule's providence, and where the Triforce stood become sacred land.  
  
"But now something has befallen me. The man from the desert, in the black cape is after something of mine. A precious jewel, but I refused to give it to him and cursed my insides. Now, Link, will thou break the curse that has been set upon me? Please, but this is not a mission you have to take. I will take your decision whatever it maybe. I sense a power.a warrior's presence inside of you. Will you except this challenge?"  
  
Wow, all the information poured inside of his mind about the legend, Goddess', and the man in the black desert, whomever it was. The man in the black desert that he talked about seemed so familiar, he didn't know why, but it was like he knew the man before, maybe in another life. Gasping at the realization that his master was poisoned, he looked down at the ground, realizing just how much was at stake here. It really was a bad situation to press on one little boy, there were others around here, yet the power of a warrior was inside of him. Smiling at the thought of that, the boy looked over at the tree with his thoughts focusing on just what he was to do, was he to help? He is poisoned? A curse of some kind. It all coursed through his mind, but he finally blurted out. "I-I don't know, can I think about this?"  
  
"Please, hero, there is no time for you to think!"  
  
But Navi was the one to awnser up, speaking calmly. "I shall accompany you, Link, and your journey through the peril, but where shall we go? To break the curse?"  
  
Speaking up, the boy spoke out, grinning afterwards. "If Navi-- if she goes. I will go, she helped me and is a great guardian force for me."  
  
"Ah, I was counting on Navi helping thee, Link, because you may have the spirit, but you are very young and lack the experience and fighting skills that you need for a true warrior. Now, are you ready for your destiny to begin?"  
  
"Yes, Great Deku Tree."  
  
With a start, the Great Deku Tree's mouth widened until it was about fifteen feet tall and long, the thing stretching far as it could, the wideness not moving. His mouth was already seven feet thick anyway, so it was long enough for him to slip in anyway, so thick and wide that he gasped. How it was possible for him to do that was beyond the boy, so far beyond that he sat there for a few seconds, realizing he hadn't spoke and looked onward. Before he could speak however, somehow the voice came out of the tree; it was his, yet he wasn't moving his lips at all, like a ventriloquist. Yet a voice, just as aloud, echoed from the hollow hole, the deepness remained in their, making Link tremble once more.  
  
"Navi, guide Link through the perils of my mouth. Yes, now enter."  
  
Gulping softly, he placed the shield in his left hand and putting the unsheathed sword into his right hand descended off the hill and towards the Tree's mouth. The long walk was a more torturous than ever, he didn't want to do this, he wanted to go back to Saria and tell her that he had seen the Deku Tree and show her the sword. No, but then he wouldn't have a beautiful tale to tell her about how he vanquished the evil in the tree, how he won against the power, and then she would love him. Yes, defeating the monster was the only way to get her attention; he already had it in one form, yet he didn't have it in what he wanted. Those selfish reasoning were enough for him to grab the hilt of his sword, clink it a little, before turning towards his fairie and hearing her voice chime.  
  
"Ready, Linky-chan?"  
  
"No, not really, but let's go, anyway" He walked the rest of the way, twenty feet, that led towards the place of evil, and evil indeed did seem to be there in its pure form. It stank of evil; the scent of decaying wood engulfed his nostrils when he lay five feet from the hole, making him sad because this was his master rotting. If he didn't do something the tree would die, and then he realized why he was chose; because there was no one else for the job. No one else brave enough, strong enough, nor with enough courage to do what he was about to do, and with that on his mind, he was ready. He turned towards Navi and smiled. Smiling back, Navi slid towards his side, fluttering around him and she was ready to protect her companion for whatever was to come, good or evil, what perils awaited them? 


	2. Chapter I: The Sea of Envy

Chapter I: Sea of Envy.  
  
Copyright: I do not own Zelda, Nintendo does. Story by Habuki productions.  
  
The place was huge! The breathing corridor was from the looks only about one room, but it expended about two-hundred feet across and stretched up several miles upward. The young boy's eyes glared upward and around, there were structured branches and webs all over the entire place, but from the looks of it no more of those stupid babas or any other dangers of the world. Well, that was good for Link because soon after he sheathed the Kokiiri blade and walked around the room exploring the area for any clues. It was all right to be here now, he felt so secure inside of his creator's body, it gave him a sense of refreshment, as if when he was with Saria.  
  
"This place is huge, Navi, I didn't think he was so hollow hee!" Remarked Link, tapping on the right end of the tree, it had taken him a few minutes to travel that far, just showing how big this tree was. This place was so extraordinary, sort of like some ancient museum where the artifacts were just placed in the ground, waiting to be explored. Smiling at his new companion, the young boy just looked around the place, eyes brightened for their New World, the new adventure. Yes, he had always wanted to explore ever since he was small, and now with the exception of his master being sick, he was having his dream become a reality. Only now his best dream had come true, he had himself a fairie, something he had never dreamed of coming true, and now here it was.  
  
"Mmhm, Linky, it is huge. Dangerous, too, you had had your guard up and use it wisely. I don't know how long that shield can hold, it is only Deku."  
  
"What other materials are there?"  
  
"Metal, iron, crystal, and other materials."  
  
"I am not even going to ask." Remarked the young boy as he moved over towards the bushes, wow, maybe there were some supplies such as some more of those sticks, but those only came from. Another one of those horrible screeches, one that sounded a little cut off his thoughts fiercer than the Babas on the outside. This time he was ready, though, his newly trained weapon was out and the shield slammed into the recently uprooted baba that had, so stupidly appeared right infront of him. With three quick strokes, them seeming tougher, the liquid spilled aside and it was dead, throwing out some more of the sticks, which were gathered up and nestled in his pack. Growling at the dead creature, he kicked the carcass aside, not even liking the smell of the dead thing, death had never been a quality of his.  
  
"Hrm, they are getting easier and easier, Navi, I wonder if that is all there is to this? If it is, I will be out of here in half an hour, or so." He truly believed this, not having an idea at just how hard a dungeon could be, the place was illuminated by the nutrients in the tree.  
  
"Don't get too cocky, Linky, these things aren't what is poisoning the Deku Tree, because his defenses could of killed them easily." Navi insisted, it would be a hard road ahead for both of them.  
  
"That is probably true, Navi." Clearing his throat, he slid down onto his knees and rustled through the palate brown bushes, just searching through and out for something. Going through the bushes was what he had seen the older Kokiiri doing a few days of the week, looking not just for rubies, but also food. It was a simple matter every Kokiiri knew that most likely things had been dropped or planted in the ground for other people to find. Staring around the branches, the boy was wondering how the place was so bright and why was hollow, trees weren't supposed to be hollow. It took about less than a minute and pulled out a packet of nuts, he turned around and held them outright towards her. "What are these?"  
  
"Ooh, those are Deku Nuts, they can paralyze opponents, but they aren't for eating. If you throw them down to the ground, they can paralyze your enemy for a few seconds. More than enough time to attack."  
  
Nodding, he stuffed the three oversized nuts into a small compartment on the left angle of his side-pack, leaving it open, just in case those little nuts were needed. Before he even had enough time to turn around, he heard three shrieks at his right side and gasped loudly at what was in his view now. The babas, the first one had regenerated, and two more where now with him, sort of his companions for trying to get in an assault attack. Luckily Babas were so loud that he had enough time to dodge away from them for the time being, yet killing them now was out of the question. Not enough time to act, he yanked out the three nuts and threw them at the plants in every direction, not caring which nut hit who.  
  
With three screeches they all froze into place and just smelt the young boy and his companion with the nostrils, the eyeless creatures crying out in confusion. Holding the sword out, he spun around in two circular turns and decapitated all the animals in one, slumping down the liquid spewed and stick all formed over the corpses. Gathering all of them, he had a set of ten and it just enough room, so he gathered back towards the bushes and picked up three more new nuts before looking around for something to get up. There was obviously no ladder, so he went to the wall and stared up around the area for a way up, but for the time being it seemed hopeless. No physical way he could jump all that way, the wall was solid so no holding marks for him to grab and climb, all he could do was watch.  
  
It was actually Navi who found the entrances as she tugged at the branches and flew up towards them, exploring around. They were actually looked like they could support his small form, now a normal kokiiri would fall, but he was extremely smaller than the rest of them. Fluttering down to where he sat, she watched him look around, amazed at his clueless nature, and also finding it very adorable. The way he looked all around, peering in every other direction and not even seeing the obvious infront of him, although it wasn't all the bright in here. Perching onto of his hat and staring down at him with the eyes of a little girl who had just gotten some candy, she pointed out the obvious to the young boy. "Linky, check the limbs, they look like they will do the trick."  
  
"Hrm? Well, let me check, I guess it won't hurt." Staring up at the vines, they extended about forty feet up and led onto a cliff, and so he climbed up it feeling pretty sure of it, until he got about seven feet and one of the ropes snapped. Turning around, he let out a screech, pulling out the Kokiiri blade out and slamming into the uneven soul with it, breaking his fall, also saving him from any broken limbs. Turning towards his fairie, he sneered a little at her, before calling out to her in sort of an obnoxious tone, not that it wasn't appropriate. "Well, thanks Navi." He remarked with a bit of sarcasm and stared back up at her with those eyes carrying a bit of tears from the scrapes on him.  
  
"Oh, Link, I am so sorry! I, thought it would work, I am so s- sorry!" She literally broke into tears and went over towards his face, pressing her face up against his or her entire body, and rubbing against him in a powdery stance.  
  
"Hee, it is alright, I am alright. I--let us just try again and I will go on the right side instead of the left side, this time." Well, again, he stood himself up and brushed off, before climbing up the trail until he surpassingly reached the top of the cliff and pulled himself over. The insect-like thing floated around him, and rubbed up against his face, until he had to pull her away and gingerly hold the small body inside of his hands. Finally finding the edge of it, the vines disappeared when he lavished the twenty feet, pulling himself up all the way, taking a look around his surroundings.  
  
"We did it! We did it! Hee now let us see--" taking a look around this room made him suddenly lose every bit of happiness there was. There was a larger corridors all around with spider-webs floating in areas he didn't want to see, and other stuff that would of made him creep out (given the circumstances.) Shivering, the boy looked off to the other side, staring at the ground for a few seconds, trying to get his own act together before she noticed. As long as he had lived, Link had hated spiders, he hated the webs, everything about them gave him the shivers, and even the name of them did the trick. Now with the webs everywhere, he just knew that spiders were around, waiting to get him at any exact moment he acted up, or let his guard down.  
  
This, well palace was the only word, was circular all across and had several trudges that looked like they would have to leapt across. Heh, he turned southwards and went the direction that didn't have the jumps until he came upon a large wooden chest. It did quite resemble the chest with the sword, so he bent down on both knees and lifted up with all his might until a creek resembled, and golden light poured out of the old chest along with a piece of paper. The paper was in a language he could read, having several areas on the map, places he couldn't even see, nor could he decipher. Sitting down on the ground, he stared at the map in utter confusion, trying to make it out, before turning to his more knowledgeable fairie and speaking. "Navi?"  
  
"Oh, that's a dungeon map, Link, it will help you navigate throughout this entire place. Maybe the Deku Tree left this out for you, so you could find your way throughout this place."  
  
"Hee, I guess he is watching out for me?" Gasping, she began to point out to him how to use it, and within a few minutes, he had the thing down to bat, able to read it now. Delighted, he checked the top corridor and it did show where they were, and there was a door just a few miles south of here! Placing the map deep inside his side-pack, he raced the rest of the way down the dungeon halls, hoping the map gave the location of monsters too. This place just stank of evil; he could feel it as he passed the spider-webbed sides, which blocked his way down there, not that he planned on going there. Finally he saw the door, but as he turned a slithering sound appeared and he was thrown halfway across the wall, slamming into the close wall, only a couple of feet away.  
  
-Skicchh  
  
"Link! Link!" Screamed the young farie, literally throwing her down into his chest and slapping his face wildly. "A Skulltulla! Run, it'll eat you!"  
  
Skull-wha? He looked up at the sight that beheld him, and what it was made his breath stop all at once, his fear of spiders getting in the way once more. There was this creature, a creature that was like a spider, yet it wasn't, certainly something that he had never seen before, nor wanted too again. A skull head attached to what looked like a spider underneath with a scurry of legs pounding right at him, trying to get on him. The skull didn't even look like the monsters, like it took it from a corpse it had killed, latching it on for some sort of armour, or something. Instantly, he sprung up and brought out that blade launching an attack right at his head, well he aimed for the head, trying to break the skull.  
  
That was just one of the many mistakes that Link made in this dungeon, he wasn't that skilled in tactics yet, so he could do some stupid things. Because as soon as he threw the blow, he was thrown back against the wall and hit with a slumped falls. Feeling weak, he just watched the monster stare at him until it turned around? What was this? A tender spot was on its backside; it seemed to be a weak spot. So he took a chance and leapt forward slicing the blade right into the center of this spider-demon. A screech erupted from the beast when the blade slammed back into its exoskeleton and shattered inward through its' heart. Blood gushed from the sides all over, as the monster slumped down and pulled itself off of the ledge, and falling down towards the ground. With one last thump, it gave a screech of terror and died.  
  
"W-what? Was that? Navi?"  
  
"T-that was a Skulltula, Link. It is a skeleton and a spider hybrid, but I have never seen one of those in the longest of years. You had better be on your guard, his babies might be around."  
  
"Babies! Oh, no. Are they as big as him?"  
  
"Thankfully no, they are called Skullwalltulas and they usually reside on branches and are about the size of your fist. Not very big, but hard to shoot off with a sword. We need to find something else." She trailed off, and stared up at the door for some reason, trying to find a way out of this creepy place; it just didn't seem like the Deku Tree anymore.  
  
Nodding with agreement, he headed over and pushed the door open, seeing no danger and walked inside of the area with open arms. Thankfully this room was smaller, and had a deep ledge that looked like it would kill a person if they were to fall off of it, not that he planned on it. Great, nothing in this room except a bush. Turning around, he didn't seem to notice that the bush pushed up and something was looking up at him with the reddest of eyes, making a snorting sound. A nasty sort of sound that those elfish ears would have picked up, and in fact they did hear the sound, the ugly sound from the monster. The sound did get to Link's ears quickly, so when Navi shouted something at him, he was already way ahead of her, readying himself by the time he heard it.  
  
"LINK! Shield, spin and block!"  
  
Instinctively, he spun around and the Deku Shield went out as a nut was fired, and reflected back to some sort of wooden bush. It was brown and obviously made of wood, but had a muzzle and could walk and move, some sort of automatic puppet of some sort? The nut went back and hit the thing in the head, and showing cowardliness, it jumped up and ran around the entire small ledge, keeping from falling off. Looking for a place to hide, was it? He didn't know, but leapt forward and caught it in his grasp, holding it down and sitting on top of its' body, stared down at it with fierce determination. It didn't take much to scare it, because the look made it squeal out in pain, even though Link weighed less than the thing, and so he spoke. "Why did you do that?"  
  
"Oh, forgive me, master!" It could talk? So it did, speak in a raspy voice, and did once more. "I will tell you a secret, if you let me go."  
  
"I'm listening."  
  
"See? Getting down there is such a hassle, but if you hold your balance and curl into a ball you can jump down. Now, I am not saying this works for all ledges, so don't try it on mountains or anything." And with that, it spit into Link's face and scurried back down the bushel from wince it came, leaving a rude exit as it had done with the entrance.  
  
Wiping the green saliva from his eyes, he sat upon the bush, and looked up at her. "What did he mean? You think I can?"  
  
"Well, not all the way, but I see that there is a platform hanging in the air. Why don't you try it that way? I know it is once in a lifetime, but I will catch you, if you fall."  
  
Nodding, he spun around and put his sword up behind him, while backing up all the way to the entrance, readying his muscles for a jump he would take. He wasn't as crazy as the shrub thought he was, why would he take orders from a monster that was too cowardly to face him in battle. Nah, he might try it later on, but now he was going to go for the ledge, to pick his own spots and fight his own battles when they came to him. A loose bang flung in his face, pushing it aside, readying his cap for the jump and making sure he wasn't going to pull a muscle when jumping. Smirking to himself, he shook his head, feeling the courage of him already beginning to build back up, it seemed the spirit of a warrior was inside of him.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
"Yep, Linky, let her rip!"  
  
With a burst of speed, he took off like a hurricane, and leapt off of the ledge until he came to the middle platform in the air, held up by nothing. Invading how gravity did this, he was simply amazed at what was holding this up, since there was no weird air current below, nor strings holding it up. He shrugged a shoulder, waving over to his fairie, smiling at her, giving a no problem smile, before he spoke in a louder voice than usual. Before he could muster a thought or any words, he was cut off when the platform began to shake and he quickly leapt to the over side of the bridge as fast as he can. The ground he was just on, fell to the ground with a crash, the boy flailing his arms wildly, he gripped the end of the ledge and pulled himself up in a scurry of angst.  
  
"Great. I don't see a way back, Navi." But he saw another chest; this one had the silver rims, like the one with the sword on it, which meant that the rims meant something greater than a map. Leaping for it, he pressed all his weight up and pulled it out of the rut that it was in, the chest giving off a lot more weight than it seemed capable of. In a matter of minutes, he had the chest open, a spray of golden light filling his eyes, as if the Goddesses themselves had visited him. Shaking the chest on its edge, he reached his hand inside quickly, not afraid of anything inside, sound a sort of solid object, and yanked out a slingshot.  
  
"Hrm, Link, you need those, but what about.oh, I know!" She spun around the side of the chest, beginning to dig through the thing with her submerged inside of the box for a few minutes. Link just stared at her, hoping she wouldn't suffocate in the box, trying out his new slingshot (with no ammo), before long she appeared with her hands full with a sack. The sack she handed to the young boy, who opened it up and saw inside were a bunch of seeds that went when planting smaller Deku Trees. What these could be used for was beyond Link, so he looked over to Navi, whom was already speaking to him in her informative manner. "There. Use these for your slingshot, these are Deku Seeds."  
  
"Hee, thanks, Navi." Pulling out the slingshot, he looked around his area for something to shoot and literally fainted, there was an area for him to shoot, being so close! "Navi, a ladder!"  
  
"Well, shoot it!"  
  
Mmhm, he pulled one of the nuts out, pulled back the rubber band and let the nut flow as it cracked against the ladder, incased in some thin web, on the other side of the room. With one shot, the webs cracked and a finely tuned ladder went plummeting down at the other side, the ladder landing in the position that they could get out of here. Giving them a way out of here by the tools of a new object, it was like this place was designed together, so without all the materials you couldn't leave. Now, all he did was simply put his slingshot and nuts in the right side of his pack and leapt off of the edge, trying his luck with the advice. Pulling his legs and curling into a ball, he slammed down on the ground with nothing more than just a few scratches nothing more or less. Grinning, the boy ran over towards the ladder and climbed up towards the top and went out the room from which he came.  
  
After finding the slingshot, Link was feeling pretty sure of himself. He had found a new weapon-- a new, convenient weapon, and a map. The only problem was which direction he was headed, the map may have been what he was tutored on a while back, but he wasn't an expert on it. This map was so old; it looked like if he pulled it hard enough it would turn to ashes, and not taking his luck, he just kept it tucked at his side. No idea knowing how to navigate, he left that up to Navi, whom seemed to know where she was going around here and in this weird place. Hands were down by his sides, wrapped up like a school-boy and staring off in different directions, listening for any sort of scuttles or any sounds that didn't seem natural.  
  
"Navi, where are we?"  
  
"I really don't know--" she stopped speaking as they came around the corner. "A room! Link, another room!"  
  
"Yeah! Hee, now lets see what's in here." Walking infront of the door, he tapped onto it with his sword, and it sprang open, that seemed a very nice convenient way of opening doors, since they didn't have knobs. Hrm, he inspected for those nasty Deku shrubs and headed deep inside, when he found none, no bushels were they could be hiding, anyway. In the room was a platform, where he was standing, a lower region, and another high region across the room, the rooms seemingly to get a bit smaller as the higher up they went. At his left and right were two unlit torches, and to the side was a small-lit torch, each of them seeming to play a part in those old stories Saria read to him. When he entered the area, a pair of bars slammed down across the exit, concealing him from getting out of here, the bars not really bendable. "Hey!"  
  
Navi fluttered around and began to explore the room, looking for a way out of this trap; it looked so weird that he would have implanted these mechanisms. There was no way this could be real; this dungeon must have been carved out of the remains of the Deku Tree, which just had to be it? Were the Deku Tree's insides always like this or were these the defenses he always talked about in the works, or were they the enemies? As she went across the room she saw that there was a hidden wall, but the hidden room was empty, nothing in particular was going on there. Going across the room, she spotted a large chest, just like what the map and slingshot were inside, the rim not silver this time, but who cared? Who really cared about it, there was a chest there that had some valuable items in them, maybe like a more updated map or something. "Link, come on and try to get this chest! It may have some more weapons inside of it!"  
  
"Hrm? Oh, coming, Navi!" He yelled back at his full lungs, trying to make her feel it and when she waved back, he nodded towards her, smiling to him bashfully. Well, he was almost there when he spotted a small switch that was squared with the shape of a moon on top of it, he couldn't have gotten across the area anyway, and it was too long. Curiously, he slammed his foot upon the switch, the switch making a small crinkling sound, something he had never heard before, then a ticking sound going off. Link ignored the ticking, thinking it was all in his mind, turning his attention to the platforms with his eyes lighting up, he did something right!  
  
"Link, what're you--" Three small platforms appeared in the middle, lower region of the two platforms, they weren't that wide apart, but just enough for him to land and not fall off. She saw what he was doing, and congradulated him, as it seemed he was gaining some knowledge of this place, learning the ropes. Yup, he was gaining a little skill in these matters, braving the odds and conquering whatever came infront of him, a nice talent for him. Nodding, he hopped across all three of the platforms easily, I mean, it was quite easy to do it after the slingshot incident, his confidence boosted. Leaping across the last one, he landed infront of her and giggled, nodding to himself at how easy it was, still hearing that stupid ticking. "See, that was quite easy."  
  
Turning towards the chest, he knelt down upon the ground and examined the chest, it was the same as the other boxes, so it checked it. It was a deep Deku-brown with a bronze lining across the entire chest, making him think that it wasn't as good as a weapon, but the best next thing. Placing his hands upon the top-part of the brown box and pressed upward with all his strength, not wanting to tip this one over. Flowing, golden light pierced out, and what he picked up was a small blue instrument, something used for telling time or something. Before he could sit down and examine it, the platforms began to lower, the timer disappearing from his mind altogether, gasping loudly.  
  
"Link, run!" Navi screamed aloud, she was already on the other side of the platform, with one of his Deku sticks at her side, keeping it incase she needed it. Concentrating, he slipped the compass inside of his side- pack and leapt across each of the platforms, except the last, the last one just coming down too slow. Gasping, he stood on the last one as the other two went down, him trapped in the place, and when looking down, all he saw was darkness. Crying out in surprise, he should have been quicker and now he would die all because of this stupid thing, leaving Navi alone to fight. Well, it would end this way, which was what he didn't approve of so, he was trying to think, looking at Navi with his eyes dimming some.  
  
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It was like a dream-almost, for she saw him doing well, until the last one, where he stumbled and screwed up on the platform, leading him down to his doom. He slammed into the gravel because the platforms were too low, and now he was trapped in the spot, not being able to get back to the exit. Now, what was better than that, it was just like the nightmare had occurred right when there was no place to wake up, only the blackness was the sweet relief. That's when the platforms sunk below into the bitter darkness, and it was so sad that they came this far, yet she was not going to let that spoil the fun, no way she lost him. Now all he had was two hands holding against the brimstone, trying to pull him up with all his might, not able to on his own. "N-N-Navi!"  
  
"Linky!" She flew up and grabbed the Deku stick, lowering it until she felt him grab a hold. When she felt the enormous weight upon the stick, she pulled up with all of her might. There was no use, at first, he was just too heavy and no matter how hard she beat her wings, she didn't think that he was going to come back up. Well, it was not going to end that way, she would make sure of it, so the wings went even faster than before, almost at a hummingbird's speed. The weight was intense, yes, but she was not letting this boy die, her boy would not die in these circumstances, nor ever would he. No way, no how. This wasn't the end of their journey.  
  
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Placing both soft digits, upon the stick, he implanted his hands into the ground (or walls, in this case) pulling up with all he could muster from within. When he was just almost the full way up, he felt a weight relieve from him, like some sort of burden being lifted. It was like something had disappeared from like, yes a burden was a nice way of saying it, well that was what it felt like at first, almost losing himself from the relief. No, instead he saw the compass drop from his side pack, and cried out in surprise, and with a gasp, he tried to reach out for the item. He even grasped the thing in his hands, pulling it back, yet the slipping circle slid from his fingers and down the blackness. "The new item!"  
  
"Nevermind that, Link! Concentrate!" Then he felt her rise up and let him start pulling, while she pulled herself, trying to maintain this at the maximum speed of her wings. After about ten minutes of pulling, the floor and platforms long gone, he sprang up and stood across the solid ground. Automatically, she pounced upon him and buried her face into his, nuzzling and kissing his cheeks. "I can't believe you! We went through that and you lost it. Oh, you stupid--cute.Oh!" She cried out loud and went under his hat. Sighing, he picked up his Deku stick. Moving over towards the lit torch, he let the end began to burn. There he walked over towards the two torches and lit them easily. A small dinging sound went off and the bars of the exit rose, but instead of keeping the stick, he threw it over the side of the cliff. Heading out of the room, he shook his head and buried his hands across his chest, with a peeved off Navi under his hat.  
  
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On further inspection, he saw some branches that were in the way and some of those spiders, which she was talking about earlier. The spiders looked just like their masters, wearing the skull upon its head for protection, and he got the feeling that they may have been born that way. Either that or there were a lot of dead things inside of this tree that the spiders could get a hold of and use for some sort of helmet. Looking at the distance between them, he measured with his fingers, trying to see if maybe he could hit them with something. Yes, the idea of his new weapon appeared in his mind, seeing how he could indeed shoot a new seed at them, knocking them down here. When they were down, he would either smash their exoskeleton in, or just kick them off the edge, taking them out of commission.  
  
It was Navi that saw the way on it, as she studied them spiders, she fluttered down back at him, and pointed at the slingshot. "Hit them with it, Linky, it'll knock them off balance and you can smash them when they come back down. They are defenseless on the ground."  
  
"Alright, that won't take long." He only had fifteen nuts, so he used precise aiming when knocking them off, but since Link had never used a weapon like this in his life, the perfect was so perfect. Well, at first he tried a few shots at the nearby webs, nailing it in with some good accuracy, going towards the web and picking them off. Conserving the seeds that way, the young boy spun around back to where the skull spiders and his fairie were, waiting for it to happen. Aiming for the legs, it took three shots to take the first one down, and when it was down he brought the boots down, crushing the skull. The other two took only a shot each, because he aimed for the head instead. When they were down, he smashed them and began to scale the vines upward.  
  
These vines extended at least two hundred feet upward, and when he finally reached the top, an hour later, he was panting and letting his little poor appendages rest. Shaking his head, have to save the Deku Tree, he stood back up and looked around, peering at all angle for where this place was next. The top room was just a long circle with four planks sticking out of each one, it was like something out of a story, it was weird but there was nothing here. Walking over towards the third one, each on one side of the circle, he peered over at the end, trying to see what was over there. There was nothing? Nothing! What to do! But, he never saw it coming.  
  
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One of those Skulltullas was going to take revenge for his brother, so it hid up in the web until he was just on the edge, in stealth. With one silent slither, it went down with all force and slammed onto the little thing's back, the enticing feeling was back in action. It was beautiful how it struck it, seeing the glow that was with the creature was alert, but not able to do anything about it, being so weak. The thing went flying down towards its death, it seemed and the monster was satisfied, yea the revenge was sweet for it. He had avenged his brother and all was good with the world, so the stupid thing went back to sleep, hitting back in slumber, not caring for the thing's beneficial health.  
  
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Wha? He went flying through the air, was he a bird or something, or was this dream like he wished, but unfortunately that was not so, he had no idea why he was in the air. Navi had yelled something, but it was too late as he was already about two hundred feet from death, no way to turn back around and grab for help. There was some sort of web on the way down; it was where he first entered, it was weird that he missed it because they would be already down there if not. One chance. He had one chance to do this, so he took out his sword and floated up so it was, the blade having more weight than before, because of the air pressure. He was going to land face first, and kept the sword ahead in place, to cut whatever, aiming more for the web than anything at all.  
  
Upon impact, the sword sliced into the web and he saw there was actually a secret passage that led down to another area of the place? He heard water, so it must have been an underground stream, maybe there was a river under the Deku Tree, which was why they always received fresh water. Through the familiar room he passed and down a longer room that had to have at least been three hundred feet down, more than he could have imagined. His screams echoed as he kept the sword forward and shut his eyes tightly. After a few seconds, he let the sword, if he was gonna die, he didn't need to land on that. And the sword went forward back into the air. Pushing his shield infront of his body, he curled up and sobbed.  
  
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Navi sensed the monster coming, and as she turned around and screamed Link's name, he was gone, and there was nothing she could do. No, he was gone! No, it couldn't end this way, no. She was his! He was hers! Growling and cursing at the monster, it had gone away, she raced down the passage and saw Link as he neared the end of the road. He would smash and would be no more, just Baba food, and just a smash upon the pavement that would be nothing to recover from. She-She wouldn't make it! Racing down, she saw his sword come out and stared as he split the ground open? No, it was a web, why hadn't he noticed earlier? Down through the web he went and she put her flying into turbo. Racing down the corridor, she saw the sword as it floated just past her, catching it and shoving it downward. Racing past all that seemed well, a figure impacted into the water, deep and clog, with a shield protecting his body.  
  
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He must have been out for a good while, because when he woke, he could hear the darkness of the night, the night echoing harder. Was he dead? Was he somewhere in his wildest dreams? Looking forward, he saw it again, the man, the man from what he guessed the Desert, could they be one in the same, well could they? It was highly possible, the same evil he saw here, he couldn't imagine coming from anyone else, and no he never imagined anything this bad. He was dressed in black and had the darkest skin ever seen on anything, all the Kokiiris were pale-skinned, so tan was weird, but this man was almost black. Much taller than him, but not the Deku Tree, the man threw out something of yellow that burst past his skin and sent him crying out. The light that was there faded, as he went into eternal darkness and cried out more for help, seeing no one (not even Navi) around to help him face the evil.  
  
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Throwing himself up, he felt the cool water of the Kokiiri; it had the sweeter taste of sugar in it, something that she never understood. Eyes weren't open yet, though he heard a voice around and another one, a weirder one that sounded like Navi when she was cussing. Another feminine voice surrounded in the fairish language, the boy still not clear who it was, not that he could ask who it was. It was way out of the question, since he wasn't moving, the pain in his body making him summon up the strength to sit up, or try to sit up. Shivering for a few moments, the power finally came from deep in the soul, the enticing feeling was back, something he had felt when first finding the sword. Wow, it was just a dream, just a--  
  
"Link! You okay, Linky!" A voice, some beautiful voice, but the dread that this wasn't a dream and that he was in, this was not a dream for all his senses were back. Yes, opening his eyes revealed he was still in the Deku Tree and indeed it was night, because he heard the night faries giving off there beat. Even deep in the tree, he could still head it, the sounds of the fairies as they did their nightly ritual before they went to sleep. Looking up, a huge amount of pain went in his head, and he held it, turning up towards the beautiful angel, yes the angel with wings. She was sitting on his nose and looking at him, muttering something in her language, but no, it wasn't an angel at all, though it did have wings. "Navi?"  
  
"Oh, thank the Goddess. I thought you had cracked your skull open." The last of the ancient words stopped as he felt the headache lift from him, and caught the gleam of something at his side, a bright pink. Whatever it was, it was hurting his eyes whenever he looked over at it with those slanted eyes, beginning to peek open at her. Hee, it was a farie, but not like Navi, this fairie was covered in an aura, just like her with the pinkish tint instead of the blue one, it was weird. The fairie was something he had never seen, all the ones in the forest were either blue or sometimes green, an occasional yellow ones. This one was wore a hot pink veil, and was nuzzling against his face tenderly, speaking in a feminine ancient language, the fairish.  
  
"W-what happened?"  
  
"Well, a Skulltulla fell down and knocked you off the edge, and well you used your instincts and survived by cutting open this secret passage. Using your shield was smart too." Waving her hand over, she showed him the shield that was flat out dented from his body imprint. "There is water, but you landed on a dry piece of rock and lucky you used that shield. Anyway, you hit your head and so I am healing you."  
  
"Whose this?"  
  
"Oh, that is a healing farie, I don't know her name, but I had her in a bottle and she is healing your head injury."  
  
Lifting his fingers upward, he tickled at the little farie and heard a small giggle and something in that farie language.  
  
"She can't speak the normal tongue, Link, but she said her name is Jivu and to stop that, while she is working." The small pink farie stopped the healing, as the feeling returned through his whole body and it went up on his cheek kissing it, before floating up and out of the Deku Tree.  
  
Flushing, he looked up at Navi, and giggled a little. "Where did she go, Navi?"  
  
"After they heal, they return to their mistress, the Great Farie. There aren't any fountains here, but who knows, maybe one day one will come out here. There are five of them, but I am sure they might come out to be closer to our faries, but sometimes the stray fairies hang around the Lost Woods to see other forest fairies."  
  
"Hee, oh. So, how long have I been out?"  
  
"Oh, let's see. I think about six hours. These faries are slow healing, so I am guessing all and all we have been in this tree about eight hours. All your pain isn't gone, we just healed you enough so you can get through here, then you will have to go to sleep for a while."  
  
"Humph, I wanted to finish this in half an hour. Are we almost done?"  
  
"According to the map, no. But, I don't know, this map is so old."  
  
Pushing himself up, he looked off at the entire scenery and shook his head sadly. "This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"  
  
"At least this room is clear of enemies, I mean, it would have been hard-.oh!" She raced onward and began to wade through the water until finally she threw out the blade and pushed his shield over at him. "There, thought I lost that, for a minute there."  
  
Nodding, he stood himself up, from the mess and stared around the room once more, getting a better view of it now, since he was wide awake. It was indeed an underground stream and there seemed to be no way up, so they might as well go explore, find the monster here. Picking his sword up, he turned around as he heard a scuttling sound, the sound of something following him, so that was when he reacted. Spinning around again, he saw nothing and shrugged it off, it was probably just his overactive imagination at work, and he was still half-asleep. One further investigation there was right near some sort of switch and unlit torch. Stomping on the switch, the torch went to life and he warmed his wet clothes on it. Across was a little shallow end and another portion that was covered by a web.  
  
"I am gonna try something--stay here."  
  
"But, Link!"  
  
"Navi, hee, I am not gonna do something stupid, again."  
  
Not waiting for an argument, he put out one of the Deku Sticks and lit it with the torch, the end of it beginning to burn, but it didn't burn up. The stick just caught fire and stayed burning, according to the other Kokiiri this thing could have been burning for quite a while, so he had himself some time. Running forward, he leapt across the water and moved over towards where the web was, slinging the thing forward to catch onto something. Placing it on the web, it went out in a burst of flames, clearing a path. Dipping the stick in the water, he put it back in his back, and waved over for her.  
  
She raced over with his shield and sword, and after some item alternations he was back to normal, having his things back in place. The Kokiiri blade was placed in his left hand, while the shield went for the right one, giving him some easy access, before he bent the shield back. Inside the front of the side pack were the Farie Slingshot and some Deku Nuts, and the Deku Sticks strapped on his right side and the nuts on the left. Pockets were assigned all in the side pack, so that he would be able to get to them, he left it opens for some easy access to get it. Through that he entered a small door that was hidden behind the web, the door one of those doors that just slid up in the way when you touched it.  
  
Inside that door, there was an even smaller room with a familiar- looking bush, something he had seen in a previous room. This time he was ready, backing up until another familiar looking Deku fired a nut, and when it fired, instead of standing there, he rushed at the nut pushing it against the thing's skull. The nut wasn't just reflected that time, the thing was up against the skull, yet slammed at a very tremendous speed, stopping the assault. Squealing, the nut hit with a forceful impact, but even before it could escape, he had it pinned and was sitting on top of the heavy burden. Smirking, he reached for the blade, sliding the dull end across its hide, which it cried out in surprise, even false pain for not being hurt.  
  
"Ah! Master; please spare me, if you do. I will tell you something cool."  
  
"Hrm.maybe."  
  
"U-um, please! Ooh, okay! My brothers up ahead are much stronger and there is only one way. The order is 2-3-1. Twenty-three to one! Remember that." And with that, he pushed away and burrowed itself back into the bush.  
  
"2-3-1? Navi? You get that?"  
  
"Yea, but I don't understand." The little farie flew over and perched she upon his hat, looking up at something. Hmm? What was that? "There are bars over the door, try hitting that eye with a shot."  
  
Indeed, over the doors were bars that he obviously couldn't break with any tool at his disposal, the sword would just get bent hitting the thing. Maybe if he had some Kokiirish tools along he could break it, but he didn't feel like climbing back up the long hole and then sliding back down. Above that was a metal incased figure of an eye, looking like something out a Buddhist religion or something like that. Taking his aim with his own fingers, he picked it in a slow-motion type, seeing what would happen if he shot it then, and nailing it imaginatively. Picking his sling with one seed, he shot at the eye, the seed bouncing right in the center of it and a small creaking sound occurring as the bars went up, the door shutting.  
  
"Good thinking, Navi!" Curling about his fingers, he picked her up and gently petted her body with soft digits, them caressing her up for what he called a simple thank-you. Before residing her on his hat, he walked over and checked the door, seeing that if it was stuck were one of the bars had made a bad impression. Simple enough, but still looked a little stuck, so he could have kicked it in, but since they were in the tree there was the possibility of something spring in on him. Taking the hilt of his sword, he swung it, and the door swished open without any hassle at all, pushing the fairie back on his head, the sword going back to its spot. Smiling at his marksmanship, the boy looked at the door, watching the entrance and walked through the entrance with his arms at his sides. "There we go."  
  
The next room was a sight for sour eyes, the place was a regular maze of traps, it was sad that the monster was so smart to create all this. It was submerged, basically, with the platform he was on, and on the other side was another and one Small Island that floated back and forth. Mmhm, and of course a black log with spikes sticking out it, rotating back and forth, creating a problem since if he went under there was the chance he would hit the spikes on accident. Now there was another chance that the spikes would follow him, so he picked up a stone, throwing it up above the spike, the tool moving on a mechanical device and rising as the stone went over. It didn't move, but swished along the water. Interesting enough, the platform blocked anyway from getting under without cutting your throat on the spikes.  
  
"Problem."  
  
"Indeed," responded the little farie. This is indeed a problem, how can we get across? She didn't trust herself to carry him. Maybe there is? "Maybe there is a switch underwater, you go under and check because if there is, I won't be able to push it."  
  
Without hesitation, he dove into the water, and searched the bottom of the left side with his hands; there was the only way to do. Hoping that there weren't any traps underwater, his hands groped around while those eyes remained shut, holding his breath deeply. No equipment for seeing underwater, so he was as blind as a bat until he hit it, it seemed to be in the shape of a block when he grabbed it. Yes! It was a switch and pushing down on it, a ticking sound came out, and the ticking he could feel under the water, even from that altitude. It reminded him of the room with the blocks, his own mind going for the realization that this wasn't just a reminder, it was the same thing! Ticking? Clock, time? A time limit! Sprinting back into the water, which seemed shorter than before. He found an eager Navi waving frantically at him.  
  
"The water drained, come on, get on the platform before it sounds. A timer has sounded!"  
  
Sprinting backward, he scooped her up and jumped, just as the platform was taking off from their location, landing on the black platform just as it was onward. Onto it they want, and he ducked under the black 'log', as the time sounded faster and faster, all the more nervous when it ended. He was away from it less than ten seconds before the water raised back up, and parts of the island being lopped off, gasping in fear. Turning around, half of the island was indeed gone, worried that if he had been on the edge that he wouldn't be around anymore. If he had been there, oh, he just blocked that out of his mind. The end of the road was only a few feet, and before he knew it, the boy was climbing up onto the other ledge and looking forward.  
  
"That was close, Linky.you'd better being more careful around here. This place is filled with traps, and from the looks of it, they aren't friendly."  
  
"Mmhm, thank you Navi, there was a switch. Hee, if I had been there a few seconds earlier, I would have been a sandwich. Hrm, what is this?" From looking forward, he saw another web, but it was empty with a large block and a path that was engraved for the block. Upward you could stand on the rock and climb up to a new place, maybe an exit?  
  
With all the luck, a few seconds before he touched down, another Skulltulla showed up, this one not as friendly as the rest, one of the big ones. This one was much slower and much easier to deal with, and with one quick stab to the back, it was down for the match, just as stupid as the others. Slinging it aside, he walked over to the boulder and began to push on it, pushing harder and harder upon it so that it would move. No such luck, the thing weighed about five hundred pounds, nothing was going to get it to move and now it seemed so much impossible. Gasping loudly, the boy slammed his fist into the thing at the top, nothing happening at all, knowing that if he leapt for the ledge he wouldn't land.  
  
"No, this can't stop us, Navi." We have come so far, and there is no way back!" Link squealed a little, slamming his fist into the square middle of the rock, but this time something did happen to the rock, this time was different. There was supposed to have been pain an immense pain he would feel for punching the rock, but there was none at all, there seemed to be nothing. Just a stretching mark as if something had been set off, and that it was, because when he hit the middle a portion of the rock slid in, only about a small square. Next, the rock moved up until it was, at last, at the end of the grinding path and held a way out, giving him the room that he needed to climb it. When he would climb it, the boy could get his way and up on the ledge.  
  
"Wow, Link. I guess you don't know your own strength, Eh? Mm, you must have set off some sort of passage. Looks like your skills got us out of this one." She would have easily carried him up; it wasn't as dangerous as spikes, if he fell. Only about seven feet up.  
  
"Hee, well, I got us out of this one, Navi!" He pulled her off of his hat, and smothered her with the warm embrace, kissing and letting out a lashing of tenderness.  
  
"A-ah, Link! S-stop it, the mission, oh!" She couldn't help it, and began to give back into the hug, stroking that strong and beautiful-- .boyish face, with hands.  
  
Finally, getting a hold of himself, he put her onto the top of his nose and pushed up on the boulder, taking the boulder and rubbing it. Finely shaped it was, and didn't take long to mount before pulling himself up into a dark corridor, where there was no where to go. Sometimes the boy wished he could have a torch or something, Navi's light could brighten a whole room, but for some reason it didn't work here. There was only one lit torch and two more were unlit, with a locked door. This did not take much time, as he took the other side of the already burnt Deku Stick and ran around the room lighting all three of the torches. This opened up the door, throwing the burnt stick down; he walked down into the next room. Unfortunately, the exit looked a million miles from here.  
  
Another boring room, but this room had two exits. One was a crawl space; the other was webbed and could be burned by the nearby torch, ready for him to light if need be done. Putting up the sword and shield, he took out a Deku Stick and lit it on the torch, and passing through the middle of the room, heard a weird noise. Like a frog, but at the same time had an eerie feeling to it. Hrm, no bother, he got to the end of the room when a thump made him jump. Turning around, he saw the ugliest thing he'd ever seen. It was a spider, or at least a mutated kind, about half his height with razor sharp claws barred at him. At the same time, it wasn't an anarchic. The beast had only two legs and a single orangish-yellow eye, with a green pupil. The thing spelt trouble, so; he ran for the web and lit it on fire. As soon as he ran, three more dropped, and all charged at the same exact moment.  
  
"N-navi, what are those?"  
  
"I-I-I don't know, Link. I have never seen them, but-- run!"  
  
No second repeating for him, because he took off when only a portion of the web was burned, and jumped onward, pushing through the door, and slamming it shut.  
  
"We are safe Navi. Navi? Navi!" Turning around, he heard a shriek and pounding, opening up the door, saw one of the monsters had her, and leaping forward, at the same moment pulling out two nuts, slammed them against the spider's head. Three of them paralyzed, because they were together, and he snatched Navi, pushing his way out of here and back into the new room.  
  
"Y-you okay!"  
  
"Mmhm, Link." She just glared at him for a few seconds, before punching him in the cheek. "You left me! Ooh! Linky, I can't believe you!"  
  
"I'm sorry! I-I didn't know you were--" but he trailed off and looked at the room, amazed. "Navi, we are back. We are on the new platform, and oh my Goddess!" He ran forward and tried punching the thing in the middle, as the block went forward, and this time, the new block clapped into the water and gave them a new entrance towards the fire.  
  
"Link, don't change the subject!" She trailed off, giving a small sigh, how could she stay mad at him? He was so cute! Fluttering over on his shoulder, she hugged him and nodded. "You are forgiven, only because of the mission." My Goddess, when did I get all buddy-buddy with him?  
  
Sticking her on his hat, he jumped over, with the opposite end of the other stick and moved over at the torch, using it now for some preparations. Lighting this one up, he ran over towards the new entrance and threw it down on the webbed entrance, knowing it was too sticky to cut. Falling through it did, and revealed a similar path towards before, except this one had a vine ladder that led down, letting the stick go alone when it fell. Summoning up the strength, he climbed down the hundreds of feet in the pitch black until at last he saw a torched up room. Dropping the last three feet, he saw three bushes and a room that looked like the end of the line. It was engraved in gold with the indication of a spider on it.  
  
"I see Deku bushes, Navi, what about 2-3-1?"  
  
"Well, I think, maybe you should fight them from the middle, last, and first. Two is the middle, three is the last, and one is the first. Try it, but be careful, you have never faced three at once."  
  
Stepping out of the water, and four feet on the surface, he heard the shuffles of the bushes and saw three Deku Scrubs stand up. These were about twice as big as the last one, and a lot bigger than Link, they looked more vicious and not at all cowardly like their siblings. Gasping a little, he saw the nuts fly, wincing at them for a few seconds, before taking the shield out and regaining his courage back. Leaning forward, the boy would take the other two hits, giving the other at the middle guy in the full frontal assault, taking the good with the bad. They were all headed, but he leapt forward and pushed the middle one into the middle's face, letting out a shriek, it froze in some sort of purple mass, but the other two hit Link with full force, taking the boy's breath away.  
  
"Linky!"  
  
"I'm oka-!"  
  
Leaping forward, he pushed the second nut into the last one's face, which again paralyzed it in a purple gooey mass, giving him only one more down. Another shriek, but instead of getting hit again, he slammed the first nut, with the shield, into the first ones' face. It seemed to have worked, except this one didn't freeze and took off, the others seemed to be frozen in the mass, not going anywhere else. Giving a growl of frustration, the young boy took off after the monster, determined to catch him in his own tracks, beat him at the game. Oh, this one was definitely faster than the other was three. After chasing the guy for three minutes, Link plopped onto of the Deku bush as the thing stopped and gasped, falling to his knees.  
  
"Oh, forgive master, but how did you ever know out secret!"  
  
"Hee, it worked, Navi. Um, one of your brothers told me."  
  
"What! I-I-I will surely pound those little-- please let me go, master! I will tell you a secret about our mistress."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Well, to give the coup de grade to the Parasitic Armoured Arachnid, Gohma, wait until the eyes are red." Kicking Link away, it scuttled back into the bush, along with the other of its three brothers.  
  
"Gohma?" Pondered Navi, as she flew over with two small little bottles. They were shaped like hearts and had red juice in them.  
  
"What are those, Navi?"  
  
"Oh, keep these in your pack, they restore your health. You seem all right, well, no. Take one now."  
  
"I am fine, Navi. I think I can handle this Gohma." A little too cocky, especially not knowing what he is going into.  
  
"Alright, but stick it in your pack, nevertheless."  
  
Nodding, away it went into his side pack, not even feeling the need to keep one now, for his new found courage was in place now. Standing up, and stretching, he went over to the water and sipped it down, trying to get his mouth watered for the upcoming battle. It was clean, a little Lake Water, but clean as it could be inside of a tree, though not as sweet as that of the Kokiirish water. Searching through the bushes, he found about ten more Deku Seeds and some Deku Nuts, letting them feel in his hands for a few seconds. Stuffing them in the slots, he went back and rested onto of the third bush, sitting down gingerly, to keep himself from sitting on something he didn't need to. "I need a little break."  
  
"No, Link. Come on, we need to-go?" Beyond disbelief, she watched as he fell asleep.  
  
Asleep? He was asleep on the job, and whatever was infecting the Deku Tree was inside there, so they needed to exterminate it. What in the world was she going to do, and she needed to do whatever was going to happen fast so that the tree didn't rot. Slapping his face roughly, he seemed to be more asleep than he is had been in the bed, it was hard to wake him up, hitting away at those cheeks. Now the cheeks were red with small slap marks on them, the little child still not awakening from his slumber to do a thing about it. Scurrying up to his ear, she had an idea, something that just might do the trick, so she got a little closer and whispered inside the ear. "Whatever is in there, might be tired of a Great Tree and will come out for some Kokiiri. Not you, but maybe," dare she say it? Yep, she said it. "The one and only, Saria."  
  
Let us just say, he was awakened two seconds later, the sword put in his left hand and the bent Deku Shield in his right, and he was ready. Grinning over at her, he shrugged a confident shoulder, looking ahead at the door, studying it with those eyes glancing in all directions. The bushes hadn't moved since he had been asleep, that was good, those things afraid that if he failed at this mission than they would be punished. Punished they would be for revealing their masters weakness, the eye, or whatever they said.. It wasn't at all that clear. Moving forward, he nodded, rubbing those tender cerulean hues. "Alright, Navi, let us go. I mean, we need to fight this Arachnid, anyway. Navi, what is an arachnid?"  
  
"A spider, Link. What he meant was parasitic, or diseased, and armoured means, well, you know. Arachnid, or spider, named Gohma."  
  
"S-spider?"  
  
"Mmhm. Linky, come on, don't tell me you are afraid of a little spider?"  
  
"No, no. Of course not, you just surprised me there."  
  
"Hmm, alright, then. Let's go."  
  
"Yes, let's."  
  
With that, he walked over towards the big door, pushing against it for one second, and whatever happened, he had her at his side. He had Saria waiting, and the Deku Tree was here all around, guiding him, there was no more running away, it was time to face the fears. Giving him weapons, tools, and the guidance of it all. Yes, the boy could do this. Mido was wrong, he wasn't a loser, he could fight, and he had shown it. He has a warrior's presence. The Deku Tree said so, and he wouldn't lie, would he? Shrugging it off, he pushed the door open, and kept it that way, for the sake of Navi. Taking three steps away from the door, just out of door-sight, it slammed shut behind him. Nearly shrieking, he turned around, and ran over, beating on it. He could hear a tugging on his shoulder. "Linky, Linky, Shh. It's, okay, I'm here. We will face this together."  
  
Calming himself down, he nodded, and smiled. "I am just a little jumpy, those usually don't close on there own, hee." Gulping, a little too loudly, a look around showed that they were in a dark room with only the mist around, yet somehow he could see. Somehow, light was illuminating and glowing around the bottom of the room, but it wasn't normal light, it was moonlight, so moonlight underground. Yes, somehow different from the Kokiiri moonlight, but yet all the same. Shivering from the cold, he stared forward, only pillars were seen, but no Gohma. This skirt didn't help either; it had to be 40 degrees in here, shivering at the cold light with his arms held at his chest, rubbing around there. All right, maybe Gohma went away; maybe he is a wimp, or was so small that he couldn't see it, a little baby was what he wanted.  
  
"Maybe Gohma ran away?"  
  
"Don't think so, Linky, I can definitely feel evil in here."  
  
"Yeah, you encouraged me, Navi."  
  
"Link, quiet. You need to listen for him. Calm down and concentrate, you can do this."  
  
Before the boy could even gesture some concentration, a sound erupted from their conversation, blocking the chilling silence out. This sound made him break out in a series of sweats, gasping at the sound and although he didn't mind the sound itself, it was how large it was. Maybe it was a bellow of a beast, but whatever the sound was, it sure wasn't anything that was friendly dwelling in the last room. The sound told him that the thing wasn't small, the thing wasn't scared of him or anything, for that matter, and the thing wasn't a Kokiiri. Not that he thought it was a Kokiiri, he didn't think it was anything, maybe a nightmare that the Deku Tree was having (he did say he had been having them.)  
  
-Shrikjuu  
  
It was like a roar, maybe something from an amphibian, yet he couldn't imagine a giant frog doing all of this, and nah he just didn't see it. It reminded him of those things he had seen earlier, except this one was twenty times as loud, and looking around, a light sounded out of the middle of nowhere. This light was an orange, with a bit of yellow, and sort of like the sunsets from the Lost Woods, the eye of Din when it set off the horizon. Hrm, could day be here, he wondered if it was, but no, it was coming from the top of the pillars, while day would be from the doors. Staring upward, he saw something that made his heart stop and all of the courage in that tender flesh, turn hauling itself. On there was the biggest thing he had ever seen, except the Deku Tree, of course, but this thing wasn't friendly. He didn't even have time to visualize the whole thing, and turned around, dashing out of the room, screaming. "Gohma is a girl! Those were its babies!"  
  
--------------------  
  
The creature, Gohma, had been studying the two ever since they had entered its lair, spying upon them from since the beginning. Eating the creatures would have been too easy; it wanted to wait for them to go into her territory, so that she had the full-home advantage. The small one was nothing more than a small snack, but this bigger one, this it could actually feed off of. She knew nothing of where she was, born to the world only months ago, but now she saw the most beautiful thing in the world. Living off of Deku Scrubs seemed to be old, and this was flesh, not wood or rock. Thanks to one of its children, the door was shut, blocking off the escape for the two trespassers. Yes, they were in here territory and it was time to pay the piper.  
  
The tender one had noticed him and ran, so with a one huge smash, it jumped from its spot and scurried after it, fangs bared open. Sure, she wasn't one of the faster creatures, but she surely stronger than any of them and compared to this little creature she would win. Actually, it went against the door and began to paw on it, crying in some tongue she didn't understand, but this didn't affect her. Emotions were useless to her, although she did feel a sudden fury for her dead children that he had killed, yet she felt no remorse for this. Nothing did, she just stared the creature down, imaging what it would look like with the clothes off, those nasty materials pulled aside. One armoured claw pushed down, holding the creature down, and ripped the clothing off. It was simply beautiful.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Linky! Wait!" Navi screamed, when she heard the scream and saw him running off in the opposite direction, for the door that wasn't going to open. What was he talking about, a girl? Then, of course, she looked up and gasped. It looked just like those creatures before, but with more legs and with a mouth-like structure, fangs bared open at the young boy. More evolution, obviously, but Navi followed it as the monster went after Link. Was it because he was bigger than she was? Maybe this was her first time seeing Kokiiri flesh of any kind? There were just scrubs down here and the occasional Baba. Racing after the monster, it scurried in her face, but was pushed aside with a claw, and it hurt a little, not enough to make her back off, though. Eyes widened a little when she saw the beast actually pin the boy down and ripped his clothing off, so he was absolutely nothing at all! Flying across her face, she continued to glow and try to blind the monster.  
  
--------------------  
  
He should have waited; he should have been calm, he should have kept his cool and faced the monster head on, but no it wasn't so. But no, being the coward he was, he ran. Now pinned against the wall, seeing the monster in its true colours, the fear was displayed inside of his eyes, revealing the true instincts. It was at least thirty feet tall, and wide as a house, with six legs sticking out. Arachnids were supposed to have eight, though, this one probably had two hidden ones? He didn't look, all he did was star into those golden glazed eyes, with the green pupil. It was almost hypnotizing, when his clothes were ripped off, he knew it was over. This thing was going to eat him, the quest had failed, and he had underestimated Gohma and was now going to pay. The clothes were thrown aside, nothing but rags now and it didn't matter. He was dead meat, anyway.  
  
--------------------  
  
It wouldn't end this way, because the little insect-like creature flew right into Gohma's path and began to illuminate the brightest aura it could. She was going to blind the thing so that the boy could get away, recuperate and then plan for an assault, not even worrying about herself. This upset the monster more than the big one's struggles, so it threw a claw of and slashed the insect away, knocking it aside. Direct hit, the thing slammed into the nearby wall, and she just stared at it, a showing the best move of a smirk that it could, with the spider-face. At the same time, letting her guard down of the creature, not even noticing that anything would happen, besides the boy didn't have any thing to hurt her.  
  
--------------------  
  
What? Navi? Navi! He watched as his partner was slammed into the ground, blood guzzling from the little body, not much, but he didn't know how much they had. Seeing his chance, he leapt around and grabbed his clothing, putting on the rags, measly, slipping them on so that he could get at her. Even in his own anger, he couldn't help but be embarrassed about running around naked, it was just a little habit of his: modesty. His under area was covered, but the shirt still exposed to the rest of the world, the thing would have to be re-sown if they got out of this. Moving at a running speed, he rolled forward towards the sword and shield, at least thirty feet away, and put them both up for stance. Gohma must have noticed this because she went flying at the little young one, in a fury of rage.  
  
--------------------  
  
How dare it! How dare it take advantage of her and run away. The monster charged up at the little boy with full force, that anger was enticing its single eye, letting the full fury not be shown by anyone else. It was tired of playing and was going to kill the little thing now, and then it would go after the insect, the big one was the most worrisome now. Pushing forward, the claw slashed across his chest, leaving a mark that would show for odds end, a roar of triumph entered his ears. Blood was gushing from the wound, the spider licking the lips of her own, loving the smell of the blood, just wanting to taste it. It leapt back for the throat, going to take it and slash it out, extracting the revenge for sneaking up on it, the monster never reaching the spot, paralyzed.  
  
--------------------  
  
Pain erupted as blood gushed from the small wound, seeing the look in the monster's eyes, Link couldn't help but trudge away from her. It would leave a scar, but as Gohma threw back her claw, he reached into his pocket, not going to let her have the finishing move. The eye is red. Maybe this'll work? My last chance. Throwing a Deku nut directly into her eye area, the orb flashed red when the Gohma stopped in her tracks, his own face breaking out into a grin. It worked? It worked! Pulling back the sword, he slammed forward into the monster's eye, pushing forward until the creature was blinded, feeling the puss pour out. Yanking his sword out of it, he looked at the sticky mess upon the sword, shivering a bit from it, the puss didn't look like it would come off. Watching amazed, as it went the opposite direction and scurried back up a pillar.  
  
--------------------  
  
What? No, it couldn't see! There was no sight in its life anymore, only the pain from that cold metal steel, even more when he yanked the sword out of it. No matter, its smell was just as accurate; the creature would pay for taking away one of its only joys, the love of its sight was gone. Sight was beautiful, but not anymore, it would never see again, there was no way to be healed from this madness, she wouldn't die, just be blinded. Curse the creature! Moving up towards the top of the pillar, it had an idea, and maybe let her babies take her sight for her? Mmhm, which was the plan, and so its abdomen went down, and it began to prepare to lay a few eggs for this creature, that, would come next.  
  
--------------------  
  
Turning around, he sprinted over towards where Navi was, and checked up on her, his eyes matting out in concern for the fairie. He knew it was stupid, but he was worried and for good cause and didn't care if the Gohma came in for a sneak attack, it would die soon. She had lost a lot of blood, but was watching the battle, eagerly; her unconsciousness had seemed to disappear while he fought. Tenderly, he held out one of the jars to her, and she took if with good cause, watching her drink a bit of it, it wouldn't heal her, just make the pain disappear for a while. The scene was good and would have remained if Gohma hadn't shot a web out, which picked Navi up and threw her against the other wall. Staring in disbelief, he looked up at the smirking Gohma. Eyes began to dilate, Link's that is, when he saw what had happened to Navi. She was unconscious, possibly dying, those hues filled with tears.  
  
"No, no, no, no!"  
  
-Shrikjuu  
  
Gohma's stupid sound! Lifting up the sword, he charged back to where she was and began to curse the sounds out of his mouth he had never even heard. Some of them are what Mido had said before, what Saria had taught him not to say, but no matter how much he tried he couldn't stop that madness. Maybe it was that presence that the Deku Tree talked about, as a friend was in danger, he would explode into a fury of madness. He didn't even know how to curse, but the sounds came out with full force, them feeling even better when he said it, making the pain disappear. It made no sense; it was like some spirit that was restless possessed him, and then he thought of what the Deku Tree said again.  
  
"No! Why did you take her away, you piece of shit! She never did anything to you. No! You will pay with your fucking life!"  
  
Three eggs dropped from the ground, which Link held the sword and spun around in a quick turn, slicing the eggs all from the top corners. The babies were instantly decapitated and put to rest, and of course this angered Gohma because she came down, only a few feet from him. This time, the boy was ready, pulling out another nut, and throwing it towards the spider's face, he leapt forward once more and slammed the sword around two of its' legs. They instantly fell off, and the monster scurried back upwards, trying to get away from the attacker that had killed her children. This time, he had her, however, and leapt upon the body, slicing all but one leg off, not going to let her get away for what she did.  
  
--------------------  
  
This was disastrous! Her children had been decimated in one quick slash from that pointed metal and two of its legs had come off, the boy on her now. To make matters much worse, that creature had rested himself onto her body and four more off, instantly causing even more pain. Never had she thought that doing this would cause the boy to become so more powerful, a master of that cold steel that hit her. That left here with only one limb and not enough to climb back up. This was going to die, she didn't know what she did to anger it, but she really regretted it. Maybe hurting the insect was a bad idea? It seemed to increase the strength of this usually weak creature, but if it was so weak how did it get past all the traps and mazes? The monsters in here? Maybe she had under given this creature for its true strength. Rearing back, she charged again, throwing him off of her and charging the body.  
  
--------------------  
  
This is it, the final confrontation, would she win, or would he, it was untold from this point in time, both of their rage held up in ambition. He didn't know as she charged at him, but instead of running. He just grinned a little. It was actually funny, but how was it? How could he be happy when Navi- and the boy jumped through the air once more, this time leaping over the beast and throwing the shield. Deku slashed against her face and stunned her for a few seconds; the nuts had spilled, so he relied on this. Giving a charging run, Link jumped forward and landed onto the creature. Pulling the sword forward and slashing back, he literally cut through the armour. This usually wouldn't work, but there was so much determination in him. So much hidden power, and so much fury that it did. The shell cracked open and the sword plunged inside, cutting the monster in two.  
  
"Kyaaii!" It gave one long screech before the heart was punctured and it turned into nothing but a carcass would be left for the maggots. The weird thing was that before the boy a blue fire began to encircle the body, the boy realizing that somehow it was set on fire and reacting. Leaping off and running for Navi, the fire burned the body until it was nothing but ashes, and the wind picked up from somewhere, blowing the ashes away. With the ashes gone, it was as if the thing was never there, she course of power had disappeared with it, the mist seeming to disappear also. Scooping up the little farie, Link kissed her forehead and felt for breathing, hoping that she was all right from the previous battle.  
  
Yes, there was some. Checking the slots, he looked disappointed, the juices had disappeared? One was cracked and the one by Navi was already drained. Moving over with her, he placed her in his clasped hands, about to head for the door when he saw the blue light again. This time it formed what looked an entrance, some sort of portal? Moving forward almost mesmerized, he entered the light and felt the wound begin to restore itself, the pain didn't disappear, the blood just clotted and stopped for a while. Still he would feel the pain in a good while. A scar was left, but the wound hurt no more and Navi began to heal also, or so he could tell from the way she was moving around. Funny thing was, he felt stronger, and some new strength was opened inside of him, because the power felt enormous, growing into a warrior, it seemed. Moving more into the light, the dark room disappeared from sight.  
  
A new place, this was where they were traveling, but he doubted it since the wind began to smell the same, the scents back to normal. It seemed that the aura of blue fire wasn't deadly, well it wasn't bad to him, but it seemed to be hazardous to enemies and a way of transportation for him. No, it was old, and suddenly he fell onto the ground right beside the Deku Tree where he had stood about nine hours ago. Surprised, he stared in disbelief as the Great Deku Tree's entrance shut and it looked upon him with wonder, the tree having a big smile upon the face of the tree. However it was possible, he saw that the curse had been broken, the place was back to normal now, and he would be a true hero.  
  
"G-Great Deku Tree?! Was it a dream?"  
  
"No, young warrior, not a dream. Thou has proven thyself, survived the dungeon and came forth. Thou has indeed proven thyself."  
  
At the time, Navi seemed to be coming too, and fluttered over towards the Deku Tree, amazed, her eyes adjusting to the light like hers had. Being in a cavern that was dim, as night was really breathtaking and from the look of things, the night had passed through, it was stilling night. Morning was pushing through, so maybe they had been in the tree more than nine hours, however it was very possible, and Navi sometimes got time wrong. "Great Deku Tree? Are we done, are you cured?" Then she turned on Link and swept into his arms, nuzzling him with her full affection displayed infront of the Deku Tree, not even caring. She didn't care if he saw she was almost happy that he saw. It meant that he had made a wise choice in a partner for the two, a perfect match. "Linky! You did it!"  
  
He held her in his palms and collapsed on the ground, nodding eagerly. "Mmhm, I did it, Navi. No, we did it. When she hit you, I-I just couldn't control my-" but the tree interrupted.  
  
"That was thou's warrior's spirit, young Link. When a loved in danger, the spirit arises and allowed thou to defeat the dreaded Gohma."  
  
"So, Great Deku Tree are you cured?" The boy answered enthusiastically, but of course he was I mean, they won against the monster, and when good won then the victim was always cured.  
  
"Unfortunately not."  
  
"Great Deku Tree, you aren't serious!" The boy and partner both blurted out, astounded, their emotions wondering how could he not be healed, it just seemed impossible. All sort of emotions roared through Link's body: sadness, anger at the fact for Gohma, the empty feeling that the revenge was in vain. If that was so, then maybe he would die, if he wasn't cured then the virus was going to keep eating at him until his health failed. Shuddering at the thoughts, he stared up at his father, his creator, those eyes bright as sapphires, the confusion plastered. They beat Gohma, together, and that monster was burned into ashes, then spread to the world.  
  
"This was a test, young warrior. I was doomed before thou even started. This was a test to prove if thou could save the world."  
  
"World! What do you mean, Great Deku Tree?"  
  
"Link, thou has proven thyself. Yea, your victory was celebrated, but not for I. Hyrule, the world, is in danger by the man from the desert. His name is not known, but I want you to leave the forest."  
  
Navi chirped in. "Great Deku Tree, he'll die!"  
  
"No, thou is different, Link. Thou will survive. Thou must go to a place called Hyrule castle and see the Princess of Destiny. There, thou will learn of what is to be. Please, take this jewel, this is what the man in the desert wanted so bad that he put a curse on me."  
  
From up above, a light appeared and gleaming down was something surrounded by an aura, a feeling of beautiful content displayed. The aura was pure green and inside the thing fell into Link's hands, the aura disappearing and showing the true colours of the thing. It was an emerald, beautiful and green, something of a brooch that went on a specific body part something that a princess might wear. Link studied it with awe, and placed it inside his pack, before looking up at him, not caring about the jewel, only that the tree was dying. It just wasn't fair, he couldn't die, he just couldn't, and his mind followed through on different accusations on what could have happened. "You can't die, Great Deku Tree. No! I saved you!"  
  
"Good-bye Link, hero of time. Goodbye Navi, guard Link well and take him to Hyrule. Be with him always and never leave his side. Goodbye-" the last words were cut off when a cracking sound occurred, only happening in the area where the Deku Tree was, the thing changing colour. All around him, the bushes and the trims of the Deku Tree began to petrify, which meant to stone they went, the entire tree going in that state. Link just stared forward, mouth agape in horror at the tree, not seeing it rot was a nice thing, but turning to a statue wasn't all that great also. It went one for a few seconds and before Link knew it, the once Great Deku Tree was now a statue, the entire place as hard as a rock. Testing it with his fist, the boy knocked on the Deku Tree, his eyes beginning to water at the realization of the situation.  
  
"Link, it's- okay. Shh." She came over and fluttered up to his face, seeing the tears matted on his face, also how he shuddered in fear, in desperation. The boy had become deeply saddened, not looking to his faire, but just staring ahead at the lifeless tree, wondering how this would have happened. It was some sort of shock, the tree had said that if they beat Gohma then the curse would be lifted, but he did never say he would be cured. He risked his life and for what? Nothing! Pounding on the ground, where he sat, the boy looked down and sobbed deeply, the sobs coming out of his chest in loud and protruding sounds. Such a sad sight to the fairie, he was about to leave him to cry on his own (not sure what to do in this situation) before he called out in a weak whisper.  
  
"Don't leave, you aren't supposed too, remember?" Stretched fingers curled her up, and placing himself on the ground, kissed and fiddled with the farie for the next twenty minutes, while letting the rest of his tears out. They were quiet because when she talked he didn't listen, or was too busy sobbing; sometimes he did try to listen, not wanting to be rude. When the boy did try to speak they came out in gibberish, or not gibberish, but it came out in a weird sound, trying to form the words. Finally, half an hour later, he simply picked her put while strapping the shield and sword back on, pulled out the jewel and headed out. She was in the left hand, while the jewel was in the right, fiddling around with it, his left hand also fiddling around with the fairie, rubbing her gently.  
  
"What do you think this is for?"  
  
"I don't know, I've never seen it. Linky?"  
  
"Hrm?"  
  
"You gonna be okay? I mean, we can stop and-"  
  
"No, we have to go now. I am fine, remember, I am a hero and they are strong and courageous."  
  
"Even if no one thinks you are one, your mine, okay?"  
  
"Hee, not if your mine, too." He looked down and kissed her face before, slipping the jewel into his hair, a grin coming upon his face, he did have to do what was right.  
  
"L-Linky? What are you, hee, what are you doing!" He had sat her on he shoulder and stared to walk like a lady, the grin remained on his face, as he shrugged a shoulder lightly.  
  
"Well, we are going to see a princess, aren't we? I have to be more lady-like, y'know, like in the story?"  
  
Sighing, it seemed this was going to be a long and hard journey, she didn't know how long it was going to take now, but it wasn't bad. If they traveled together, that gave them more time to be together and learn about each other, with no other people to be involved. Moving forward, she scooped the jewel up, and put it down in his pocket, fastening it shut so that it wouldn't slip out when he ran. In the place where the jewel was, nothing had been there before, nothing at all had been in that spot, and it made so not to fall out. The jewel was in a spot in the back of side pack, away from all the weapons, so far that he'd have to reach back to get it on his own. "Come on, Linky, let's get past Mido and go to Saria. You do want to see her-"  
  
"Oh, yes. She can't go. Humph. Yea, let's go see her."  
  
The Deku Babas were gone for now, when he passed through, but he dashed through pretty quickly, so if they were there he missed them. Those Babas were no match for a person who took care of the evil Gohma; they were just in the way for him and a nuisance. Moving back into the old smelling Kokiiri feel, he was almost home free when he saw Mido by the entrance, waiting for him. How could this boy still be on guard, or was he just doing what he wanted and seeing what the Deku Tree wanted him for? This was very weird, he knew it, but he had to face the older boy, not being afraid of him.he had defeated a giant spider on his own. Was there no end to this torture? Moving over by him, he tapped his shoulder, and grinned a little.  
  
"You're in my way, Mido."  
  
"Well if it isn't-- what the hell happened to you?"  
  
"You don't want to know, listen Mido, move."  
  
"So what happened?"  
  
"Well, the I had to defeat a curse for the Great Deku Tree."  
  
"You liar! I don't believe that." Mido looked down at Link, and sighed.  
  
"If you don't believe me, go look for you-- wait don't go!" He watched as Mido helplessly dashed down the path with one of the Deku Shields for protection, his eyes diverting down in the other direction. Link should have never told the Kokiiri what had happened, he should have just said that he was congratulating him on his new fairie. If he did that then Mido wouldn't have caused the entire ruckus through the entire forest, the ruckus that they had to remember for years to come. About three minutes later he heard a horrified scream and his name being called, it was obviously Mido who called his name out, the sound making his blood curdle. Tying the tunic around his wounded chest so that the thing would fall off when he fell, he turned back to his fairie, grinning uneasily.  
  
"Linky, run."  
  
"G-good idea."  
  
He took off in a dash from the entrance to the passage, and leapt past the stepping stones, moving throughout the entire region. His earshot wasn't out of sight so he heard the Kokiiri when he dashed out of the ledge to the Deku Tree, his eyes beaming and voice still strong. Link felt something slide past him, the boy ducking as a Deku Shield slid past where his head was, obviously trying to knock him out. He didn't blame Mido, he probably thought that he had killed the Deku Tree and the ruse about the curse was just a cover-up story. Still listening, every now and then he heard Mido yelling out a curse and calling his name out, the curses that he wasn't supposed to say.  
  
"You stupid bastard! You killed him! I'll kill you!"  
  
Shivering from the words, he wound past his house and saw nothing seeing that the ladder was empty now, so looking for Saria was useless. When he had passed her house, he made a quick detour inside, seeing no one was there and dashing out for his own house. Gathering up some food and clothes, and stuffing them in a large packsack, he put his weapons in there and the sides pack in there, too. He headed out of the tree house when he saw Mido running up the ladder, with a mob behind him, the mob only consisting of the boys. He saw the girls, but they were staring at him tears in their eyes, a far way from where the mob was, not carrying pitchforks like the boys. "There is the shit. Let's get him!" Cheering was sounded when Mido reached the top of the house, finally.  
  
"It wa-wasn't my fault! A man poisoned him!"  
  
"No man has ever been in the forest, you liar. I am going to do what I have always wanted to do." Letting out a cry of triumph, the boy pulled out came a small knife, manufactured for cutting wood for the Kokiiri. The blade wasn't as sharp as his own sword, but it sure could do the job in gutting the young boy, so he spun around and looked for a way out. Link wouldn't draw his sword to Mido, he had killed monsters, but killing another of his kind was strictly something against his ethics. Taking one look at it, Link jumped from the house and landed onto Saria's house, the jump quite expanding his own ethics, he guessed he'd break his leg. Only problem was, the house was about twenty feet away, and that showed that his power really had grown, so with excitement he continued on.  
  
"Navi, let's go. My power did increase when I stepped into the blue fire."  
  
"It seems so, let's test your speed. Go!"  
  
Jumping from the top of the house, he peered in the window one last time, hoping she was there, but she wasn't there, he took off running for the exit for the forest. Hopping from house to house, until the houses were gone, he hopped upon the lowest house and leapt down, taking off in full speed. No one could out-run Link now, before they may have been able to outrun him, but now with this new power on his heels, he was thought invincible. The mob was made up of just about every male in the forest, so no one was guarding the entrance when he dashed past it and into the unknown. It was shaped like a giant tree-trunk and the entire mob stopped right infront of it, their leader was the only one heard.  
  
"And never come back, you traitor!"  
  
They weren't outside yet because there was a small connecting bridge that led to another tree-shaped exit, and that was where the outside was. For some reason the Kokiiri never went past this, even though they could, the bridge was right in the middle of the Lost Woods. It would seem the only ones that would ever come out here were Saria and he, since they were the ones always in the Lost Woods. No one else liked to go in there, scared of the Deku Scrubs that were sometimes by the garden, yet you could dodge him or her easily with a shield. To read his mind, the boy kept running, not even noticing anyone was there, not even knowing until his indication was given away. He didn't even see her, but when her voice sounded, he stopped dead in his tracks, and there was no one else he would have stopped for.  
  
"So, you are finally leaving?" It was Saria; of course, he would have kept running if anyone else spoke.  
  
"I-I, yes, I am leaving." Turning around, gingerly, he searched the sadness in her face and frowned, he giving the same indication, looking embarrassed for not finding her. It was weird, but for some reason he didn't think she was out here, even though both of them had been out here on several occasions. Staring down at her, the boy finally glanced up at the older girl; she seemed older than the rest of the Kokiiri, for she looked as if she was budding. She looked so pretty, yet was sad, he was glad to have seen her now, because he didn't know if he would ever have come back here. Navi, meanwhile, was still a little winded, so she went under his hat when he jumped off of Saria's house, so that they could have their private moment together. "Hee, I guess you, um, heard the people?"  
  
"What did you do, Link?"  
  
"I, went inside the Deku Tree, and fought something called Gohma."  
  
"Spider, that is the Kokiiri term for it."  
  
"Oh, hee."  
  
"You should know that, I taught you better."  
  
"Hee-hee, sorry." Oh, he was so nervous, his brain almost frying at the sight of her, but usually it did that when he was around this certain Kokiiri. True, Gohma was Kokiirish, but he hadn't thought of that at the time, if he had then he could have saved some time and planned a strategy. It was only natural that she would get mad at him for forgetting the old language, it was something no one used anymore, yet it was important to her. Saria was always like that, she loved the ancients of the past, and admiring them for their power and wanting him to know the language they spoke. Having always been his teacher; she had been with him ever since he was a child, and she was like a mother and a sister, she was the only one.  
  
"But that isn't the reason Mido called you a traitor, now is it?" She saw right through him; he couldn't lie to her.  
  
"Um, no. After I got out, the Great Deku Tree. He--died." The sadness and anger he saw in her face, made him think she would turn on him, it was only a small emotion for a few seconds, dying as soon as it came.  
  
"Oh, I see. A Mido thinks you did it?"  
  
He nodded sadly, looking off to the side and speaking. "It's just so weird, he knows I wouldn't do that."  
  
"You really think that?"  
  
"T-think what!"  
  
"That I would turn on you."  
  
He was speechless, but he shook his head. "No, I know you."  
  
"I know you too. Oh, I knew this day would come. You just aren't like you, you are so different, I raised you from a small Kokiiri, but I know you are different. I've always, well, kind of known you would leave. I don't want you too, but I can see the world of Hyrule has big plans for you. Oh, what happened to you?" She reached forward and placed a palm upon the scar on his ripped chest, running her fingers over the small wound, causing the boy to shudder.  
  
"Gohma got at me, it'll leave a scar."  
  
"Oh, does it hurt?"  
  
"No, actually, it doesn't. I mean, it did, but when we beat Gohma we stepped into some blue light and I got stronger, faster, and healthy, but I think the wound will hurt later, maybe some sort of numbing effect was placed on it. Anyway, I jumped from my house to yours!"  
  
"You did! Wow, that's incredible. Now, back to it. I want to give you something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You know, you've been in the Lost Woods."  
  
"Your flute?"  
  
Her brow furrowed, and she bopped him upon the head, giving him time and speaking to him with her normally sweet tone, she was patient for him. "It isn't a flute, you big dummy. It is called an Ocarina. I have an extra, and want you to have it."  
  
"Oh, but I can't p-"  
  
"I know that, that's why you need to come back!" She smiled and took the smaller boy in a hug, her tears letting through, wrapping her arms around the boy tightly, in a hug they never did. "You come back and I'll teach you. Don't worry, if you sneak in at night, they won't see and just come to the Lost Woods."  
  
"O-Okies, I don't know how far this Princess of Destiny is, but I will come back." He turned around, ready to go, but Saria tapped him on the shoulder, the boy about to turn around and see what she wanted, when he sighed at her voice, the beautiful melody making him shiver with pleasure.  
  
"Link?"  
  
"Yea?"  
  
"Don't forget me." As he turned around she handed him the Farie Ocarina, which he placed, not in the bag, but at his side, holding it firmly with one hand there. Just staring down at the ocarina, the boy shrugged an innocent shoulder, knowing that he would be back for lessons, to see her. No matter how much time it took to get to this Hyrule, the young boy was going to conquer whatever was going on and see to it that the man paid. Studying the ocarina, he saw that it was brown, with a green leaf on the stem, the stem was probably something she had played on. It was bowl shaped with a stem and holes all around it, and on the other side were the words 'never forget' imprinted by her.  
  
"Never in my life." Turning back around, he was this time spun around, and pulled into something that was quite unexpected, never forgetting it. A mouth was pressed against his along with gentle kissing sound, the sounds he had seen some of the other Kokiiri do with one another. When they did that, the boy was jealous that they had someone to love someone to be with, his cheeks always flushing jealously. Now blue hues widened as he found the shape of Saria hovering above him, stroking those blonde tresses through his fingers. He was frozen in abyss were held in as his feelings felt so weird, and lovely at the same time, seeing that she was a beautiful kisser, as hands were run through his hair and over his entire body.  
  
First his hair, then his back, is rubbing in all kinds of crazy patterns, something he had never seen the other Kokiiri do to each other. The kiss, though, that was extraordinary, a lot better than those he had seen the others do to each other, this one was a never forget kind of kiss. Her, well, her tongue was inside the boy's mouth, and having no idea why, he had only kissed her cheek occasionally, and that was embarrassing, sometimes. Just staring at her, his eye shut, and the boy just sat there in a paralyzed suit for a few minutes before she let him go of his form, smiling beautifully. Eyes finally opened up, but he couldn't speak, his voice seeming to have disappearing, those cheeks also turning a complete red, as apples.  
  
"You will never forget me, now."  
  
Taking two, now three steps away, he turned around and ran through the bridge, away from her, his nervousness so apparent that it was cute. He had no idea what had just happened, but whatever it was, he liked it, it was wonderful feeling that he had experienced with her. Yes, the kiss was quite beautiful, it was a feeling that he would love to feel, and a feeling he wanted to feel over and over at this moment and time. Liking when she kissed him, because she was in control and was showing him feelings that had never before shown, probably a first time in Kokiiri history. Moving out of the tree hold, he held his hand over his face as the place disappeared, Saria disappearing and into the new room. It was so bright!  
  
"Navi!"  
  
Automatically, she came out, and hovered over his face, not resisting the fact to let out a giggle out, the boy thought he was on fire or something. Oh, he had never been out of the forest, for it was normal for him to feel this way, a new feeling on the change of scenery. Yet he did look so adorable, trying to cover up his face, knowing that the rays of Din's fire were just going to get through anyway. Also the sky was bluer, he also noticed, the entire place was like someone had lit a giant candle right in his face, the funny part that was. Tapping him on the shoulder, the young girl just blew a sigh out, her veil disappearing as she landed on his shoulder, sure he could handle it now as she spoke.  
  
"Linky, it is just the sun."  
  
"When did it get that bright!"  
  
"Link, no forest. No forest covering to hide the light. Look ahead."  
  
"Oh, my Goddess."  
  
There were fields and fields of green as far as the eye could see, and not the fields like in the Kokiiri Forest, these places were much brighter. A bright green was on them, not matching his tunic at all, he wondered how everyone else would react to this place, or if they would die. That legend he thought was foolish, he was out of the forest and wasn't dead, and he was a Kokiiri (a young one, but still a Kokiiri). There were a few trees by the entrance, but besides that, there was nothing but green and the sun fields and the sun, the trees seeming to be sucked up here. With one little dirt path that led both ways. The place was extraordinary, that's for sure. Moving forward a few paces, he let out a scream when he heard a voice from above.  
  
"Hoo-hoo-hoo! Well, look here, a Kokiiri! Out of the forest, little Kokiiri? Don't you know, you'll die!"  
  
"What is that!" Link screamed, pulling out his sword and trying to reach him, with no avail.  
  
"Whoa, Linky. That is an owl, he is friendly, I know him. What's your name, again?"  
  
The owl smiled a friendly grin, and flew down a few feet more, only when Link put up his sword, and spoke to them in a gently manner. His voice was friendly enough; he seemed to be one of the nicer creatures around here, not having ever seen an owl at this size. Owls were usually smaller than this, didn't talk and certainly didn't have the knowledge that the Kokiiris died if they left the forest. Listening to what the owl said, he watched him, as Navi seemed to sneer a bit at the creature, not really knowing why she did it. It was weird, but maybe this owl would be a guide to them like Navi was, but maybe a sort of distant guide that didn't always follow you. "He told me about you two, the Great Deku Tree, told me I would be seeing you two. Me, my name is Kaepora Gaebora, at your service."  
  
"Kayo Gaypor?"  
  
"No, Kaepora Gaebora, son. I am asked to be your guide sometimes on this journey, not as close as Navi, though." He chuckled, that made Navi a little uncomfortable and another little sneer came out near his way, the owl ignoring it and just continuing on. "There are many dangers in this field and you'd better be careful. There are the Peahats, in the day. They look like flowers, so avoid them; they are deadly and poisonous. At night, avoid confrontation at all cost, they're are-"  
  
"Stalchildren, I already know this, Mr. Gaebora." Navi blurted out, in pure sarcasm.  
  
"Well, I will be off, then, now be careful." And just like that, he took off, flying over the mountainside and heading into the sun, and after a few moments he was gone out of sight Link was trying to stifle a giggle.  
  
"And what is so funny?"  
  
"You didn't like him very much, because he thought he knew more than you, hee!"  
  
"Well, we don't need some stupid owl to tell us anything. You have me for that."  
  
"Hee, Navi, you are so mean!"  
  
"When the time comes to it, yes, I am. Now, let's go. I want to reach Lon-Lon Ranch by nightfall."  
  
"What's that?" He didn't really have much geography of Hyrule field, and even if he did, Lon-Lon Ranch is fairly new, so he wasn't too typical on the place they were headed.  
  
"A ranch where they have cows and horses."  
  
"Wow, I want to see that, I've never seen a real one."  
  
"Oh, they are nice, you will like the- what are you staring at?" Navi asked, a little surprised.  
  
"You've been out of the forest before, haven't you!"  
  
"Well, occasionally, but on business."  
  
"Yeah, whatever." He pushed the Ocarina in his pack, and began to walk along the fields; just now he had been carrying the wooden thing with him these past few minutes. It was funny how sad the thing felt in his hand, as sad as he had felt when he left Saria, so pushing it back in was a way to forget it. Wow, the place was hot, he was used to subtropical climate, and this was pretty temperate, the areas really hot enough to make him sweat, given time. Within a few hours that had all changed, the sun going higher in the sky, it was about morning when they left so sweat wasn't an option. Wiping the sweat from his brow, a few hours later, he looked up and saw something of a mountainside, or at least it looked like a mountain -side. They had been walking for about nine hours, with a lunch break and a break to drink some water. Night had turned to morning, well, it was morning when they left, and morning was now three o'clock, so they had been at this for almost ten hours.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"End of Lon-Lon Ranch, we go around it and the mountainside is on the top."  
  
Well, that was a little said because it turned out to be the next day before they got to Lon-Lon Ranch, for Link thought he was the expert now. See they did loop around, but Link got them lost, trying to find a shortcut, saying that he remembered something from a map about this place. That 'map' turned out to be nothing at all, the boy having lost it a long time ago and not even bothering to take a map here, even though they didn't know the entire place. They ended up spending the night under a crevice in the shield so that no monsters could get at them, although Link saw none. It was now about seven o'clock in the morning, and the ranch was only a few miles away, the time having erupted into twenty-five hours.  
  
"Are we there, yet?"  
  
"We'd be there, if it wasn't for you, Link."  
  
"Hee, I'm sorry, Navi! I just, I wanted to explore."  
  
"Hrm, it's fine. Let's go on ahead."  
  
The next three miles were a breeze, because the boy to be gaining some muscle, not much now, but he had a little on his body from the exercise of the past day or so. It was easier to walk then when they first start out, although the muscle he had was not apparent, he still looked like the same cute lad from before. Well, he continued up the path, until seven miles since that morning, they fell at the entrance of the building, the hours passing on a little more. The place was not as big as the forest, but one of the biggest buildings he had ever seen, and the most weird-looking, in his own opinion. Whatever this place was, he hoped they had some drink, the boy had run out of water that night, having drank it all because they were both thirsty.  
  
"Wow, I am thirsty, any water left?"  
  
"Nope, but they have milk here."  
  
"Milk?"  
  
"Comes out of a cow, it is usually for calves, but Hylians drink it sometimes. It is very good to taste, a sweet taste to it, and can replenish you greatly."  
  
"Alright!" Taking off for the entrance, he climbed the hill up to the top, and went inside the already open gates, his nostrils beginning to burn as he entered. When the smell hit him, he fell over and gagged, because he was right next to the horses' stalls, something he had never smelt before. Looking up, Navi was back a few yards, a clucking noise startled him, the sound making him glance over in the other direction. It was coming from the other side of the building, so he took off and what he saw were these white things cluttered together, some white birds. They all had feathers, beaks, and red things on them, and he had heard the name before from somewhere, never knowing what it was. Cuccos? That was the name! Jumping forward, he tackled one, and it began to make a bawking sound, before running off. Well, a chase, eh? So he took out after it.  
  
"L-Link! Hey, wait up!" She flew after him, and stopped as she watched him inspect the Cuccos, her eyes watching him closely, he wasn't to act up here. The people here might kick them out of this place if they were to act up; Link really didn't know that because he had never been out of the place. Link was never invited to other people's houses, except Saria's and when there he could act anyway he wanted without being thrown out. He had never seen one of those creatures before, so she wondered what his little reaction to this place would be and especially the animals. Oh, Goddess! He tackled the thing! Oh my Goddess! "Link, leave it alone!" Now he was chasing it, but it looked so cute that she couldn't help but smile; yet she shook here head. No, those people would be out here any second, not a sound.  
  
The clucking was knocked away when he heard a sound, losing interest in them as soon as they came, so he let it run aside. Turning away, he saw some sort of fence and traced it back to where the entrance was, the fence wasn't the one that he was near when they first entered the place, though, this one was white. The other one was black, and made of iron, while this one seemed to be made of some sort of white wood, something he had never seen before. There someone out there, she definitely wasn't a Kokiiri, but maybe it was those Hylians that Navi was talking about, this girl wasn't a forest girl. Tracing out there, he saw these huge things hurling at him, dodging them, he rolled over away, until he ran into the girl. She nimbly stepped aside, and giggled.  
  
"Well, what do we have here? Those are odd clothes!" The little girl spoke; she had deep auburn hair, and eyes darker than his, the strange thing was on her body was a sheet.  
  
"Me? You are wearing a sheet!"  
  
"This is a dress, boy! You, you are wearing green. Ah! What's that!" She was pointing at his shoulder.  
  
Turning, he saw Navi, and shrugged before turning towards her. "My farie, where is yours?"  
  
"Oh, you must be a forest boy, hee, we don't have faries around her. All right, Farie boy, what's your name? My name is Malon, Malon LonLon."  
  
"Link will do." He spoke out loud, not understanding the thought of her name because she had two names.  
  
"Don't you have a surname?"  
  
"Nope, whatever that is." He scratched his head, shrugging a shoulder.  
  
"Alright, Farie boy." She giggled, keeping her hand at her sides.  
  
"I said Link."  
  
"Farie Boy."  
  
"Link."  
  
"Farie boy."  
  
Turning away, he growled and looked up at Navi sternly. "Aren't you glad we got lost?"  
  
"Kinda, um." The farie flew over towards Malon, and looked up at her. "Where is Talon?"  
  
"Oh, Daddy? He went to Hyrule Castle to deliver milk, but isn't back. Oh, will you go get him, please? I'll give you two prizes if you agree."  
  
"Hmm? Prizes?" It was Link that spoke up. "What kind?"  
  
"A song and a egg."  
  
"Alright, I am heading there anyway, give me the prizes. Oh, can I have some milk too?"  
  
"Hee, sure, I was gonna give you some anyway."  
  
She reached into a slit in her dress, or a pocket, and pulled out a jar with the label saying 'Lon-Lon Milk' inside was some white liquidity stuff, it sure didn't look tasty, so he put it in his packsack. It didn't look as tasty as Navi said it did, it really looked sort of nasty, but he wasn't about to put something that came out of a cow into his mouth. Strapping it shut so the jar wouldn't fall out, the young boy had all his supplies in there, having taken out his sword, shield and side pack out during their journey. Taking it out was essential, in case they ran into any of those dangers that were out here, those Peahats or the children they spoke of. Now it was wrapped around his waist, so that it was comfortable with the weapons sticking out of there, ready for any enemies that came.  
  
"Alright, here is an egg. But don't eat it! I have been incubating it for some time, and it looks like it is ready to hatch, and when it is hatched a Cucco will come out!"  
  
"A-alright." Placing both the jugs of milk, and cucco egg inside of his pack, he looked up and was ready for his second prize. "What about my second prize?"  
  
"L-Link! Don't be so greedy!" Navi looked up at the egg and slowly fastened the loop upon his brown, leather side pack, so it wouldn't fall out if he were in a run.  
  
"Fairie boy, you cannot get the other prize until you go get my father, please? He is at Hyrule castle, anyway, and I would most appreciate it." Malon went up towards him and smiled a little, flashing those dimples upon her face, staring up at the taller boy, the boy shrugging a loose shoulder and nodded. "Please, I promise I will teach you the song, it's a very nice song."  
  
".Alright, Miss Malon. I guess I will, his name is Talon, right?"  
  
"Yea, Talon LonLon."  
  
"Alright, Linky, let's get going. We should be able to reach the place by noon in two days, I know it seems long, but on the way back. We can always ride with Talon."  
  
"Alright, Navi. Goodbye, Miss Malon." Before a reply was given, the boy raced from the weird-smelling ranch and leapt back into the grassy fields of Hyrule Field. The horse place was fine to smell, they smelt nice when he was away from the stables, but somehow the field was a better scent. This place was much better than the ranch; of course neither of them beat the scent of the Kokiiri Forest, thought it would have to get used to that. He wasn't going back to the forest for quite some time; he had a mission to do and taking care of that was his first priority, if any. Mm, a deep breath of fresh air was given, and he walked along the dirt road of the LonLon ranch until they disappeared out of reach.  
  
---------------------  
  
The next ten miles in silence, the sun raced down the horizon close to sunset, when he arrived at a sign that read in the old language 'North: Kokiiri Forest. Northwest: LonLon Ranch. South: Hyrule Castle.' Link, turned towards Navi, but she wasn't there! Oh, that's right, she had gone to sleep in his hat a few hours ago. Tucking the cap in, so she would fall, he walked another five miles, until the sun came down all the way. The first night, the children hadn't messed with the companions, but tonight was different. Link had followed the boundaries, so he had wondered off the path, as the old said, not to wonder off the path. Hrm, the young boy sat down, just as it was six-thirty, and took out his supplies of food. What all he was were three canteens of water (half gone out of one of them), some fresh Kokiiri bread that was wrapped in some cloth, and some berries from the forest. Sitting upon the log, he shook the young farie. "Navi."  
  
"Hrm? What is it?" A flash, then a flutter as she sprinkled from his hat and surrounded his shoulders, her face masked in concern at what he wanted. "Where are we?"  
  
"Well, about five miles ago, we ran into a sign that said which directions to go. South was this Hyrule castle, so I have been going south ever since. "  
  
"Excellent time, Linky! We should be there by six o'clock tomorrow afternoon, if we head out now. So, what do you have?"  
  
"Well, I didn't have a chance to recall much from my storage." He spoke while; he ran some of the smashed blueberry jam across some of the bread, before nibbling a piece down his throat. Now, he pulled out a small bit and handed it to her, the bit not that much larger than his, yet he knew it would be enough for her. Normal fairies didn't eat that much, normal fairies were small eaters, but when Navi gulped down the big helping of that, Link knew that Navi wasn't normal. Actually he had gotten that impression the first time he met Navi, she wasn't like the rest of the forest fairies, he couldn't explain it, yet he knew. Well, it didn't matter since he didn't eat that much at all, the boy was small and her helping was small than what a normal Kokiiri ate, so it was fine. "I have about one fresh loaf of bread, and three others that are a few days old. Some fresh, jammed jelly, and the three canteens.  
  
"Link..Why aren't we on the path?"  
  
"Oh, we aren't? I was following a path, it was white and --"  
  
"That's the boundary path, Link!"  
  
"Boundary? What are--talking about?" He had stopped speaking, because he heard a cackle of noise, the sounds of what sounded like bones being rubbed together. The sound was eerie, and since the sun was going down, he had the feeling it might've been those children that Navi was talking about. Pulling the last piece off the fresh loaf into his mouth, he gathered himself up and stood infront of the log, with the sword unsheathed. What summoned from the background was small teetering sound, the ground being clawed out of the ground, yet he didn't see where it was. The sound was like a cackle, and what appeared over the hill was monstrosity, the boy still clueless to wherever the creature was. He was oblivious to the truth.  
  
"Linky! Stalechildren, run!"  
  
"Those children the owl--" A claw pushed him backward over the log, and he launched forward, slamming into the deep earth, lucky not to have himself slashed. He would have stayed there, but the cackle sent him upward, the sword came out of its holder, then he swung towards the monster, but missed. That was when Navi turned a deep green and began to circle him, the skullchild, as it narrowed towards Link, but the fairie ignored the monster. It had no interest in the fairie, that thing wouldn't last a single ounce of energy for his food, but this child, could be a very plentiful meal. Sure, Link wasn't very big at all, although he was a very decent size, which would fill the monster up for at least a while.  
  
Leaping forward, following the light from Navi, he sliced the blade of the monster's neck, pushing all of his weight into the slash at the head. Well, with the swing, he pressed himself up against the blade, actually leaping up into the air to get his blade down at the beast. The head was automatically decapitated off the beast, but the funny thing was, it still moved around, its hands moving towards him. Maybe it didn't see with those eyes of its, yet it seemed to be coming towards him with the claws stretched out, as if it knew exactly where he was. Jumping back, dodging the log that he had tripped over a few minutes ago, the boy called back to his fairie in surprised motion.  
  
"It's still alive!"  
  
"Slash through it's torso, it won't be able to regenerate!"  
  
Regeneration was when it pulled itself back to normal, the boy seeing that this thing was a skeleton and could pull itself back together. Smirking, the boy was about to go for the sword when he kept it back in his hands, the other hand going back for the shield. Pulling out the Deku shield, he flung it forward and watched as it took off the thing's hands and upper torso, the shield slicing into the beast. That was it, he leapt forward slamming the tips of his boots into the lower region of the abdomen, not even needing the sword this time. A final screech sounded, as the thing erupted into small blue flames, and grasping with its pain as the fire licked upon the bones, the thing died.  
  
--------------------  
  
He ran for as long he could, whenever he got tired, he limped until a second wind started up, making his way through the hills. Throughout the night, he heard the cackles and sometimes saw them rise from the dead ground. The monsters were hideous; they reminded him of the nightmares he had had a few days ago, but these things. they were pure evil. Looking like those ancient dinosaurs, from the past, their heads resembled that. Smaller bodies, all bones, and a loin clothe across their lower abdomen. He didn't care if this chest ached, no; he didn't care at all. Navi had caught with him and was safely tucked into his hat, which was all he needed, because sleep was no coming that night. From six-forty five, that afternoon, until six-thirty that morning, he ran. Finally, he stopped when he noticed there were no more cackles, no more room for them. He heard the birds chirping and the other daily birds flying through the air. Insects were inside of the grass and bushes, and animals rushing around the green plains. Falling to his knees, he groped for the air, before collapsing into the ground.  
  
--------------------  
  
Navi feel asleep when the running pursued, she had slipped down there without motion, thinking that maybe the children had gone back to sleep after he killed them. She couldn't help it, the night before, they had been talking and then she scouted for skull-children, but she was out of it now. Throughout the night, she heard some cackles, the sounds of battle, but never any from Link. If he were to so much cry out, she would be awake and at his side. No, she didn't awaken until she felt the rush of him slamming into the ground. Fluttering outside, she knelt by him and shook her head gently. The boy was so defenseless out in the open, so she dragged the boy out until he was up against a tree. Well, she had to find a way to get them to Hyrule. Damnit, why didn't they borrow one of LonLon's horses! Cursing herself for her bitter judgement, she went forward on looking for something to carry him on.  
  
Just her luck, there was a cart going out to LonLon, but it wasn't with Talon on it, the farie went up to the driver and asked if she could have a friend ride back to Hyrule. The ride cost quite a bit of rubies, thirty to be exact, but for the next three days, they rode the trail and arrived at Hyrule on the third day. Rubies are what they found on their journey, they found them as they wondered through the field, since Link had spent his last rubies on the shield. Also before the ride, Navi had searched around and found no more of the rubies, but some nuts, which he pushed inside of the satchel. They companions had been, all together, out there for five day, so that it was almost a week until they stopped at the place of the castle. Link woke up during the time and the two chatted for a while, soon he was well on his way from the exhaustion of the attacks earlier.  
  
---------------------  
  
The cart signed off near the Hyrule Castle gates, just as the large bridge was coming down, it was exactly a minute past six o'clock when it took off again, without Navi and Link. The cart had gone through many towns in the past five days that they had picked up the youngster and his fairie, but all through the place he got to see other lands. Staring up towards the large structure, this place was huge, even in the morning light Link was amazed at the place, how beautiful it was. It was larger than the Deku Tree was! The drawbridge was at least a hundred feet long, and it rested upon an ashen-gray castle that was, at the most, three hundred feet tall. The place expanded all over, and they weren't even inside of it, backing up a few feet he could see this area wasn't the castle, it was open from the top.  
  
"Navi.where are we?"  
  
"Hyrule Town Market, I've never been this far before, this place is huge."  
  
"Sure is.can we go?"  
  
"Hee, yea, we can go." Perched upon his shoulder, she urged the boy on, knowing that he wanted to fulfil his curiosity, but so did she, this place was so beautiful. Navi had only been to Lon Lon Ranch and a few other places, but this far been way out of her reach, for the Deku Tree forbid it. Fairies could leave the forest, they just couldn't go very far, and this was way out of her range, given the circumstances that she was all right now. This place was so foreign, it didn't smell at all like LonLon, nor did it smell like the Kokiiri Forest. The place smelt like one word: industrialized. She watched at Link ran across the giant drawbridge, and met up with one of the guards. He looked friendly enough, so the boy sheathed his sword. That, in turn, amused the man and he chuckled out loud.  
  
"What're you little boy, a knight-in-training? Maybe a squire?"  
  
"Knight.squire? Why are you so tall?" The man was only about five feet, six inches tall, but to short Link, he was like some sort of over- sized Kokiiri.  
  
"I'm not that tall, boy. Don't worry, you'll grow up someday."  
  
"I'm a Kokiiri, I stay a child forever."  
  
The boy ran away from the bellowing man, the man who yelled, wincing at the remark that he threw at him, but ignoring the man with the large sword. "Kokiiri are legends child, stop dressing like those freaks!" Pushing past the entranceway, he entered one of the largest places people could ever be the village was just a little hut compared. He entered the Hyrule Market, the place among places, a large area that was compacted with so many people, he wondered why they were all here. This place was engulfed with people, it was full of hundred, no.thousands of people were crowed around different areas. They were all crowding around arenas where good were on display, although he couldn't see the goods, he smelt the food from some of the booths. He heard laughter, bellowing deep voices, feminine voices, and every other type of voices. Hundreds of alleys poured which way and that, there seemed to be no end to this place.  
  
"Navi."  
  
"I know, Link, this place. Which one is the castle?"  
  
"Maybe we should ask them?" He pointed over where two chuckle lads were having a good laugh, each seemed to be in his early twenties and having a riot of a time.  
  
"Alright, you ask them, I am going to scout around, now meet me here in the center at twelve o'clock. That's about six hours, you can play until then, all right? I need business to attend too."  
  
"Okies, Navi. I'll miss you." Reaching up, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and was received the hug as he had done so much before, and the boy let her go and walked off towards where the two men were.  
  
--------------------  
  
She wanted to go with him; she really did want to visit the places with him, knowing how much fun she would have; yet she couldn't. She had to work to do, and the boy so was young! Didn't he deserve a little fun after literally a week of torture? His father dying, being betrayed, having to fight, and leaving his crush? Yes, he deserved it. So when he wandered away, she flowed over towards where one of the largest buildings was. The place, looking like a religious church, was an essential place to learn of what was to come. She scooped past the garden and streamed down in a crack of the door, moving inside. No one could see her, or paid attention to her. She was, after all, just a little farie, or a firefly, in some cases.  
  
Moving inward, inside the room, she caught her breath when the choir started, although when she looked all around, she saw no one. The room was huge, illuminated with windows all around the pure white room down the center, with checkered white and black squares on the sides of the building. In the center was wide pedestal with the Triforce symbol upon it, the Triforce being three triangles pushed together so that another one was in the center. Of course she had seen the symbol before, he hadn't, although she had a feeling he would see these signs very soon, some hint. The symbol was a dark-grayish colour, and inside the symbol was some sort of ancient rune. Navi couldn't read it, but it was shaped like a coin, a medallion and the thing had a beam of light in the middle. Further ahead was a stone carving, about three feet high, with three hollow tubes inside of it. Requesting forward, she read the old text message.  
  
"Ye who owns 3 Spiritual Stones  
Stand with the Ocarina of Time  
And Play the Song of Time."  
  
Ocarina? Song of Time? What did this mean? They had of the spiritual stones, or that's what she guessed this stone was the Great Deku Tree spoke of, the jewel seemed to be one. An Ocarina is an instrument, just like the one that Saria gave Link. Why did he die with so many unanswered question, so many mysteries to be added up, he had said that they would find out? Up ahead was a large wall, some sort of door, the door looking very thick, but she couldn't judge it until she got closer up to it. Above it was another Triforce symbol, this one black, with the gray interior of the building surrounding it. That door was at least fifty feet thick, and couldn't be opened. What was under there? What was behind that door? So many unanswered questions, so little time. Navi finally decided to sleep, so she crept up to the side of one of the many windows and dozed off. Time passed and night fell, the place was quiet, except that beautiful choir that seemed to never stop singing.even though no one was there to sing, the place was so wondrous.  
  
--------------------  
  
During the time of Navi's 'discovery' Link was busy enjoying the town, the market place was so incredible that he couldn't help but stand amazed. The place had many, and I say it literally, many shops to look around, some of them full of stuff that he had never heard of. Unfortunately, everything cost rubies, and a lot more expensive than in the Kokiiri, not even knowing that the fairie had put rubies inside of his wallet. Some of this stuff cost two or three hundred rubies, but the most in the Kokiiri was ninety- nine, and even then he was sure he had none. With being so broke, so all he did was hang around the shops, looking for a way to find somewhere to play any games of some sort. Got to do a free game of Bombachu, now that was fun, because he tried to manipulate the girl to let him play, which he complied. The young lad ended up almost blowing up the entire room, but how was he supposed to know those things went everywhere?  
  
"I thought you said you'd done this before!" Screeched the teenage employee, staring down at the boy.  
  
"I.I thought, I--" Then he had ran out of the room with her yelling after him, so she screamed out for the forest boy to get back before she burnt down his entire forest.  
  
Then how did the man get inside the forest? "Shut up." He spoke to himself aloud, but he was alone and it was all right to speak to yourself when you're alone, so he was fine speaking to. The only problem is when you answer yourself back, but hadn't he done that before, so that was when he was all right. Growling at himself, he hurried back into the middle of the market, then he saw her. It was Malon! She was standing there alone, sitting by her lonesome with no one to care for her. Staring up at the sky, he noticed the sun had gone down, noon having passed by so quickly, so he was late, but when he stared in the middle of the market she wasn't there. The market was closed down and all he saw were stray animals running around.what were those things? Someone had told him they were called 'dogs' today, but he had been against a pole with a bottle of something strong in his hand. He walked up to Malon and stared over at her, before sitting by her side.  
  
It took a few moments before she noticed him. "Farie-boy! You're here!"  
  
"Yea, I just got here today." He shrugged and sat down upon a little bricked garden, where she sat a few seconds later.  
  
"Well, that explains why you haven't been back with my daddy."  
  
"Hee, sorry about that. I got hurt and--well, we rode on a milk- truck back to Hyrule. But the thing had to go around the whole country, so it took a while. I saw some weird people, and a few other villages I've never heard of. Saw somewhat of a giant lake and slept the rest of the way."  
  
"Oh, what happened? Are you still hurt?"  
  
"No, I ran all night, those Skullchildren were after me."  
  
She gasped out loud, pressing her hands up towards her face, and stared at him in utter disbelief. "What? Those aren't just legends?"  
  
"No, of course not. They are dinosaurs, or look like humanoid ones. They are skeletons and wear loincloths. Well, Miss Malon, I have to go look for Navi. You want me to look for your dad, we have to get into the castle.wherever it is."  
  
She let out a long stream of giggles, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, before slapping him on the back roughly. "You really are from the forest, Farie boy! The castle is that long building back in there. It's have a little desert scenery, then there is a long gate that leads up there. If you want to get inside the castle, your gonna have to sneak in."  
  
Nodding roughly, he remembered what those two guys said, those funny guys from before.  
  
"Well, lookey, here, what is this!"  
  
"Looks like a forest boy, those ones from the tales."  
  
"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Where is his farie?"  
  
"She went off--" but the two cuts Link off with more barrels of laughter, finally he turned towards the large building and looked up at it. "What's that?"  
  
"The castle, forest boy! Oh that reminds me, guess what this dork did!"  
  
".Don't tell him, man!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
".Fine."  
  
"This idiot tried to sneak in the castle, he got all the way past the guards, he even got into the castle grounds, but he got stuck in a water- gate. Imagine this, now they've tightened up security!"  
  
"Is the princess of Destiny there?" Asked Link eagerly.  
  
"Yea, you mean Zelda? Yea, that little girl's there. Cute little girl, say about your age. Hey, you aren't going to work the moves on her?"  
  
"Wha? --" But another stream of laughter sent the boy back from the two, and stomping his feet, he hurried back off towards the alley where he played his game of Bombachu.  
  
"Alright, Miss Malon, I have to go find Navi. Night!"  
  
"Goodnight, and care of my egg, is it getting warmth?"  
  
"Yup, in my satchel, night." Off he ran, searching the buildings for her, looking at the places that he thought she would be the most, finding no traces of her. The taverns didn't have her, the inns either, but there was one place he hadn't looked, the place that seemed to stick out the most. That was the large church located outside of the marketplace, sort of a lone place paved with some sort of weird material led to there. Following his leads up the stairs, there were four stones with eyes upon them that bunched up against them. Saria said those were Gossip stones, some were in the Kokiiri Forest. Tapping one, all it did was tell him it was one o'clock in the morning. Stupid, since he just looked at the moon and saw that the stone was either wrong or he couldn't tell time by the moon as much as he thought he could.  
  
When he was inside the temple, he could see a light somehow illuminated it. No candle light, but a holy light? Well, that made no sense at all. This place was obviously empty, but the boy was so tired, he just couldn't take it anymore. He had tried the inns, and with no luck, he was out for the night without a room. Lying down on a weird pedestal, with three triangles pushed in different directions. It made some sort of triangular force. The Deku shield went down, and he wrapped it on his body, the floor was cold, but he managed to slip his arms inside the tunic and keep from freezing. A few minutes later, he was out for the count.  
  
--------------------  
  
The next morning, Navi awoke the boy and told him of her day, very boring, she didn't mention her 'fun' with the legends, and listened to him. He didn't need to know these things; they weren't that important to him yet, they would be important to him in the future, she sensed. It was weird, she thought, just how she knew these little things, yet it was only for his own protection that she keep him in safe keeping. Link asked why she never met him and he told her that she had gone to sleep up in the windows, near the sun that afternoon. He admitted that he was late getting to the place, explained that he had met Malon once again and how that the encounter with the boys.  
  
"Oh, I was right below you!"  
  
"Yea, I saw you sleeping this morning."  
  
"Navi, I found out where the castle is and a way to get in."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Yea, those men said that they tried to sneak in through a water- gate.what's that?"  
  
"It distributes water, it keeps it clean."  
  
"Oh, anyway, I found out there is a small hole he got stuck in, so I can climb through. Only problem is the little thing about security."  
  
"Security?" Had those idiots gotten it updated? Navi looked to the side, she knew who he was talking about, those laughing-stocks, they even smelt like trouble.  
  
"They said it increased, but I think I can slip by. Unless they are guarding the water-gate."  
  
"Alright, let's try it."  
  
--------------------  
  
After some breakfast in the room, the Temple of Time, Navi called it, they were ready to set out for this castle and meet the princess. They set out for their destination, and moving out away the town, but still inside the large castle, Navi and he hurried down until it was twelve o'clock. There they stopped for lunch, and ended up at the passageway, the gates, at about seven o'clock that night, hiding aside the gates so no one saw them. Fortunately, the Skullchildren couldn't get inside the human barriers, so he was safe that night, not even using the shield because it was humid. Link slept soundly that night, with an ever-watchful Navi on guard, even though that there was no need for the guard, she felt safer this way, sort of an apology for the night of the children.  
  
The next morning, the two found the vines that reached the place; they climbed the two and looked around, admiring the scenery. It was the morning, so not that many guards were around the entire facility, most of them either asleep or not on duty for a morning encounter. The castle looked about five miles away, lush fields of flowers covered most of the places, but at the castle was a long gate that looked pretty un-scaled, through. Scaling away at the fields, on his hands and knees, he reached some sort of small mountain, peering up at what was ahead for him. The mountain was climbable, so when he went up it, where they stopped for lunch, finishing most of the supplies up for this part of the place. The food was running out, but he was happy with their shares, knowing they had one loaf was left, with some jam and a lot of water, he'd filled it up in Hyrule.  
  
"What exactly did you go when I was gone, aside seeing those two idiots." Navi inquired as they were heading towards the castle gates, and it was only two miles to the castle, yet the walk becoming more strenuous.  
  
"I mentioned the Bombachu place, but before blowing the place up, I won three things there, well really four."  
  
"Four? What are they?"  
  
Stopping for a rest, he leaned against a tree, pulling out a large side pack, and slipped the small one off, pulling the materials out of the latter. The materials all went inside of the larger bag, Link looking at the smaller bag that was now empty, and threw it off to the side. They wouldn't need it anymore since this bag was much larger and could carry a lot more supplies than they needed, which was a good thing. Peeking the new bag open, his hands went inside and began to rummage around, as the fairie looked at the bag in pure amazement. Yes, with this new bag they could find new stuff to store in here, new stuff like the nuts and even better stuff like the fairie slingshot.  
  
"Wow! You won that?"  
  
"Actually, she gave it to me, to hold the surprises I won."  
  
"Well, show me!"  
  
Link pulled out a small container, and inside was a small mechanical mouse, and the mice were about the size of his fist, and were blue and yellow all over. They reminded him of something, a weird mouse that he had heard of seeing a few days ago, back in Hyrule, or actually it wasn't that. Some sort of fox that they talked about, the yellow on the mouse reminded him of the mask that he saw this one kid wearing, he said it was a fox. It started with a 'K' but he couldn't remember it, for he wasn't paying attention to what the person was saying, looking around for the castle at the time. Now it was still blank, but he showed the little things to the girl, seeing the amusement in her eyes, maybe thinking it was used to play with. She was dead wrong.  
  
"Are those toys?" Navi thought out loud, a little annoyance in her voice.  
  
"Nope. They are called Bombachus. These devices are explosive, you just set them down and they fly off, then explode. Gun power is stored in there, along with motion detectors, and a time. But, personally, I think they're worthless and a little dangerous."  
  
"Trash them."  
  
"But--Navi."  
  
"Now." Navi looked at him sternly and pointed to a small ditch, about three feet away, the same place where he had thrown the bag aside. It was cruel of her to do this, she realized later on, but it was being strict this way that got the things that needed to be done, done. Being with him meant that she had to take on certain responsibilities and taking care of him was one of them, since she was older than he was. Not as old as the Deku Tree (she was a child in fairie standards) yet she was still considered older than the decade old child was. She had to be that way with him, because not only were they both partners, but also she was his teacher, and as a teacher, she had to mentor and guide him.  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Throwing the Bombachu bag into the ditch, he fetched out a second bag, and this one was a large bag with the word 'explosions' printed on the side of the bag. "She said it is made of a D-" He struggled with the word. "Dodongo. A Dodongo's stomach."  
  
"I think we need this. I don't know why, but I have a small hunch." Navi fluttered in the smaller pack and out came a large glass shade, and inside the case was half of a heart. "W-what's this?"  
  
"An ugly women gave them to me."  
  
"Link!"  
  
He whimpered and nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, I mean, a disfigured woman gave it to me when I saved her dog."  
  
Navi frowned, but at least it was better than 'ugly'. "Saved?"  
  
"He was lost and I found him the night I was alone."  
  
"Oh. Well is that it?"  
  
This time he pawed through his pockets, and he took out one purple ruby, four red ones, and two blue rubies, stuffing them into his wallet. Sticking the wallet inside the satchel he used for rations, he continued to switch the supplies around so that they were put in an orderly fashion. As he went through the pack, she saw him pack up the food tightly, some he had found in Hyrule, and the canteens were filled up also. Setting this entire aside now, he ordered it back in the pack so it wouldn't jingle around when he ran, which he knew it would, though. "I won these and the hearts at the treasure box contest.yea, I had two pieces, but when I held them bother in my hands, they just bided together." Revealing the pieces, he tried to pull the pieces apart, frowning when they wouldn't do as he wished, shrugging a shoulder innocently.  
  
"Wow, so two more pieces?"  
  
"Yea, maybe at it increases my power when I find a whole heart, like those small heart containers in the Deku Tree." Link now had a dozen of those things, but how he did it was on the way to Hyrule Castle, they had stumbled upon a bush and after some searching he found those containers, Deku Seeds, and some nuts.  
  
"You said four things."  
  
"Yea, I also won a seed bag." Link pulled out new Deku seed bag, but he had been carrying them in a small bag earlier, it was smaller than the Dodongo bag (which was the size of his fist) this one the size of his palm.  
  
"Wow, how many seeds does it hold?"  
  
"Forty seeds, and I won it at some shooting gallery. Shooting at some rubies." Link reached into his old seed bag and dumped the seeds from the old bag, into the new bag, tossing the old bag into the ditch with the other bad stuff. As he threw it, the boy backed up a few feet, his hands at his sides while he reached down for his stuff, deciding that the break was over. Closing the bag shut, he pulled out his slingshot, the Deku nuts and sticks and put them inside of his side pack too keep them good. There he stood himself up and pulled the new pack around his waist, fastening it tightly, a glance towards the side revealed how he felt. Yes, the boy could run with the pack, if he had tried when he first entered the Deku Tree it would have messed him up, but now it was fine.  
  
"Ready, Navi."  
  
".Yea. I guess you don't need me anymore." She spoke in a light whisper, causing Link frowned sadly, cupping her inside of his hands, and kissed her face. "Hey, I won some supplies, that's all. I still need you, of course I do. You're my friend and my protector."  
  
"Don't say that.I'm not strong."  
  
"Yes you are, and braver than me." Leaning forward, he kissed her tiny veil and placed him on his shoulder. "And you aren't a nuisance."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
--------------------  
  
"Navi, what do we ask this princess?"  
  
".Never thought of that."  
  
"I think we show her this Kokiiri Emerald and maybe there are others?"  
  
"You read the inscription!"  
  
"What inscription? I was following on guess, what is this inscription?"  
  
So, Navi told him about the inscription and about a little more of the Triforce, or what she knew about it, which was hardly anything. Most of what she said was an educated guess, of what was behind that door, the power that might be inside and how maybe the man wanted the stones for that reason. Maybe the man wanted the power behind those doors; maybe he was an evil man with the in intuition to take something away from here. "What you slept on was a medallion inside of a Triforce. The Triforce has three different parts, maybe symbolizing three opposite feelings. Each power represents a triangle, and I think what's behind that door is something special, maybe the Triforce? I think it's a special power, and I think this princess can tell us everything." With that, she crossed her arms over her chest, giving a shrug; this was just what she knew from the legends, or what their books told them.  
  
"You're right, she is a princess. She must have information, but will she share it?"  
  
"We'll just have to try, it was his dying request."  
  
".Yea, let's go."  
  
Pulling out the rest of the food inside of his packsack, he slid down the path and landed upon a small gray path, where there was room to eat. Before he could eat, his appetite melted away, sticking it back inside the pack and getting ready for what was to come next, the outside of the castle. There was some sort of water surrounding the path, on the left side and turning sideways, he saw the castle, if that was it, and what a place it was. It was beautiful! The castle was at least two hundred feet tall with hundreds of windows, a drawbridge, on the other side, and guards looking away from him. With a place like this, Link guessed that this princess must have been the richest person in all of Hyrule, outranking any of those people with the jewels back at the Market place.  
  
"Link, get in the moat!"  
  
"Moat?"  
  
"The water, dive!"  
  
"O-Oh!" He saw the guard turn around, but dove into the water just in time, that pack of his probably getting ruined in the entire process. No need to worry about that, the boy was worrying about his own air now, and how to survive what seemed like some sort of waterfall. What turned out to only be a shallow place, the water not rushing to his face, yet able to touch the bottom, he still panicked a bit. He gasped as the currents pulled him forward, he was pulled around the whole while, and he was pulled until a bump slammed into his side. Groaning, he turned over and cried out softly, those eyes looking away from the pain in his side and focusing on what was ahead.  
  
"Linky!" Navi pulled at his shoulders and lifted him the currents; there he pulled him over and placed him on top of some boxes, just tired from lifting him that far. She doubted that could of lifted him far back in the dungeon, that was before both of them were empowered, it was before all that and he was just getting too heavy. Not that he had gained weight or anything, the boy exercised everyday on this trip, and he had been walking, running and even fighting. On the boxes, she looked at him and, he was all right, he seemed to just have a bump down there, or something, so she looked. The thing just left a small bruise on his upper body, it was sort of nasty, but would go away in a week or so, given some time. "Link, are you alright?"  
  
Coughing out some loose air, trying to catch his breath for the tumbles in the water, the boy looked over at his concerned faire and he nodded. "Yea, I'm alright. Let's get down to business." Hopping off of the box, he saw a cow onto of the boxes and gasped, it reminded him of the ranch they had been to and he put two together. So, that must be the sign that was on Lon Lon Ranch, he remembered that maybe it was on that sign above the gates, yea that was it. "Lon-Lon Ranch! That must mean.What's that?" Leaning over the large crate, Link stared at a heavy-set man in some overalls. He was bald, but had some hair on his sides and a big mustache/beard combination. Whoever that was, the man was in his dreamland and from the hair on his chin, he seemed to have been at it for a while.  
  
"Talon!" Navi cried out and shook her head a little, fluttering across his face back and forth, trying to awaken him like she had little Link. He was an even harder sleeper than Link, trying to brighten her aura around his face; the most that happened was some snoring and a few talks in his sleep. Link watched her do it, his pack beginning to shake, so he reached inside, hoping he hadn't left a Bombachu inside there and it wasn't going off. There was no way they could get to the drain with this fat man in the way, and there seemed to be no way to awaken him now. Link reached into his pocket while Navi tried to awaken the sleeping man, there was a crack and something pushed out. It was Cucco!  
  
"Navi, a Cucco!"  
  
"Huh, oh, use it on him."  
  
Pushing the Cucco into the old man's face, Link pulled a feather and the Cucco squawked a loud screech, before running out of his hands and jumping the fence. Before it jumped, he was onto his head, pecking his head, causing the boy to cry out in pain and hit the thing hard on the head. Navi stifled a laugh as the boy took off after the thing, stopping dead in his tracks and creeping back once it was near the guards. They chased after the thing, but it was already gone like the wind, it was gone faster than ever, the guards returning with confusion on their faces. The Cucco was gone within five seconds, when Link turned back, he saw Talon was awakening, the man stretching out his arms as if he had been having a nice dream.  
  
"What in tranation was that!"  
  
"Uh, your daughter's Cucco, sir."  
  
Talon shook himself off and stood up, he was about five eleven, and towered over the boy, even more than that guard had, causing the boy to shrink away. The man wasn't evil at all, the mustache causing him to sneeze a little, letting the boy burst into giggles, the man smiling down and patting the boy on the head. Looking down at the kid, he noticed the farie, his attention peered back to the legends that he had heard as a kid, of the children from the forest. Maybe he was one of them, or maybe he was faking, but the big sparkle over him sure made evidence enough that he was something special. One of those forests kids. Dismissing the thought, he heard the name 'daughter.' "Daughter? You mean my Malon, why did you see her?"  
  
"Um, she gave me the Cucco a week ago, and I just saw her on my way to the castle, she was quite upset."  
  
"U-upset! Oh, no. Malon's going to give to me!" Not even bothering to say goodbye, the old farmer took off towards the end of the gate, he circled the gate and swept past the guards.those poor guys, they tried to catch him, but he was long gone. It was kind of funny how fast he ran for a man his weight, yet it seemed that it was all possible at the speed he was going. From what Link could tell, Malon didn't have a mother and was the head female of the household, also she wasn't as innocent as she looked. If her father was afraid of her, she must have had a nasty temper on her, but Link wouldn't know that, he never was really good with those sort of things. There were no mothers in the Kokiiri Forest, well, some of them were in his own case where Saria would be the case, but usually there wasn't.  
  
"Wow.Miss Malon must be tough." Navi spoke with a piece of sarcasm in her voice, a little chuckle entering her mouth as she stared off at the man running, turning her attention back to Link. The little farie floated up past the boxes and fluttered over towards the wall, inspecting this part of the place now, watching it strangely. Running out of the wall, was a small water gate, it was about his size and he wouldn't drown in it, it was just his own size, so he could get through. "Linky-chan! I found the gate those two idiots were talking about. Push those boxes so we can align them and you can hop across!" He looked at her, his eyes narrowing over the entrance, and there was the place where those guys were talking about, yea that was it. Of course that was the place they were talking about, the young boy smiling in approval with her, his hands moving up towards her, petting her.  
  
Agreeing with her, he looked up at the boxes, they were about seven feet tall and when he knocked on one, he realized it was hollow. Guess the guards forgot to take them away and throw them out? It was the Lon-Lon Ranch boxes, Talon's. Pushing the first one deep into the water, it sank down and stopped the flow of water. Next, he pushed the other one on top of it, giving him a little standing room. Finally, the last one collapsed onto the second box, twenty minutes later, this was because that one was a bit heavier with some unloaded milk. Standing on the top box, he peered over at the five-foot jump and what was past it. What was there was a small little covering with three triangles onto it. On that were flowing water, and the hole he would slip through. "Wow.thanks Navi."  
  
"Yeah, it's great. This is just your size, so we can slip right through, but you might get a little wet."  
  
"I don't mind, besides, this uniform needs washing, anyway." The boy had washed his clothes, when the milk-wagon stopped near the Zora River, he had washed it and dried it, but that was at least four days ago. Reckon, he didn't smell, he had bathed the day before yesterday in one of the inns, being kicked out, of course. The boy moved forward and leapt across the five-foot jump, he stomped across the other end and got down on his hands and knees. Pushing his head through the hole, his damp body was through the entire tunnel in less than three minutes, but it was pitch black with the leaking and flowing of water it sort of creep him out. Finally flashing through the terror and into the light, he pulled himself out and was standing up in a small ankle-deep pool.  
  
"Navi, want to go check it out?"  
  
"Alright, Linky." She flew forward, and about ten minutes she rushed back with a big frown upon her face, looking off to the side, seeming maddened. "There are about nine guards, they are assigned in five arenas. One is at the first arena and the other two are in-groups at the other four arenas. Fortunately, they are going to be easy to dodge, except the third one.there is a plank on top of a balcony you have to balance over. It's fairly easy for you, I would imagine."  
  
"Man, those two dummies had the security increased, Eh?"  
  
"I would imagine so, Linky. We have those two to thank and if we get caught? I think you might be thrown in jail or something."  
  
"J-Jail? What's that?"  
  
"A place of confinement where people who do bad things go."  
  
"I'm not bad, Navi!"  
  
".I know that, but normal people don't sneak in to see the princess, it's not allowed. Ready?"  
  
".Yea, let's go." He couldn't use his sword on these people, because they were not monsters, so he pulled out about four nuts, keeping two in each hand. This was for a paralyze-formula, so if he used them, the boy would knock the guards out so they couldn't call for help. As if turned out, he didn't need them. The first arena was truly the lone guard, it was a squared hedge and he sneaked past that in only a few minutes, the next one however was a twin fountains. Link had to crouch and slid past the guards on his hands and knees, so they didn't discover him in the silhouette of the fountain waters. The plank task was right after this, he saw below a barrel of treasures, and the guard surrounding them. He did sneak behind the guard and the ten green rubies, stuffing them inside of his pack, and he climbed up a ladder, pacing across the fifteen-foot board. Hopping down on the ground, he moved on.  
  
Fourthly, was a big stone wall, and behind the wall were the two guards, moving ever-closely together around a large statue of a goddess upon a platform. He guessed it was one of the Goddesses, but couldn't be sure. Link made sure that the two were on the other side when he ran past it and into the last section of the garden. Past the barrier of the fourth section, was a larger rectangular hedge with another statue in the center. This one was narrower, but he couldn't tell what it was. Those two guards were a little harder to dodge; he had to climb through the bushes and slipped past the guards when they turned the corners. One turned and stared forward at his direction, but he was tucked safely inside one of the bushes. For the next thirty minutes they paced the garden where he was, and decided it was a mouse or something, then went on.  
  
Past the fifth garden maze was a long tunneled corridor that led into a larger garden, the flowers were lush all over, and a small moat ran across the entire structure from the outside area. Staring around the garden in amazement, how the grass was much cleaner than it had been back in the Hyrule Field, giving it a better feel. The center of the garden was a bushel of sunflowers; leaning down he sniffed the flowers and was immediately stuck with the sensation of beauty. Sniffing at the flowers, because they didn't get this bright down in the Kokiiri Forest, the boy was quite surprised at the events of this. Whose garden was this, the princess' was a thought, but he never noticed the girl with his back turned towards him, neither of them facing each other.  
  
--------------------  
  
Where was that man! The young girl kept peeping through the window into the kingdom, there was her father, and the royal chancellor, but that was it. Some of the older knights hung around the king, the ones he was close too, but he wasn't there! Did the dream mean anything? Was she being delusional? No! Her father didn't believe her, but she believed herself. She wasn't being irrational; she was serious as she could be. Nothing made the nightmare come, nothing at all. Impa believed her, of course Impa did, she was her guardian.her nanny, maybe she needed to because that was her job? Furrowing her brow, she positioned the headdress in the right way, so it covered up all of that luscious blonde hair, all that shone out were those blonde eyebrows. Well, she couldn't spot anything at all, but nevertheless, she kept her head positioned there.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Link.look." Navi was sitting on his shoulder, whispering lightly into his ear. "I think that's the princess."  
  
Link stood back up from the patch of sunflowers and peered over at the girl, and from the first impression he got that she wasn't a normal Hylian girl. Yes, it was a girl, maybe the princess, but this girl looked like she had no hair at all, from the first glance, that was, he'd have to get closer to view it. She was dress very weirdly; from what he could see there was a long white dress that fell down to her feet, and violet robe- like felt upon the dress. Jewels were adorned upon her waist, it wasn't a normal belt, and he spotted the end of a necklace around her neck, not able to see the front. Walking quickly, not seeming to eager, he stepped upward and spoke out, at the top of the stairs, his voice ringing out in his own tone. "Miss Princess?"  
  
--------------------  
  
"H-Huh?" She spun around, her hands clasping to her chest and let out a tremendous gasp; there was someone at her garden--no right next to her! W- who was that! There was this little boy dressed in.green, the tunic not something she had ever seen in Hyrule, and the originality was so distinct. At his back were a sword and a shield, something she also had never seen, the daggers that they made in Hyrule looked nothing like this. Perched upon his shoulder was a blue, velvet creature with.it had wings, she couldn't see it clearly, the veil covered up everything. The boy was dressed with a shield and a sword; a long cap fell down through his blonde hair, his hair longer than most of the men's here. The boy had a simple innocence about him. Yes, he did seem a very innocent, quiet boy. Brushing the dirt from her robe, she looked up at him. "What are you doing here?"  
  
--------------------  
  
It seemed he was correct, the girl, upon her robe, showing that same sign that he had seen in the Temple of Time a few days ago. It showed that Triforce symbol, with a red eagle under it and another upside down triangle upon it, and he guessed that was the Hyrule Crest. Like the symbol on his shield, it was probably like that, they must have had those things on their shields, the people who battled. He guessed that they fought here, there were probably warriors that guarded the place, because as it seemed the princess was very important. He figured so and began to speak, well he almost got to speak, his own fairie caught him off guard and spoke out loud, he not minding. "Princess?"  
  
"Y-yes? Who're you?"  
  
"I am Navi, the farie. This is Link, he is from the Kokiiri forest, and we were asked to bring you something. Link, the emerald?"  
  
"O-Oh, yea." Reaching swiftly inside of his pack, he pulled out the simple stone, the aura from before wasn't there, but in the sun it seemed to gleam. The stone was shaped like a flower, the rims adorned in a beautiful golden colour, the boy looking over at it with his eyes still wide. Inside the flowers, or the leaves, were made of pure emerald, and the stone was untouched, unscratched, and looked like it hadn't been fooled with in a number of years. Placing the small jewel into her open hands, the boy stared up at her, seeing the way she looked so there he just smiled. "This is the Kokiiri Emerald."  
  
"T-the Spiritual Stone of the Forest!"  
  
"Well, I --" Navi nodded her head and cut the child off.  
  
"Yes, this is the Spiritual Stone of the Forest."  
  
"And you are his farie? So, he is a Kokiiri?"  
  
"Yes, he is a Kokiiri."  
  
Zelda closed her palms around the jewel and walked towards a small chair in the garden, it was still up on the platform, and there she rested her feet. Well, what she was looking at seemed to be the question on the others minds as she just stared at the stone with her eyes ajar more than his are are. She had been sitting there, watching through the window when he came into the garden, she seemed to have been there a few hours, judging from her fatigued look. Looking past Link, and at Navi, she nodded a little, and with a little surprised gasp, she jumped up and walked right infront of them, her cheeks flushed. Bowing her head down at the boy, she took his hand in hers and looked up into his eyes, smiling more at him, the boy nodding reluctantly. "Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Princess Zelda, or known as the Princess of Destiny."  
  
"That's what the Great Deku Tree said." Link watched her pace around the room, and he sat upon the left balcony-end of the staircase, looking up at her. "He said that we were to look for the Princess of Destiny."  
  
"Who is this?"  
  
Navi fluttered over at the Princess, and hovered a few feet from her face. "The Great Deku Tree is the guardian of the Kokiiri forest, he is--or was the guardian. Now the forest is by itself."  
  
"H-he passed on?"  
  
"Unfortunately so. A man in dark armour, from the desert put a curse on him. He released Gohma the spider and the spider poisoned the Deku Tree. Link went inside and vanquished the spider, with my help, but unfortunately we were too late and he soon passed on."  
  
"A man from the desert! What was his name!"  
  
"We don't know, either the Deku Tree didn't know, or he chose not to tell us." This was Link who spoke up; he had climbed up the stairs and now looked up through the window. "What were you staring at?"  
  
"O-Oh, I was looking for a man. I think he maybe the one who you are looking for." She took one look and her cerulean hues brightened in fear. "He's here! Link! Miss Navi! You look in the window and see if he gives you a feeling."  
  
Feeling? Link didn't know what the princess meant, but when he looked in through the window, he did. A slight chill overcame his and Navi's body. There was a man, dressed dark armour. He was an over-bearing six feet with seven inches on the end. Not only black was on him. Heavy armour adorned his short, red hair and that darkened skin. A brown breastplate with those iron shoulders padded on top. At his hands were some gloves with diamonds on the back of his hands. Spiked ends were at his kneecaps and his pants were heavy and brown. Just staring at this.this.tyrant was the only word. Staring at this tyrant made the boy get sick to his stomach, and then it happened. Those piercing black eyes turned towards Link. The man was kneeling next to a man in a throne, obviously the king, but when the man stared deep into Link's eyes. He jumped back and fell against the floor, Navi right beside him.  
  
"What happened!"  
  
"He saw us, well me mostly."  
  
"Don't worry. I had a dream, in the dream there was this land, Hyrule and a dark clouds were swirled around the whole land. Then a beam of light appeared and the light took the form of a young boy with a blue circle with wings at his side. The light was coming out of the forest and held a green stone. I think you represent the light, and he represents the dark. My father doesn't believe me.. But do you?"  
  
"Yes, Miss Zelda, I do. I have had bad dreams, for the past few weeks, every few nights. And I have dreamt of this man, never his face.but his clothes look so familiar. Navi?"  
  
Navi had beckoned herself back on his shoulder. "Huh? Yea.I-I.the man frightens me, Link. I think we should take actions. Miss Zelda, I do believe you. I read something like that in a temple about this; it mentioned Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time. What is that?"  
  
"You've been to the Temple of Time?"  
  
"Yes, if that's what you call it."  
  
"Well, let me tell you my story first and I will get to the part of the Ocarina. So, will you two listen to my story? The story of the Goddess'."  
  
"We already heard it from the Great Deku Tree." Link replied and sat himself upon the hard floor; he crossed his legs Indian-style, and looked upon her.  
  
"This is the royal family's version. More specific, it deals with something more detailed. Would you listen."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Okies." Navi said, perching on his shoulder.  
  
"I won't go over the part of the creation, since you've heard it, but when the Goddess' finished they left there work and formed three triangles. The triangles represented each of them and it was as followed: Din, the Goddess of Power, Naryu, the Goddess of Wisdom, and Farore, the Goddess of Courage. They each formed a piece of the Triforce. These three things and they were Power, Wisdom, and Courage. Now anyone could get to the Triforce, so they created a Sacred Realm. This Realm held the Triforce and that are where it was secure, not just anyone could get it. To access the Triforce you needed three things. One, the three Spiritual Stones of Forest, Fire, and Water were needed for the special ceremony. Next, the being needs the Ocarina of Time. The Ocarina of time is an Ocarina made of indestructible glass, it has been a family secret for generations."  
  
At this point, she pulled out of her pocket a small Ocarina, the boy's eyes lighting up at the sight of it; it sure was better looking than Saria's ocarina. Well, it was beautiful and all, but it seemed that Link's held a most sentimental value than the one that this one has, he was glad for his. It was just the size of Link's except it was made of glass and blue, the thing having different ancient runics on them, some of them he had never seen. It was probably the ones that the people down here could read, he knew that people couldn't read Kokiirish, so there was probably another language that the ancients here used. On the tip of it, instead of a leaf, was a small Triforce symbol, and placing it back into her pocket, she continued on with her story.  
  
"The third thing you need is the Song of Time. It's a special song meant to open that large door, because in that door is the Sacred Realm. A man with a righteous heart can lead Hyrule to a golden age, but a man with an evil heart can rule and destroy the world. Ganondorf, that's his name, he hails from the Gerudo Desert. They are a race of women, who have a male child every one hundred years, but he couldn't settle for King of the Gerudo, and he has pledged loyalty to my father, but I don't believe him a bit. He wants the Triforce, but he can't get the Spiritual Stones."  
  
"Why not?" Navi stared up at her as Link asked the obvious question.  
  
"Well, no one trust the man, he is an evil being and he threatened your Deku Tree. He obviously planted the curse when the Deku Tree wouldn't give him the Spiritual Stone. I have a feeling he is going to try to hunt down the others, that's where you come in. I want you to find the stones. I wish I could travel with you, but I'm a princess and need to keep the Ocarina of Time safe from Ganondorf's hands. Would you go and hunt down the Spiritual Stone of Fire and Water?"  
  
"Of course we will, Miss Zelda, me and Link will hunt them down, but where are they?"  
  
At this moment a tall woman enters the garden, no one notices her presence, except Zelda and she kept her silence about it. "That's the other part of my dream, to get into those places you have to be known to the Royal Family. The Gorons' hold the Spiritual Stone of Fire, but I don't know about the Water. The Gerudos hold none, and the Kokiiri have the Forest. I'm sorry about the Water, I just don't know. The other element is to go and learn a song from the Royal Family, you do have an instrument, right?"  
  
"Sure." Link spoke, pulling out the wooden Fairie Ocarina.  
  
"Wow, the same instrument. Well, turn around and go see my guardian, she will teach you the song."  
  
". I don't see any--" Link stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the woman, wow and what a woman she was, something scarier than even the men here. Not as scary as that man named Ganondorf, for he felt no evil aura about her, he just stared down at her as she looked back at him. The woman was over six feet tall, dark brown skin, with short, white hair upon her head, but not prenatal white hair, it was natural. She looked like a warrior too, she had the build and the muscle of one, but a gentle smile caressed her beautiful features, giving her a soft feel. Letting forth a small laugh, she motioned him forward, bending down on her knees. "Come here, little one, I won't bite."  
  
"Link, go." Urged Zelda, pushing him forward. "She looks tough, but she is just a softie."  
  
The woman frowned at what the young princess said, but kept her arms open for the boy to come near her, she wasn't that scary looking. Reluctantly, he went forward, Navi perched at his side, ready to take this woman on if where were to try anything on the boy. Looking at the young fairie, the woman could see through the veil, she could smell the determination in the feisty fairy's eyes. A grin pierced her lips, the boy stepping back a few steps when she did, but he just kept his arms open, giving him some time. The woman just smiled broader staring at the two, and when they came near, she spoke to Navi, not speaking to the boy at first. "I can see you are quite protective of him, aren't you?"  
  
"That's right, and who're you?"  
  
"I am Impa, Zelda's protector. I am also a Shiekah, one of the last ones in the world; we Shiekah are guardians of the Hylians. My role in the dream is to teach this young lad a melody to show you are with the Royal Family." She stood up when he was a foot from her, and patted his hair, ruffling it. "You are a cute young lad, much too soft to be a warrior and unskilled. All right, before the melody I am going to train you a little. Come at me."  
  
"C-come at you?" Link looked at her, a little surprised. "Your much stronger.you'll hurt me."  
  
"You took on a Gohma spider and I am a little tough?"  
  
"I used my sword, Miss Impa."  
  
"No swords, just come at me."  
  
"...Navi?"  
  
Navi nodded her head and smiled. "It's alright, I am by your side and if she harms you, I'll take care of her." Another burst of laughter, but not a mocking tone, just a surprised tones.  
  
"You really care for this boy."  
  
Navi flushed under the veil, and shrugged her shoulders a bit, as it seemed like the veil shrugged.  
  
Impa nodded her head solely and backed away from the boy as he slipped his sword and shield aside. "And the belt, I see what you have in there, you cute boy. Deku Nuts and other surprises."  
  
".Sorry." Link threw his side-pack aside, along with his satchel and readied himself, so that this would give him a speed advantage on her. Not that he doubted she was slow, this Shiekah, a word he had never heard before was probably a lot faster than her and could beat him down. Impa nodded towards him, a signal that she was ready anytime she was, her hands held out in the art of a fighting style. Navi went towards the woman and surrounded her head not blinding her, but just staying up in the air and turning a bright yellow. Yes, Link followed the light, and then he turned and jumped at Impa, and a smile formed her lips, as an afterimage was what he fell into.collapsing into the grass.  
  
"Impa! Don't do that, you are just teasing!" Zelda was back in the small chair, watching from the stone stairs.  
  
Link jumped up and stared at Impa; she was standing still, the smirk still upon her face, the facial expression showing that she had won. Yes, the boy had been trained a little in fighting and this training for the last week was the best he had been at, yet still he had lost on the first round. That just made his pride go down, exploding out in a fury and getting himself ready, he had no fighting style, so he just copied what she did. The boy ran straight at her, but he jumped to the side, slamming into a wall, trying to divert her attention and trying something on her. No, that's what he would have done, but he propelled himself off the wall and was spiraling towards her side, the hands held out like a torpedo.  
  
It never happened, as he spiraled, she jumped right to the side and grabbed his small body, her hands going under his little waste. That smirk was still on her face, the boy letting out a cry of surprise and trying to get away from her, Navi batting at the Shiekah with the veil. Turning him towards the side, she slid him down into the grass as he slumped inside the bushel of flowers, breaking his fall. The attack didn't hurt, she was going easy on him, and of course she could break his little neck easily, not that she would do that. She wasn't going to do that to him, he was such an adorable little boy, it was sad that he was chosen for this wicked fate, a fate Zelda had no idea was going on.  
  
Link spun himself up and stared up at her, he nodded his head just looked off to the side, the defeat shown in his eyes and cheeks. Tears began to stream down his cheeks in embarrassment; his cheeks were crimson as he cried outlook to the world, the fairie looking down at him. Navi was still at Impa's side, but she didn't move, she just watched what the warrior would do now, what the strong warrior was like in this situation. The surprised Impa walked to the boy and knelt down beside him, her arms held out for her to go to him, blowing a deep sigh. "Link, it's alright, I didn't. --" Yes, she stopped when he pushed her down on her back and jumped onto of her chest, crying out in a war-cry that he had beaten her. He put his arms at her arms, holding them down, and held down her legs with his own, locked around them, the grin that she had done was on his face.  
  
"Ha! I got you!"  
  
"So you do, lad, but monsters aren't so compassionate." She reached up and grabbed a part of his neck, pushing a finger to it; the boy fell to the ground and cried out in surprise. It was like all the functions in his body ceased to exist, the hands and legs stopping their clamp on her body, releasing her free. Looking down at her, whom his eyes still could move, he just stared at her with that mouth gaped at what she had done, whatever it was. Impa bent down and picked the lad him, taking him to a small bench in the back of the garden and sat him down, because he couldn't move. This was going to take time, and indeed a lot of patience to deal with this, she would get through this training and ready them. Focusing on the melody, the woman just shook her head.  
  
--------------------  
  
Ten minutes later, the numbness was gone, and he sat up from his position and looked back at Impa, the sparring look away from his face. The lad had been watching ever since he was cushioned down, but now she had a small flute upon her hands and pointed to a small chalkboard with notes upon it. It seemed revenge was not going to come on anymore, he had to do what was right and learn that so-called melody he had to have. "Link, you learn this melody, write it down and learn it." At his side was the satchel, so he reached inside and found some stationary and a pencil to write down the notes that she had. It was gonna be hard to learn these, he hadn't even played the ocarina before, sometimes he tried Saria's, but never seriously. Looking up, he drew the station and wrote down the notes, quite easy, but the verses looked difficult as they got on, not a very long song.  
  
"This melody is part of the royal family heritage, but I have sang it to Zelda as a child, so we all refer to it as 'Zelda's Lullaby.' This tune is quite simple to remember and you must practice, have you practiced on the ocarina, how long have you had it?  
  
"I got it as a goodbye present about eight days ago, I haven't practices but a few times.sorry."  
  
"It's alright. Now you have it written down, let's go."  
  
"G-go? Where!"  
  
"I am going to train you, but without your little farie."  
  
Navi was only a few yards from the scene, but she heard it and flew up to Impa's face. "Without me! I am his guardian, he needs me!"  
  
"I am going to train you also, young farie. I need to train you two separate and then you may train in battle together. "  
  
"B-But."  
  
"No buts, you know you two need training alone. There maybe a time you have to defend him in your sleep and vice versa, I want you two ready for this. You are eventually going to have to fight Ganondorf, and he has powers even though he doesn't have the Triforce. He can manipulate chi."  
  
"C-chi!"  
  
"Yes, now let's go. We are going deep into the castle, away from this all and then we will train."  
  
"Alright."  
  
Link just nodded his head, agreeing with Navi that it was time to be trained alone, relying on another person was good, but also had its disadvantages. Learning to be away from her and fight was a chance that he needed, and the same for her to do the same thing so that they could be with each other. Being with each other was the best thing, if they fought and they learned to manipulate that thing they called 'chi' then the more powerful they would become. Without her was a scary thought, but it was better if he learned to protect her from the dangers.next time a blue light might not be there to save her. Next time she might d.no, he couldn't say it. Impa went off towards the dark end of the garden where a tunnel was, and the partners left the small Zelda alone.  
  
--------------------  
  
Eleven days passed before the two were ready for the time to leave. In that time Link was trained in art of defense, the art of using his sword, the art of using his fist, and learning to control his spinning attack. It had none, but a little chi in it, which would change in later weeks to come, though. He was also formed in the art of back flips, front flips, dodging, and slash attacks. Item using was perfected, also, as in using the nuts properly and aiming with his slingshot. Jumping attacks were also prefixed, so when he came out a week and a half later, he showed better improvements. Navi, on the other hand, was trained in the act of using her chi as a bit of a defense mechanism, and also she was trained on targeting, as was Link when they were together. Her different barriers would change colours to indicate which was what. Dark blue when they were looking for stuff, green when a friendly person was near, and yellow when she wanted to target and enemy. Navi was also trained to direct her chi towards some enemies and use them to blind or paralyze them. By the end of the eleven days, the boy and his farie had been on their journey for two weeks and five days, and the two were about one hundred and ten percent better. A final battle between them and Impa occurred, and the two conquered Impa, not by much, though.  
  
--------------------  
  
Two hours after the battle, and some bandaging and showers, the hero with his tunic back on, the thing back to normal since his fight with Gohma. He hadn't changed it for the while past, so people saw the clothes and thought he was weird, the scar on chest was so apparent to them. Maybe that was why they called him a freak, the guard, when he saw the way that he was dressed, it was just so weird to look that way. It had been sowed so that the tatters from the training and the roughing were all gone, the boy looked up at Impa and nodded. Yes, he had gathered even more tatters and a few more training scars on him from all the battles they had had, nor scars, just a few bruises. "Am I better?"  
  
"Yes, Link, you have grown much. Not physically, but your strength and power are ten fold. The same for you as well, Navi, and when you two visit the Fire Spiritual Stone, you will conquer."  
  
"Hee, so where is the stone?"  
  
They were now outside of Hyrule, just outside the large castle, not the one where Zelda resided, but the one he say more than two weeks ago. Turning towards the woman, he watched her, staring away from her and back to the place where they were going; Death Mountain. The one he had gaped upon for a few minutes, now Impa was at his side with her whistle, the same one that they had trained upon before. They really hadn't practiced much during the time he had been here, it was strange, but it was true that sometimes he would do it. Sometimes at night, the young boy would practice his ocarina; he would do it whenever Navi was asleep (yet sometimes he would awaken her.) "Are you ready to try again? We practiced this rarely, but I want you to learn it."  
  
"Yes, ma'am, I am." He pulled out the Farie Ocarina from the pouch; the thing looking like it had been put to some used over the past eleven days. Pushing his lips to the instrument, the boy stared over at the older Shiekah and waited for the woman to start the lesson. First Impa played the Royal Family song twice, and let Link perform it, her eyes not in the usual training smirk, but a nice smile. It took a few minutes to learn the tune, yet when he was practicing the tune, he learned it in about five minutes passed before he did it. The second time he did it, he had no interruptions or any incarcerations, and looking up at Impa and Navi, he burst into giggles and hugged the little farie, as she hugged him back.  
  
Impa's smiled widened to the two of them, bending down on one knew so the boy could get a better kiss at him, there he held him. In the nice embrace, the boy's cheeks were flushed from the hold of the older woman; she was beautiful in her own warrior-like way. "You two.I can't believe how far you've come. Surely the mountain would have killed you, if you had gone without my training. I am glad I got know you, Link, I am sure we will meet again." Leaning forward, he kissed his cheek and stood up with something in her hand, and there she threw down something with a flash sparking. The smoke was in both of their eyes, staring around to find out where he was, but they couldn't seem to locate her at this time. Smoke cleared his eyes, the boy coughing the last of it out of his system, the tears leaking a bit when the smoke was gone, though so was she!  
  
"Navi! Where is she?" His cheeks were still red from the kiss.  
  
"I don't know, she said she was a Shiekah, so maybe she is like a those Shinobis in those old stories. She has the power to disappear."  
  
"W-wow. Okay, where do we go from here?"  
  
"I want to go back and see Saria, besides, I have things to take care of."  
  
"The mob, Navi.remember?"  
  
"I remember, we'll have to sneak in at night and slip off the rope ladder, and then we can travel through the Lost Woods and go into the Sacred Forest Meadow."  
  
"N-Navi, have you ever been in those woods!"  
  
".No."  
  
Link slapped his forehead and they began to walk, they walked the path while Link explained just what went on in the Lost Woods. "I've been in there about three times, each time Saria leads me because, for some reason, she can get through to the Sacred Forest Meadow. Going in there alone you get lost and die, then you turn into a Skull-kid, remember those legends. I think they are real."  
  
"Link, you are silly! There are no Skullkids. Anyway, let's go to Lon-Lon for tonight, we can make it if we take the easy path. Last time you lead us around for a few days, that's why it took so long."  
  
--------------------  
  
The two went on the road until they met the milk buggy from Hyrule, he was the same man and let them on for free when he saw how strong the boy had grew from his training. He rode them until about five o'clock that afternoon, where he dropped them at the Lon-Lon boundary point and went off towards Lake Hylia. At about five-thirty, they finally saw the road curve towards the boundary line and twenty minutes later the ranch was in full view. The cart wasn't going to Lon Lon Ranch today, it was headed down towards Kakariko to feed something called a scientist, so the man let them off and road on his own. Link could smell the chickens and the cows all over, so he raced up the hill with Navi at his side, for the next four miles, since the cart let them go.  
  
--------------------  
  
When they finally got inside the ranch, it was late past six and the sun had already dropped, taking a slow pace, since there were no monsters. No fun wasting all of your energy if you were just going here for the night, he was going to waste all of it on the run, so a slow pace was kept. At least they were on the path and saw no Skullchildren that evening, or they had decided to spare him for the night and mess with him later on. When they entered the ranch Talon was already asleep, but they could see Malon putting the horses away, the man having taken an early sleep. It was fine with him, Link didn't mind so as he walked towards the fence, Navi fluttered up towards Malon and spoke. "Miss Malon."  
  
Malon spun around and gasped, there was the farie-boy and his farie. "Farie-boy, Navi! Hello there, you have been gone so long, what happened?"  
  
Link caught up with the two, they were just outside the stables, and he leaned against one of the stalls, his back pressed against it. "We were trained by the Great Shiekah, Impa, Miss Zelda's guardian. She trained us for eleven days so we can be on our next quest."  
  
"Quest? Just what are you doing, farie-boy?"  
  
For the next three hours, they talked about what they were doing on the trip; inside the large barred fences where only that brown mare was running around the arena. He told Malon of how he found the stone, which Zelda had given back, and talked up until the training part, with Navi speaking in occasionally. Then it was time for supper, Link didn't want to intrude, but Malon insisted that he were to eat, so they were served by the grouchy Ingo. He was a nice man hard-working, Malon said, a sweet working man, but Ingo didn't like how her father was such a lazy man. The man treated the horses right and was good to her, sort of like a mean uncle, so she laughed it off and began to eat her eggs and drink the milk.  
  
Link gulped down the LonLon milk and finished off the eggs, and then Navi began to talk, since she finished her meal before the two. She spoke of her training, let Link talk of his, and then she said how they fought together and the whole trip here, even in the forest. Mentioning the girl named Saria seemed to make little Malon a bit jealous, the fairie noticing it, but letting it go while Link just watched her. When they spoke of Saria, Malon got kind of quiet and nodded as they talked about how they stayed there, the boy's voice excited. Also mentioning about the fight with the Wolvos was a tough one, one they had never experienced, how he was wounded and bandaged up.  
  
After the three hours were done Malon stared in surprise. "Wow, farie-boy, you are a hero?"  
  
".Not really."  
  
"Yes you are, Link." Chimed Navi, bopping him on the head. "Stop being so modest."  
  
".I don't feel like one."  
  
"You seem like one, Faire-boy. But, let's no argue it's nine o'clock and it's my bedtime. Do you want to sleep in the barn.we don't have any beds and my daddy won't allow me to have boys in the room." Spoke Malon, pulling the dishes from the grass, walking back into the house, and came back, petting a young mare next to her.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know, he's just weird, like that."  
  
Malon left again, probably telling her father 'good night' and returned a few minutes later with two glasses of milk, ready for the two of them. She sipped her drink, almost completely forgetting about Navi, so she was about to head back when Link shook his head, taking a sip. Navi sipped on it next, sinking down a little so she could get at the milk, the boy sipping after her, not minding in the least of her germs. During this time, Navi kissed his cheek and went under the hat for some rest; she had had a hell of a day, as she said, or a week. An hour passed of talking before Link stared at the mare and blinked in surprise, and finally Link looked over her, remembering. "Oh.hey! Where's my song!"  
  
"Huh? Oh, yea. I remember, well might as well do it now."  
  
"I've gotten better on my Ocarina, too." He pulled it out and played the song of the royal family, as Malon clapped her hands together and smiled when he was done.  
  
"Wow, you have! All right, let me sing it for you. Gimme some stationary so I can write it down." Link pulled out the same paper with the Royal Family song on it and she wrote it right below it. That was when she stood up, backing a few feet away, and began to melody the song, and what a beautiful song it sounded as. Malon had a beautiful voice, so the notes went out clearly from her diaphragm and a few minutes into the song, the mare went up and starting licking Malon. Link looked over at the mare; it was the same one she had petted before, except this one was a lot nicer than it had been. Actually, it was the only baby mare in the entire ranch, all the other ones were at the point where they were considered horses, this one wasn't. She giggled and turned towards Link. "Play it, it's her song."  
  
"Whose?"  
  
"Epona's, silly."  
  
"Whose Epona?"  
  
"The mare, dummy. Now play."  
  
Again, the first time he screwed it up and Epona sort stared at him in utter disbelief, as if she couldn't believe that someone could mess up her song. Putting a hand over to pet the mare, it snapped at his fingers, not biting, but nipping at it, still frightening the boy a little, even though it was play. With a little more practice this time, the boy pushed it down against his lips and pulled the notes out in a beautiful tone, a tone that was matching the voice. Not sounding all the same, of course, it did have the same notes. Frustrated, he tried again and this time it actually worked, the mare ran up towards him and started to lick his face all over. Running his hands through her silver mane, the boy giggled and rested his head against her body. "How old is she?"  
  
"Hee, she loves you, farie-boy! Oh, she's about seven months. "  
  
"Alright, thanks for the song, well I am going to bed, okies?"  
  
"Night, farie-boy!"  
  
"Night, Miss Malon."  
  
On the way to the barn, he ran into a busy Ingo, Ingo just acknowledged him when he climbed into the hay and fell asleep. He didn't mind the boy, it was actually nice to see a young lad on this ranch, maybe he would marry Malon and start working.he was a strong lad, that's for sure. Ingo wasn't greedy; he just hated the fact Talon did not care for the farm, yet he was rolling in the rubies from Hyrule marker. Milk was brand new in this town, because these were the only cows around these parts. The man closed the shop up, keeping the barn unlocked, so Link could get out in the morning and went to his bedroom in the LonLon house. As he lay they're asleep, all he could thing about was Talon.he hated the man, but he would never betray him, they were best friends.  
  
--------------------  
  
The next morning, before he left the ranch, the boy explored the ranch house behind the fenced gating. Behind there, he searched onward. Link was alone this morning, because Navi had overslept, and that was quite unusual for her, since she was usually the one to wake him up. Usually Navi was up before the sun was; there she would bathe and get ready for the next morning, while he just slept the morning away. Link was always woken up at seven o'clock, usually that was; sometimes he would wake up on his own at the same time she was to get him. Maybe the training had mentally tired her, too. It was only four o'clock in the morning, so everyone was asleep when he slipped past the gates and stared up at the large tower, gasping silently. He had noticed it in the distance and asked about it. Malon had answered that the cows were out their and some boxes of milk. That didn't satisfy his curiosity, and so here he was.  
  
Pushing the side door open, he poured in and was rebounded with the smell of the cows, but not as bad as the smell of the horses. A nice smell, the barn had been cleaned with some liquid, something that they didn't have in the Kokiiri Forest, yet it was a sweet smell. Peering inside, he saw seven boxes, each matching the ones he had saw at the castle, surrounding a particular space. The boxes are what intrigued him; they were placed in such a weird order, that they just had to be hiding a gift of some kind. Hrm, was there a present? Cows were also surrounding his the barn, but they were all stocked up to the sides.  
  
Maybe it was a coincidence about the boxes, maybe it was fate, but something was behind those boxes, in this room and he wanted to know. Pulling all the boxes back, they seemed lighter than the ones from before, but these were full of jars of milk, heavier than that one at Lon Lon Ranch. The boxes at the castle were probably half-full while these were all the way full, that would explain the weight-difference between them. It seemed that Impa's training had helped him gain a little muscle. Hopping on top of one of the boxes and climbing over, he saw a small hole that had been hidden before. On his hands and knees, he went, crawling inside the hole a discovering another piece of art.  
  
Yes! He couldn't believe his luck! Grasping the fourth of a heart container, Link climbed back out of the hole and went out of the barn with his hands pressed against the container. Grabbing the container with both palms, the boy kept his pace back to the place where he slept, wanting to expose the truth to her. No, he would wait for Navi to sleep; he didn't want to keep her from her sleep, so that she was recharged for her own journey. There he followed by his way out of the barn house and back to the stables or whatever those horses were. When inside the house, he picked the other heart container up and pressed the two together. Automatically, the heart containers disappeared and a new one appeared, but this one was made of three-fourth's heart. He smiled and headed back to his sleep position, where he fell asleep within minutes.  
  
I'll tell Navi-chan in the morning.  
  
--------------------  
  
Later that morning, Link awoke and ate breakfast, while Talon pestered him about helping with some work for staying the night. Agreeing, he helped them out that morning and at about ten that morning they said goodbye to the Lon-Lon Ranch. The next destination was the Kokiiri forest, where they would meet Saria and maybe she would teach Link a new song? Maybe so, maybe so. For the next day and half they traveled, the two had restocked some real food at the castle. They had milk, a lot of it, and the water in canteens. Some weird bread from Hyrule, not bad, as a matter of fact and some meat.  
  
Meat was different, but it tasted wonderful, it really got the boy's blood pumping and his strength always increased with it. The two reached the Kokiiri Forest at nine o'clock that night, the moon already peering out and the Stalchildren rising from the graves. Everyone slept around that time, so he was afraid Saria was, no she wasn't asleep, it was a weird feeling that he felt around his heart. Somehow, in his heart, he knew Saria was waiting for him at his own secret spot, the Sacred Forest Meadow that no one could get into. Twenty-one days had passed since he had left the forest and now he was back here.he was home, the place of his birth. Three weeks, it was weird, it seemed longer.  
  
--------------------  
  
"I think the jump is too far, Navi, I am not going to follow that stupid Deku's advice and break my neck." Link was standing on that long rope bridge, peering over at the end, his courage faltering at the jump on the way down there. Sure, it led into the Lost Woods and was the easiest way out of here, but the fall was about twenty feet and there was no ladder. The little farie couldn't help but agree with the boy, and nodded her head in conformant; it wasn't worth breaking his legs over that. No need to hurt yourself when they could just sneak inside of the place, it was so dark now, the guard may have been there, but he wasn't a problem. No, the guard could be dispatched with the new power that Link had gained over this journey, even if the guard was Mido (which he knew it wasn't.) "You're right, Linky, besides, it's only nine-thirty and everyone has to be asleep by now."  
  
"But we pass right by Mido's--."  
  
"I don't care, I will take him down myself, if I have too."  
  
"Alright, thanks Navi, you're the best." Link smiled and stared down sheepishly, and Navi smiled back and perched upon his turquoise hat, looking forward into that brown log that led into the Kokiiri Forest.  
  
"I'm ready.two weeks is a long time."  
  
"Sure is, so hurry up." That was all the encouragement Link needed for his courage to go up, so he pushed a little forward into the log, empowered by the senses. No one was going to take care of him, now that he was back in the power from before, so he was not even going to let the boss take him down. Not that Link would dispatch of Mido, he could never do that, and he could knock him out and hide in the forest if the mob was still active. Into the twenty feet deep log, he ventured; noticing there wasn't a guard at the entrance. Loki must have been slacking off, because this was his time, at night, and walking upon the balls of his feet, he pushed forward into the Kokiiri Forest.  
  
Crickets murmured all through the forest, as the pale moonlight shimmered in through the day. It's been so long. Will she not care? Link had passed by the training center and went right to Mido's house, the Lost Woods were right above his house, about fifty feet up.was the large wooden entrance to the path of destruction. That wasn't a fifty feet climb, though, a small ledge was sticking right off of Mido's house and he climbed up that easily, him trusting the vines. Then there was a space forward and some vines that led up to the main path and he had climbed this path before and was for certain that the vines would hold. Yes, these vines had been scaled so many times by both of them, him being smaller then, but he could still climb up here.  
  
"Link? Will they hold, remember the Deku Tree's."  
  
"I've been to the Lost Woods, Navi, I know they will work." Indeed, they did work, because within fifteen minutes he was up the forty-foot climb, only after three two-minute breaks. The boy was growing indeed, because last time he and Saria stopped for at least six times, each of them out of breath when they stopped. Now he was at the top, not really out of as much breath as he had been down there, it was a great climb and made him feel even stronger. Wow...it seemed incredible that in just a few weeks he was twice as stronger as he had even been in his life, it would usually take a while doing this. Looking all around, his eyes glanced at his house, not able to see it from here.  
  
The climb really wasn't that bad at all, it was what was after the climb was the real scary part; the woods were what came next. Climbing in through the hollow log, he released into a small area with four entrances that were the following: North, South, East, and West. South was where he came from, so he stared around and heard the music, that beautiful tune that made the others wane in vane. The music was never heard, since he had never been in this place alone, so that must be the way she knew he would get through the woods. Yes, otherwise he would get lost; the tune was the only thing that kept him from turning into one of those Skullchildren (or dying of thirst.) "She's here, we just have to follow her music!"  
  
"Her music, that's her playing?"  
  
"Yea."  
  
"She's a great player."  
  
"Mmhm! She's been playing since I was an infant, and I remember it all. She would play and I would dance."  
  
"You dance?" She sounded amused.  
  
".Well, not a very good dancer." Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his head.  
  
Giggling, she fluttered down to his shoulder and pecked his cheek, just trying to imagine the boy on what he would do, dancing. It was a cute little site, the boy probably so much smaller than before, she wished she could have known the boy when he was young. She had heard of him when he was younger, of course everyone knew about the boy without a fairie, but no one ever volunteered to be his faire. It was sort of against the rules. The boy would be able to hear better than him, her ears were just as long, but the boy's were bigger and could withstand greater distances. She heard it though and pointed to the east. "There?"  
  
"Yea, that's great, I can hear her music clear as day!"  
  
To the east he went, and he was correct, because if you got lost in the Lost Woods it sent you back to the end or you got lost in the middle. He knew it was the correct way for the target was there the place he liked to watch other people practice sometimes, but what target was there to view? There was small target hanging from a tree that was planted at the bottom of the small cliff. You see, when he entered he was on top of a small cliff, that fell about seven feet, and hanging up was a oak tree with a small clothe target upon it. Pulling out the Farie Slingshot, he aimed and struck the target a few times, that was when the scrub jumped up. His shrub was planted on the top part of the tree, away from the bull's eye and he trotted to the end of the tree where Link was firing. "Very good!"  
  
"H-huh?" He was about to fire when the voice sprang free, he looked up and stared at the shrub, but this one looked friendly. "S-sir?"  
  
"You're firing, you got three bull's eyes."  
  
"Oh, well.I've been practicing."  
  
"I see, well take this. It'll bring you great use, you smell like a warrior, and a warrior needs ammunition." From his muzzle spat a bag and it landed right before Link's feet, but before he could complain or reply the shrub was back in his deku hole and gone to the world.  
  
Navi fluttered down and lifted the bag up to Link's height, it was not wet, and was made of a clothe material with little seeds sticking out. "A Deku seed bag, wow! Link, this is great."  
  
"Wow.how many are in it." Navi spoke as he had been sparsely collecting them in the smaller bag, and now scrounging around; he felt that none were inside his pockets, they had disappeared!  
  
"It can hold forty and it has forty in it! Wow, this great, it saves room and has easy access." Grinning, he slipped it into the pocket of the side pack he usually kept his seeds in and it fit firmly, this was turning to be quite an adventure.  
  
--------------------  
  
With the Deku bag, the new one, replaced, but Link wasn't ready to go deeper into the woods, he saw something else that acquired his attention. Peering over the balcony, he saw two skullkids upon the branches, and they were playing some small flutes, having a wonderful time. Link hadn't run into any children that could play the instrument like him, except Saria, these might have been flutes yet it didn't bother him. Sort of scared of the legends from being true, they didn't look that scary at first glance, yet he wasn't even over the ladder, so he couldn't tell. Peering at them from the sunlight beaming down in the direction that was holding them, it was as if a hole was open in the trees.  
  
"N-Navi! Look at those Skullchildren." Navi had seen it all right; she just stared down at the Skullchildren, her eyes widened in a sort of way someone can't believe it. As the legend went, if a Hyrulian child or any other race is lost in the woods that he or she would turn into a Skullchildren, Link getting it wrong? Kokiiri did not change if they were lost; they were sent back to the Kokiiri Forest, it had something to do with the Deku magic. Kokiiri's were the only kind that would not turn into the children, for some reason they were the chosen children of the Deku Tree and protected. Even if a person was with a Kokiiri, the magic wouldn't protect them and the ancient forest would kill them, the adults into stone. Not at all like the Stalchildren, those were friendlier to the Kokiiri, but adults disgusted them.  
  
The Skullchildren, only being small showed their only resemblance to children, but they were dressed in such a tribal manner. Ancient masks adorned their faces, keeping what was behind, and away from the public, it was for some reason that they hated to show their faces. As the legend went, the Skullkids lost their faces when they turned into them, so the masks were to hide the realization that they had none. Some other legends said that they stole people's faces and those were actually the face of a person put in the form of a mask. The two were about half the size of Link, their clothes in a rebellion manner, the clothes not really matching the people of Hyrule, or Kokiiri.  
  
"Should we go see them?"  
  
"It wouldn't hurt, Link, they do seem to favor Kokiiri."  
  
Walking to the ladder, Link slid down the seven feet and walked over to the smaller stump, a few feet from the children, if they could be called that. From this point of view, he could view what the Skullchildren were on weren't stumps, but half-cut trees, maybe they cut it themselves. They had no weapons, but they were supposed to possess some sort of special powers a weak sort of creature, it loses its memory in the process and gains power. Stronger than any normal Hyrulian or Kokiiri, the creature was supposed to be shooting out music at adults, it hated them with nature. Pulling out his Ocarina, he didn't play any song, in particular, the boy just blew out a single not to get them away from their game and notice him.  
  
Abruptly, they stopped playing and looked towards the little Kokiiri. One of them, the one upon the taller stump-tree, spoke. "Who're you, Little Kokiiri?"  
  
"M-my name is Link. And this is Navi." He pointed to Navi, who was sitting upon his hat, shaking with fear.  
  
The taller one began to laugh full heartily. "Don't worry, little farie. Neither my friend, nor I shall harm either of you. Ah! I see you carry an Ocarina, young Kokiiri, might we play? I shall give you a present if you could follow my tune great enough. What do you say?"  
  
"Well, sure." He needed the practice with the Ocarina, anyway, and somehow, these certain notes gave off special powers, or a special aura, wasn't it?  
  
"Great, then let's begin." He and his friend both began to play their flutes, them a lot better than Saria, probably masters of the flute like the Kokiiri, Saria. First they were a simple three notes pressed together, and then Link took a deep breath, getting his concentration and following them accordingly. That was when they skipped to some more difficulty, playing six notes at one time, which was how many a regular song had. Link was hardly able to follow them, since no one wrote the things out, this was some sort of test on the ocarina that would make him better. Now was when they skipped past six and then the Skullchildren went to eight notes, not even stopping at the break-point for seven. Taking a deep breath, trying to remember their order, he stared forward and played it. Wow, he thought he had done it right, but then the Skullchildren looked forward at him, Link frowned, stepping off the stump a headed back towards the ladder.  
  
".Where are you going, young Kokiiri?"  
  
"I messed up, didn't I?" Of course he had, he just knew it.  
  
"No, young Kokiiri, you've preformed well."  
  
Giggling, he went forward and stood on the stump proudly, holding the Ocarina in his fist, as if it were his sword and he had won a battle. Link had been certain he had messed up, it was just the way they shook their heads and how the thing sounded on the ocarina. Maybe it was the fact that they were two different instruments and would sound different if they were played on different levels. Reaching into his pocket, the Skullchild threw a glass-jeweled case at him. Link caught the jewel case and gasped at the kid. "The fourth heart! Oh, thank you! Than--" But the Skullchildren were gone, and the two partners were alone in the forest, disappearing just like the way Impa did, though not as loud.  
  
"Link, you did it. What did he--Oh!" Navi saw the fourth section of the heart and fished the three-quart's part out, handing it to Link; she sat upon his shoulder, eagerly watching. "Link them."  
  
Pushing the two parts together the boy eagerly watched them, they disappeared and a newly formed heart appeared four parts. The heart turned into two smaller, each a little bit tinier than the others did, even smaller than the drinkable containers, not liquid, though. The new heart's pushed inside of Link and Navi, with full force, causing Link to scream out loud, Navi hiding herself from the energy. Newly energized and a newfound strength flowed through his pulsing body, the young boy grabbing a hold of his chest and staring at his palms. Reaching forward, he felt his warrior presence grow a little more than it usually was. It seemed that Navi's grew too. Her barrier turned brighter blue, and she stared at Link. It was new, the only way to describe the feelings were of accomplishment. The process was over in only about seven seconds, but it was gone.  
  
"W-what happened, Navi?"  
  
"The heart piece was just like the blue light!" She buried her face into his cheek, kissing it gently. "If we find these, we can beat Ganondorf. These hearts and the blue lights strengthened, healed, and re- energized us."  
  
"Heal us, hey, you're right." He just noticed this, the boy had been dirty and tired, but now he was fully advantaged and sort of clean, so he ran her hands over his tunic, he noticed it was nice looking. He wasn't clean, the tunic was still in its old form, it hadn't restored him back to normal, and the blue light had just made him even more powerful. Even though it had been repaired at the Hyrule Castle, he had torn it on the way to Kokiiri, so he could have to get it fixed with Saria. Maybe she would be mad that he tore it, though he had messed up his tunic before, the sides were just scuffed a bit, not at all like the last time. Saria knew how do sow, she and a few other Kokiiri had helped make his tunic, and they had done it since the boys didn't want to have nothing to do with it.  
  
"Okay, the blue light and heart containers. Let's find as many of those as we can!" Climbing up the ladder, the young hero walked deeper into the woods, following her melody.  
  
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There were a series of eight more paths before he reached the garden of the Sacred Forest Meadow, each of them were harder than the next. The meadow was grassed out on the left and right ends of it leading up to the brown dirt wall that protected the meadow from intruders, but more peculiar of all was the entrance. Usually a small entrance was there for the boy and Saria to pass through, now there were a gate that blocked his way in and her way out. Link had never seen this before, there was never a gate and this gate had no handle, so no one could open it, by normal means. It looked just like the gate at Hyrule Castle, though it was white and so tall that he couldn't climb it, even if he could get up on the hedges. Four bars sharp as hell, sticking up and keeping him from getting inside the meadow.  
  
"Link, I thought you said you came here all the time."  
  
"I don't know, it's never been locked."  
  
"Is there a magic word?"  
  
".Navi."  
  
"I don't know! Goddess, hmm, where too now. Let's just try coming up to it and yelling."  
  
Link didn't mention that the inner meadow, as he sometimes called it, was two miles through puzzles of garden mazes, all in great entertainment! Quite fun this place was one reason Mido never got in and he and Saria spent their time alone there, even when he could get in the Lost Woods. Playing the ocarina was not all they did there, they had several other games they played, sometimes just sitting next to each other and talking. The 'secret' place is what the two called it, because no one else knew about it, or no one would dare go into their own place, alone. Or no one else could grant access to it, even if they did survive the Lost Woods. While he stepped forward and thumped the bars, he didn't seem to notice something staring at him, a particular something with gleaming yellow eyes.  
  
--------------------  
  
Delicious, it was delicious. The creature had been hidden in the woods for quite sometime, and this was rare, a young Kokiiri! Yes, there was that older one that she saw occasionally, but this one was young and pure, the other one she never messed with because she had powers. Weird powers that she smelt in the thing's blood, never wanting to get closer to that one, though she had brought this one here sometimes. Only ten years! Thanking her luck, the strong beast snapped her jaws once and rushed forward, moving on all four legs so that it could move faster. Beautiful gleaming fur adorned the seven foot tall structure, and able to stand on two legs, the paws extended double razor sharp claws. Fur of ash condemned the muzzle filled with teeth of sharp resonance. Pushing both paws into the ground, it leapt forward and was determined to sink her teeth into his flesh, that beautiful body was going to be a meal worth years of enjoyment.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Wolvo!" Navi screamed out when the howl burst out, yes, they always howled when they attacked, a long and stupid scream, it was dumb to scream. Yelling out in a war cry was a bad sign, it showed that they gave themselves off and were very confident in their own strength. If Link had been slower and not known what a Wolvo was, he would be dead, but he didn't die that day because of his instincts. This creature, a wolf of some sort, slammed into the shield with all its might, growling and screeching for his blood, wanting to kill it. Quickly acting, she streamed to the monster's eyes and flashed an incredible brilliance of light, the brightness was too much, and the Wolvo hid quickly inside the lush grass that covered it completely, howling with ear-piercing intensity.  
  
--------------------  
  
Wolvo, as in that thing she talked about? It seemed so because when his shield went up, in sort of an instant stability, instead of defense he felt the most intense pressure in the world. One hundred pounds of muscle slammed into the shield, smashing him against the dirt-clogged wall, leaving a deep bruise on his back. Leaping upward, he stuck the shield in his left hand and fished out his Kokiiri Blade, ready for battle with that stupid wolf for her sneak attack. Yes, this was it, a challenging battle with a monster! Almost bloodlust filled his mind, but he wasn't that crazy, all he wanted was to distinguish the monster, then get to Saria without it coming after her. So, he leapt forward, into the bushes, disappearing out of sight from the fairie so that she eventually followed him down into the deep brush.  
  
The blade went instantly forward and that would have been the end of it, and he would have finished the beast off, a normal beast that was. It was just the beginning. the claws were raised up and blocked the sword, them almost as sharp as his sword was only using one claw. What's happening? How did it block the sword! Nevertheless, one of the claws blocked the sword, while the other went for his gut, and would have made it, if not the Deku Shield. That Deku raised and hit right above the eyes, stopping the claw flat, it knocked the beast off of its balance and there he would attack. Leaping up, at least four feet, he came down with sword at full risk into the Wolvo's torso. It began to struggle and threw him aside, like a rag doll.  
  
Navi, on the other hand, her entire body began to shine a pure yellow colour, as if she were charging her aura or something. She continued to flow around its eyes, not blinding it with what Impa had taught her, she was doing something else, strange. This yellow was surrounding the Wolvo, but of course she didn't see the farie, that farie was so small and dull, and even if it did it paid no attention. Fairies were so annoying to some beasts, but to some they didn't mind them, the fairies would just stand in vain and watch their masters being eaten. It was always like that, it had gotten lost Kokiiri in the woods, long ago, and usually it ate the pixie after it got the master, them always making some dessert.  
  
--------------------  
  
This thing was stronger than it looked was, he blocked her and then she was blinded by something, the light not really affecting her vision. Some sort of farie, she didn't know the guardians actually protected their masters and mistresses, but what this one did was known. Usually the faire was too dim to even make her take a second glance, this one not blinding it, just taking its attention off the boy. Wow, it was strange to see the fairie actually trying to do something to protect its master; in this case she handed it credit for that. Blocking that cold metal, she was then blocked lost her balance when the thing became even brighter, actually brighter than before, there she was stabbed through the torso.  
  
The pain! This pain was immense, like being boiled into a thousand of Din's own fires; the suns would have incinerated her carcass. The suns were already cold and survived inside of her breast, she letting out a growling of a guttural cry; she threw the boy aside and stared off to the side. The wound was fatal, unless she found a farie garden and groped them out against there life, but she knew that would never happen. There was no time do any of that, just enough time to take him out, he thrown aside when she was stabbed, probably knocked out. Indeed, he was out for the count, so why not taste that flesh for a quick second, and leaping forward, she landed right beside him and licked the muzzle, below lowering her head to feed.  
  
--------------------  
  
No! He was not going to die! That was something this force was going to make sure of, the light that had been charging was finally ready to start to activate. Thank the Goddesses that they were trained by Impa-sama, because there was no way he could have dodged this enemy, without the training. How foolish of the Deku Tree to send him off without any proper training, did they want him to die; it was foolish of the tree to do that. He may have been the Guardian of the Forest, though if he had known this sort of destiny was in for them, he should have trained him. Now, with her barrier shining a bright yellow, she stared at the Wolvo as it pinned him down and concentrated for a second more.  
  
The second seemed like eternity, but it was over before its teeth pieced his flesh, the second ended and a beam of chi light slid into its body. Before the beast died, it did get to cut the skin a little, right near the area that it so desired, the place that smelt the best. The chi light began to disintegrate its entire body, right before her eyes, the whole body was done in about five seconds and all that remained was a light of dust. T-this power.it was incredible, there was no way to describe the feelings she felt. Instinctually, she fluttered to his side and kissed his wound, a small gash was on his forehead, not a deep one.it was only bleeding light, but the gash was nasty. Saria would be able to dress it so the pain would cease some and it wouldn't infect.  
  
Clink!  
  
Looking forward, Navi saw the small little gates give way and slid down into the earth, wow, it seemed the Wolvo was the triggering device to open the gate. "Just don't die on me, Link, we'll get there!"  
  
--------------------  
  
He was able to raise himself up and limped forward through the maze, the maze surprised and irritated the young Navi. She had to help him hold his shield, to deflect the Deku Nuts, at those mad scrubs, something that he hadn't mentioned were inside the place. Yes, the scrubs were annoying, but what was even more annoying was that neither of them knew their way through the forest. They were off running like cowards, so there was no reason to execute them, they would just jump in the hole and hid until he left. Over eight mazes, and two hours later, they reached a small area that had two Mad Scrubs and stairs descending upward into some new area, that is when Link ran.  
  
Not even bothering to block, he slammed the down the first one's throat, dodging the second's nut and sliced the second one in two as it tried to desperately hide in it's protective bush, but that wasn't enough, nothing was enough for him. He was sick of these beasts, he was sick of them and showed no mercy to the last two, the others had been free to get away, these being executed. The bleeding, when they reached a small lake, was washed and wrapped a small tear from his tunic.he desperately needed to stop tearing the tunic and get some first aid-supplies. The tear of clothe wrapped around his forehead, like a bandanna, but that didn't matter.nothing mattered, he could hear the Ocarina closer than ever! She was just up those stairs, so close that he could almost smell her beautiful scent, the scents she bathed in to make her smell that way.  
  
There he ran inside of the inner meadow and stared forward, in amazement, not even realizing how beautiful this place really was. He hadn't been to the place for quite a few years, when he got older he had to do other stuff around the forest and help out, it was the same. There was a small gossip stone to the right, and inside the middle was one of those platforms of the Triforce, something he didn't remember. He surely hadn't noticed this before, and it was the same colour as the original one, but the small medallion in the middle had a different insignia upon it. Up forward ahead, about twenty yards, were a few stumps and upon the one in the center, she was, just as she always sat.  
  
Those beautiful blue tiers pressed down into a closed expression, blowing into the small instrument that was the resemblance as his. She hadn't even noticed him yet, well, that was great, he did want to sneak up on her and surprise her a little, which was what he wanted. He crept forward, a few paces, the tears escaping his eyes, and when he thought of that day.so long ago, he cried even harder to himself. Finally, three feet from her, he collapsed onto the ground and fainted, not even able to get close enough to call out her name. What he fainted from was always hard to tell maybe the joy of seeing her or even the blood loss from his scalp and side. Maybe a little of both.  
  
--------------------  
  
Huh? A sound? No one can get up here, unless a Wolvo! She was too scared to look, and stared down for the next ten seconds, expecting to be devoured by one of those or someone to talk. They had been appearing all in the Lost Woods, Saria hadn't seen one in the longest while, but she did notice that their scent was in the air. She had not seen one in Link's lifetime, the Wolvos having been so-called 'extinct' or put to rest in another part of the Lost Woods. There was no howl, no pain, and nothing else, but the fluttering of her own farie's wins, the nice sound that she loved to hear. Saria began to blow on her Ocarina, until she realized that there was one small factor missing from this story, not the rustle of the leaves, but the wings.  
  
Wait! Her farie was sick today; she was at Saria's house, in the bed! Then whose farie.Mido was here? Maybe, but she hoped to Farore that wasn't true, not wanting to find out that the stupid boy had found his way out into the garden. If he had then they were all in trouble, she had set the gate up so that no one could get into it, unless it was Link, she knew he could. There was a switch right next to it. Looking forward, the sight she saw made her eyes widen in excitement and then in fear, that some boy was there, not Mido. There was her Kokiiri boy, lying on the ground, a few feet from her, and Navi was at his side trying to awaken the beauty from his sleep. Why wasn't he waking up! She dropped her Ocarina on the grass and leapt forward, slamming into the soft patches, two inches from him. "Miss N-Navi-!"  
  
"Oh, Miss Saria! H-he fought a Wolvo to get the entrance open and then smashed into a wall, do you have a farie!" She shivered, trying to shake him awake.  
  
"Wolvo? I set the gate shut, but I didn't put any Wolvo there. Hold on a second!" Saria literally leapt to her satchel; right by the stump she rested on, and pulled out a small red potion, throwing the ocarina aside. It didn't bust, the entire field was full of grass and it was made of a strong Deku wood, though she didn't care if it shattered at this moment. Sprawling back to the scene, she sat Link's head inside of her lap and tried to make him drink it.no good, he wouldn't take it! So, she opened her own mouth and let her take all the liquid inside of her mouth, but instead of swallowing, she opened his mouth deep-mouth kissing Link. The potion wasn't going to heal the wound; it would awaken him from unconsciousness, clean the wound by itself and take the pain away for a while.  
  
--------------------  
  
"What are you doing, Miss Saria, he needs that.elixir?" Well, she couldn't believe her eyes, because there, right before her, the wise and sweet Saria deep-mouth kissed her Linky. It was a kiss, a deep kiss that Navi had never seen Saria do, she didn't think that she was capable of something like this. Jealously flared inside of her body and she flew to her face, having a curse out, in the Faric language, before speaking in the understandable tongue. Glad that the boy or Saria couldn't understand the language, she said a few bad things, the girl not even paying any heed to her. It did good, because later on she regretted what she said, not even know how jealous she could become with what the girl was doing. "What are you doing! This is not the time for romance. Don't you see he is dying!"  
  
She didn't stop, though, she kept pouring herself into the kiss, which boiled and burbled the jealously inside of Navi's heart. "What are you doing, Saria!" How dare she, how dare she kiss her Linky!  
  
Why is that? Spoke another voice.  
  
Because, he's-- Because he's-- Because he's. She broke off.  
  
Because he's what? Yours? Don't make me laugh, you can't handle him, he is not yours!  
  
Yes he his! Cried out Navi, silently. He is mine and I am his.  
  
Think what you want, but he is hers. The voice stopped, and Navi stared out into space, ignoring Link and Saria, wondering that maybe it was all true, the voice spoke the truth. She had no idea that that was; the voice certainly wasn't her own, for she would ever have been that mean to herself, she loved Link. Maybe it was someone else; maybe she was hearing some voices in her head, going crazy, that seemed a possible solution to it. They were nothing but partners, but wasn't that what she wanted, although it was what she had wanted at first, now she didn't know. So confused, so confused. Moving over to his shoulder, she lay upon it and fainted, not passing out from the kiss, she was out from the restless fighting.  
  
--------------------  
  
Nervous breakdown? No, she just fainted, that was all. Saria concluded that and continued to kiss the boy, but in actuality, she was putting the liquid inside of his throat, from mouth to mouth resuscitation. When she finished that bottle, she fished out another and did the same thing, watching the little farie go to a faint, wondering what her deal was. Yes, nothing but a faint. About ten minutes later, and after the third and last bottle, Saria sat back, wiping her lips and glanced down at him, peacefully. This would work, the elixirs always worked, also taking some on the bandanna he has on his wounds and soaked them in the liquid, retying them around so they wouldn't infect. It didn't work that way, so she ripped them off of him and took out her 1st Aid Kit, wrapping it out in some white bandages.  
  
--------------------  
  
Where am I? All I remember was some gates and a wolf.or something like that. Maybe not in that order, but he came too and could hear breathing right at his chest, which was most likely Navi. Sometimes during the night she would rest on his chest, or anywhere else, then stare at him longingly for hours. It was weird how she did it, sometimes he asked if she was sick, and her reply would be. '.Yes-- I m-mean I'm fine, Linky!' Then she would smile and lay her head back down. She was sick with something all right, but he couldn't quite place it. Sometimes, he even caught her watching him bathe, not in a perversity way, but she watched his face from the sleeping bag, occasionally. But, I'm not with her, at a tent, now am I? She was there, no one breathed as softly, yet as deeply as she did, but he wasn't asleep. Had he been unconscious? Yes, that was it.  
  
Rising up, he felt a hand push him back, while a beautiful voice, not Navi's, speak, those hues of cerulean stared up into the matching ones of an older girl. "Hey, you sit back and rest. You took a nasty gash to the head."  
  
"S-saria! Oh, Saria!" Disobeying her orders, he leapt forward, and tackled her to the ground, the boy going off in frenzy at her, ignoring the pain. The pain was ignored, even though the one in his sides ached, the one on his head also was in a lot of suffering, and the effects had worn off. Laughing wildly, he giggled and nuzzled her neck affectionately, as the girl let out a cry of surprise and continued to return the affection. He had found her, after all those weeks without her, the commotion had calmed down, the boy still ignoring the pain, and it was worth it. He had found her, finally! Yes, kissing her cheek, he pushed himself back, but was promptly pushed back into the grass, a rough hand lying on his chest.  
  
".I'm glad to see you, now lay back and get some rest! Now!" She could be quite demanding, when she wanted, so he sank into the grass gathering up that consciousness he placed Navi under his hat and sank back into the unconsciousness.  
  
--------------------  
  
Five more hours passed before he awoke again, Navi had awoken about three hours before and left sulkily, not even wanting to give a reason. When Saria had asked where she was going, Navi had replied that she was 'taking care of some business before they leave, tomorrow.' Maybe the business that she wanted to take care of when she said that she needed to take care of, the reason they headed to the forest. That was the last she saw of her, the entire day, Navi wanted be with them, Saria wouldn't have minded her there, yet maybe she would have. Fairies were supposed to be quiet and talk only to their masters, Navi wasn't like that, she liked to talk to other people, also. Overall, Link had been asleep for eight hours, since arriving in the forest. It was around five o'clock, when he raised up and stared at the ground, moaning.  
  
He had such a headache, the bandage from his forehead was gone, but when he traced his hands up there a scar was in its place. It had healed; somehow, it should have taken a little longer to heal itself, but maybe the Kokiiri were faster healers than the rest of people. That was a nice thought, though Link knew better, he had been hurt before and none of his wounds healed within a few hours. A few hours are what Link guessed was how long he had been out, although he really couldn't tell from the sun. The headache subsided when something was pressed to his lips and he gulped it down, but then he peered up and met into her gaze. ".Saria?"  
  
"That better?" She pulled the bottle away from his lips, slipping it into her satchel and rested right down beside him, them place on his chest. Still wearing that forest dark sweater, with the lighter shirt under it, and those small shorts that showed off her legs, the young boy staring up at him, cheeks flushed. Looking at Saria was nice, she was one of the most beautiful girls in the forest, and with her hair not the same colours as any of theirs. Link had always guessed she dyed it, he never asked because he was afraid that she might get mad that he was noticing that. Bending down, she sat down right beside him, and stroked his cheek, her gaze looking at him as though a mother would, it was nice.  
  
"Mmhm.it feels much better, what was that?"  
  
"An ole' Deku elixir, believe me, Link.you don't want to know the ingredients."  
  
He let out a small stream of giggles, then gasped and felt under his hat, when his hand searched under and didn't feel the glow or a solid body. When Navi was in her normal form, he could feel her body, though when she had a veil on, he could feel the glow of it, the warm glow. Noticing this, because each morning, when he awoke with her under his hat, small warmth was around his hair, but this morning it was as cold as the rest of his body. Taking his eyes off of Saria, he searched around, hoping he didn't lay on the little fairie by accident, he had always thought he might. That was why she slept in his hat, though sometimes she didn't sleep there and kept on his chest for that. "Navi, where is she?"  
  
"I don't know, she was mad and left about three hours ago, she seemed sad."  
  
"Navi's moody sometimes, she just stares at me sometimes.she's a little odd, but she's sweet."  
  
A quick nod from her and then moved a bit closer, wrapping her arms around his body, before taking him inside of her arms. Those arms.so warm wrapped around him, placing him right in the center of her lap, turning him towards her, with those soft hands. Saria had always sat him in her lap, when he was younger, but it had been so long since the last time, he wasn't heavy, and she just thought he was too old. I guess now was a different case, because he hadn't even asked for permission, she had just sat him down in his favorite spot. Link couldn't help it as the dark colour rushed to his cheeks, and giggling nervously. "Saria, did you miss me?"  
  
".Of course I missed you, silly. Without you here, I had Mido to deal with."  
  
".Sorry."  
  
"So, why haven't you been back sooner?"  
  
"Oh my Goddess, Saria! You won't believe how big Hyrule is, it took me about a week to get there!" His eyes misted before, were night illuminating with excitement.  
  
"Really, wow, what did you see."  
  
"Oh, I brought you a present!" Jumping from her lap, he fumbled for his satchel and sat back on her lap (he always enjoyed it there) taking out the bottle of Lon-Lon milk, propping it to her lips. "Drink."  
  
"What is-ugh!" Her mouth was filled with the sweet taste of liquid, but before she could throw up, the girl's throat filled with the sweet taste. Mm, it was so delicious, and she couldn't help gulping down the whole bottle, hogging the entire thing to himself, the boy was gonna give it to her anyway. He had tasted the milk at the ranch and loved the way it was, and sipped on the little bottle on his way to the forest, so the liquid didn't spoil. Malon had explained that the liquid could last several days without being iced down, that what was so special about the milk. When she was done, Saria let out a small burp and giggled a little. "What was.that, Link?"  
  
"Milk."  
  
"K-Kokiiri Milk?"  
  
"No, it comes from an animal called a cow, and the milk is for their babies, but this is different. It comes out of their udders, or.err."  
  
".What?" He pointed at her chest uncomfortably, and stared off to the side.  
  
"Tell me, Link."  
  
".Teat."  
  
"Teat?" She scratched her head.  
  
Link blew a sigh out and began to explain the process of how Hylians got their milks from their mothers, even though they were all mammals. It was weird how the Kokiiri got their milk, yet none of the Kokiirish had any breasts, except the older Saria and she were never had children. Actually, none of the children were able to have children, they could do the act that gave you children, but they were never with children. The Deku Tree fed the Kokiiris, when they were infants, from small saplings of some kind of milk, it was rumored the tree is where the babies came from. This explanation was very different, and when he was done, Saria was flustered with embarrassment, too. "Oh, there."  
  
"Y-yea, there. Did you have a funeral?"  
  
"Yes, we had a ceremony the day after you left, for the Deku Tree, not you. Have you been in the Kokiiri Forest since you came back?"  
  
"Well, some, I passed by Mido's house and that was it, why?"  
  
".Don't go to your house."  
  
Link's eyes widened, his possessions were in there, what did they do to his place, his eyes stared at her eyes; she was staring to the side. "What did Mido do!"  
  
"Don't worry, sweetheart, I got out all your stuff. It's all in here, it's in the tree off to the side."  
  
"Saria.?"  
  
"Mido and his men, not the women, they had no part in this. Mido and his men went inside your house, the day after you left, and burnt it down."  
  
"Burnt it down! What do you mean!"  
  
"Mido and his men burnt your house, and the tree down. I got out all your stuff, Link, but I know it hurts. I was mad, too. But now he is being overbearing, insisting you are a traitor and never can come back. What time did you sneak in into the place?"  
  
"Nine o'clock."  
  
"Alright, well, let's stay here for the day, Navi said she's going on some 'Farie business'."  
  
Link just stared at Saria with a confused look plastered upon his face. "Farie business? Well, never mind; let's stay here. I want to tell you all about what I've done. You eager to listen."  
  
"You bet!"  
  
The rest of the day was spent with Link telling Saria all about his adventures, all that he had done on his adventures. He told her about how he went inside the Deku Tree, the entire puzzles, and battle with Gohma and what happened to the Deku Tree. How he really died, and not Mido's lies, though he was sure that he had no need to tell her that Mido was lying, she probably knew. Of course Saria already believed him. Next was the trip to Lon-Lon Ranch, the fight against the Stalchildren and traveling down to Hyrule Castle. Talking about the Temple, how he played those weird games, which delighted Saria all together and sneaking into the castle, and then he got to the part where they were trained.  
  
"You were trained for eleven days? Wow.by whom?"  
  
"She was Princess Zelda's guardian, and she was tough. I think I am tougher than any of the Kokiiri's around."  
  
"You beat Gohma, of course you are."  
  
"Hee.Saria."  
  
"I also learned some new songs." Link didn't leave out a single detail, he told her the Deku Tree's of creation (which she already knew), and the Royal Family's version of the story (which she didn't know), about Ganondorf, and the Ocarina songs he just learned.  
  
"Would you play for me, I know several songs, but probably not these."  
  
"Sure, I want you to see how great I've gotten, but probably not as good as you, Saria."  
  
Stepping off her lap, and sitting down a few feet infront of her, there he pulled out his wooden Ocarina, from his side pack that was still around his waist. Pushing the circular bodied instrument, with the tube- shaped blowing piece off the top and blew into it, wanting so bad to impress her. While he played into it, the tune of the Royal Family streamed out, the tune was soft and sweet, having a nice melody around it. Next was the melody he learned from Epona, and he didn't even need the papers for the tunes, that was already learned now. He knew them by heart! When he was finally done, the boy sat eagerly, watching her with full attention.  
  
"Wonderful! You have gotten so many betters, Link, honey! Want to learn my tune?"  
  
"Oh, yes! I want to learn your tune so much!"  
  
"Alright, but it is a bit more advanced than those two." Saria reached out and pulled her own Ocarina from her side pack, preparing the identical instrument for the boy, before playing it. The difference between the two Ocarinas was that Saria's didn't have the little inscription that she had written upon his, it was nicer. Hers was also a little more useful, and showed the signs of it, the way it had played upon for the years past, never even rotting. Grabbing his stationary, and a small pencil, she wrote down the notes for him, under the Lon-Lon Melody and handed it back to him. Blowing into the Ocarina, she played the tune beautifully, but this tune was different from the others. This tune was quicker than the others and had a fast-paced movement to it. Link couldn't help but hum the tune; it was, after the entire one he grew up with.  
  
After she finished to tune she turned towards him, the ocarina held down and, she nodded to him, smiling for the boy to begin. "Now your turn." The first time was disaster, as with the other songs, but she simply patted his head and made him try again, she had always been patient with him. Whenever he messed up doing something, failed at something, she never yelled at him, but always had been the most patient. Since the tune was longer, he spent about twenty minutes trying to learn it, it a little more difficult than the others had been. When he didn't need to memorize it, he placed the paper back inside his satchel and began to play it by heart. A little tuning, three hours later, he was back up to speed with her, but not as great as she was.  
  
--------------------  
  
During that time Link didn't see Navi, but Navi saw Link, the fairy's absence had him really worried, that maybe she was hurt. There actually was some business, she traveled and mourned to the Deku Tree, she hadn't cried when he first died, it seemed weak, now was the time. On her way, she viewed the Link's disastrous house, that was quite sad, but that was to be expected with an idiot like Mido in charge. When she went back to the Sacred Forest Meadow, after getting lost through the woods about seven times, she came upon the part where Link told her about his adventures. She just perched up a tree and watched the whole scene, he was only at the parts about where they first entered the Deku and she wanted to see if she would actually seem important. Wow, and this was very surprising, he talked about her with the deep most respect.  
  
"She saved me.I don't know why, we had known each other for only seven hours, and she saved me. It's weird, Saria; she makes me feel good. I feel the same when I am with her, when we are together. She and I, we are two, and partners until I find my way out of this mess."  
  
"What mess?" Saria had asked.  
  
"I'm getting to that."  
  
Several other times she was mentioned and greatly respected, her pride opening up whenever she was mentioned, it seemed that it was true. The little Kokiiri held a deep affection for the girl that was really surprising, she had always thought that the boy just thought of her as a friend. That voice was wrong, that voice didn't know what it was talking about, it was as stupid as the rest of the fairies that disapproved. Most fairies thought that falling in love with their masters was stupid and most of them were right, but those weren't the ones who fell in love. She loved Link and Link loved her, and so what if Link had a crush on Saria. Saria didn't feel the same about Link, he was obviously too young for her.  
  
You're a Farie. The voice had returned.  
  
So what! She screamed out.  
  
You are just a Farie, get over it.  
  
And he is just a Kokiiri!  
  
About ten times your size. The voice rambled on for a few more minutes, before she closed her hands over her ears and it left, not able to hear it and waiting for it to disappear. The voice was gone and she loved Link.that was what there was all too it. She could see a lot of people liked Link. He was strong, brave, and he had faults. He showed them, and for that he was her hero. As she had said before. '...If no one else isn't your hero, than your mine.' That wasn't the exact quote, but something around those words. It was corny, yes, but true as could be. There were a few other ladies who admired Link from afar. There was Saria, Malon, the farm girl, and Zelda. Of course, Impa had kissed him, but she was just being coy, nothing else. Each had nice qualities, but he was a hero and only needed one person, a partner.  
  
--------------------  
  
That night, he told her of where he was going next, a weird village named Kakariko Village, he had passed it on the milk truck, not getting out when they stopped there. Whenever they had gone there, the boy was unconscious, Navi didn't leave him, so she just stayed inside of the cart and slept. From there he was going up to Death Mountain to visit a race of Gorons, a race that even Zelda and Impa didn't know much about. Saria told him as much as he could possibly hope to know about the Gorons. They were an ancient race of large monster-like creatures, but they were friendly. The people were connected with the Royal Family, or so the Deku had said, and they lived off of rocks.  
  
"Rocks?' His voice dripped with sarcasm.  
  
"I am serious, they eat rocks."  
  
".Wow, that's weird."  
  
"I forgot something, when you play the Ocarina, you can use it as a communication device."  
  
"Communication? What do you mean?" He held out the Ocarina and stared at his, slowly speaking into it. "Hello.hello."  
  
Saria slapped his cheek playfully, and giggled. "No, you little dummy, you play the tune when we are far away and we can speak to each other. It's actually a much better way we can communicate and stop this long trip, but you will be back, won't you?"  
  
"Yes, Saria.I will travel back, of course I will. After I get the Spiritual Stone of Fire I will come back and after I get the Spiritual Stone of Water. I will come back before I report back to Zelda, so do you have any idea where the water stone, maybe at?"  
  
"No, I don't, but I'll do some research and get back to me after you have the Fire Spiritual Stone, or before. I might be able to tell you, by then."  
  
Nodding, he sat laid down upon the grass, rubbing his sides upon the grass, staring at the ground, running the grass through his fingers, and pointed towards the end of the meadow. "You can go."  
  
Laying down, right beside him, she stared into his eyes. "Where shall I go?"  
  
".Well, you can go back to your house, I mean, I'm alright alone."  
  
"Well, I'm not going, Link. I hardly see you, let me sleep here, please?"  
  
"O-oh, it's alright! I don't mind, I just thought you were worried about your own home."  
  
Saria sat up and scooted over to his side, pulling him up in her arms. "I am worried, but I want to stay with you, why would I rather sleep alone and have Mido banging on my door all night, when I can be with a you, Link."  
  
Flushing, he shrugged and laid his head against her soft shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her neck, the boy trying to fall back asleep. There the boy slowly nestled his head into her neck and fell asleep within seconds, even though he had slept a lot from before. Saria couldn't sleep that way, so after twenty minutes of it, she laid him down on his body and laid right beside him, where she fell asleep minutes later. It was peaceful that night, the gates rising before she went to sleep, granting it so that no one could get inside and mess him or her up. Navi could still get in, flying over or even through the gates, so she left them up so much that she could slide through them once more.  
  
--------------------  
  
Navi spent the night asleep in the tree, all night she dreamt of him, and when she floated across and saw them in the morning, she didn't mind. During the day when they were talking she really wanted to go back, she really didn't have any fairish friends to communicate with. It was weird to be without him, she felt as though she was dead inside, without him was the strangest feeling she had ever felt. It was almost the way she felt everyday she was without him, before she met him, yea it was sad being her before that little journey. She saw that and shrugged her shoulders, not giving a care in the world and thinking to herself silently. He needs me more. That was when she went to his shoulder and rested on it.  
  
--------------------  
  
The boy earned another piece of heart, as he, Saria, and Navi were coming out of the Lost Woods. As they came near the exit, the group ran into another Skullkid. This one was in it's own little meadow, a wrong turn they took on the way out, or maybe Saria was leading them to the place where it was. She did say she had seen Skullchildren before, not at all surprised when they ran into it, these things were common for someone who was always here. Maybe they never came out when Link was around, for they didn't trust him, though the situation seemed to have changed. When Link sat up on the stump, the Skullkid looked up towards him.  
  
"You can't talk? Hey, how about this?" Pulling out his Ocarina, he slowly played Saria's tune, and when he looked up, the skullchild was dancing around joyfully. Reaching into its pocket, and throwing out a small piece of another heart, this piece Link caught this piece, as the Skullkid disappeared. Catching the thing in both hands, the boy's eyes lit up at the thought of another one of those pieces of hearts, becoming closer to defeating Ganondorf. Yes, these things would help him and Navi, they just needed a few more of them and he was sure he could take on an adult by himself. Maybe about ten more and then he could beat Ganondorf, Link may have been strong, but he didn't think he was a match for Ganon, just yet.  
  
"Wow, what's that?" Saria peered over his shoulder.  
  
"A piece of heart. " The boy slipped it into his satchel, looking over at Saria and explained just what was the deal with the lights and the blue fires and that took a few minutes, but when he was done a fascinated Saria glanced lovingly at him.  
  
"Wow, you sure do a lot of stuff here."  
  
--------------------  
  
The very next day, Saria and Link met the same bridge they had met at only a few weeks ago, them spending the last night in the forest also. He was going to leave that afternoon, realizing it would be dark before they got the Lon Lon and just dismissing the thought, wanting to spend it with her and Navi. Yes, Navi even stayed this time, the boy begging for her to not go away from him last night, it scared him so much that she was gone. That sort of melted the girl and she stayed the night with them. This time, however, there were no tears or short good-byes with Link and Navi, inside of his hat, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I'll miss you, Saria."  
  
"Don't speak that way, I am going to see you again." There she slowly leaned forward and kissed his lips, as before, this time not spur of the moment, a smaller kiss than the last time. Nothing was inside of his mouth, this time; it was a smaller kiss, something that they used to do on the cheeks, this time on the lips. Blushing his same little stance, the boy let the feelings insides of him twirl, feeling weird around his stomach; it was just like before. Those feelings swirled around and he felt the pressure inside his body, it was as if it was building up, and about to explode. The boy felt hotter than ever and when he pulled back, he refastened the satchel and spoke. "Yes. Yes, of course, I will come back, Saria."  
  
"Goodbye, Link."  
  
"Bye, Saria. Don't worry about me, just be near at our secret place and always.Always be with me."  
  
"I will, in my heart."  
  
"And in mine, too." With that, he turned around and ended the bridge, and there he went on to the weird village of Kakariko. 


	3. Chapter II: Ring of Flames

Chapter II: Ring of Flames.  
Copyright: I do not own Zelda, Nintendo does. Story by Habuki productions.  
"Yes ma'am." He replied to the red-haired women, while staring down at the ground, flushed.  
  
The woman giggled and parted the hair out of his face, brushing digits away from his forehead. "Go and get the Cucco's and I'll give you a special treat." Kneeling down, she cupped his cheeks, tilting his head forward and kissed his forehead. Link nodded quickly and turned around, looking for those stupid fluffy things with the feathers.  
  
He and Navi had left the Kokiiri Forest four days ago, the first day they reached Lon-Lon Ranch and spent the night, with the infuriating Talon trying him with more chores. Denying the privilege, he left early that morning, and the next two days were spent traveling back to Hyrule Market Place. The journey then spent westward, in a new direction, and at three o'clock the fourth day they reached the stairs up to Kakariko Village. The path led up several staircases and when the time was five o'clock they reached the top. How long did it take to reach the top? Link would guess about two hundred feet up to the village? The staircases seemed endless and forevermore. Would they ever end, he had pondered? Well, they finally did, the marble casing ended just as the sun was setting over the horizon.  
  
This village was larger than the Kokiiri Village, but it was smaller than the Hyrule Market Place, hence the name market and village. The entrance was adorned with a top gate made of out some strange wood. When he asked the guard at the entrance, all the man could say was the time and the name of the village. Ignoring him, the group went on, deeper into the village. Not that many shops were around the place; well actually, there were no shops around. Just houses and some carpenters lived in the center of the village. Something new was placed near the back of the village, something twirling.  
  
"W-what's that!"  
  
"It's a windmill, Link." Navi answered, sitting upon his hat. "The things at the top are being moved by the wind. Basically, it controls the water supply."  
  
"You've been here before?"  
  
"Nope, but I know about windmills."  
  
"Ah, okies." Just like that, Link dropped the subject. Navi and he were not on very good speaking terms, from the night before.  
  
The entire trip, Link had been on the edge of the world, so to speak. The boy had been a little bit giddy and always giggling at the slightest things. Navi, fed up with curiosity, finally asked him what was so funny. "What's going on, Linky-chan, you've been acting weird the last few days."  
  
"I just feel glad we are getting back on the road, finishing out journey."  
  
".No, that's not it, you seem very gay today. Are you missing Saria?"  
  
That hit the hammer on the nail, he giggled and nodded a little. "Yea, a little bit, but I am ready to complete this journey so we can be together, and you too!" He turned to her, cupping her back into his hands, and nuzzling his face into hers. "When this is over, will you still be my farie?"  
  
"As long as I can, Linky-chan, I will be yours forever." Well, she meant a little bit more than he could have ever understood.  
  
Link nodded and said that he would hers as long as she was his, but that wasn't what made the two so uncomfortable. What made the two a little angry with each other is what happened that night after they had began camping. You see, Saria not only gave him most of his stuff including the following: an extra tunic, nightclothes, soap and powders for bathing, some rubies of her own, a sleeping bag, tinder wood, and some bedrock. Those materials were used to start a fire, so that night they were bathed in the night from the Stalchildren. It was a known fact that they hated fires and stayed miles from them and that solved that little problem.  
  
After the fire had dimmed, but not yet drawn out, for it would last the entire night to keep the monsters away, Link dug something out of his satchel, and hugged it. The satchel, along with the Kokiiri Blade, Deku Shield, and the side pack were all strung on a stump, a few feet away, so it was had easy access.  
  
Navi scurried over from her spot, on his hat, and fluttered down towards his arms looking upward. What happened made her eyes widen and she looked up at Link. His face was groggy with lack of sleep, he hadn't had any at all and it was long walks during the day. Link wasn't yet asleep, his eyes drifting, but enclosed in his arms was a green-haired little doll. The doll had light, green hair with small beads for eyes, and had peachy skin. The entire body was made of Deku silk and it was wearing a big sweater, small shorts, and some green shoes. It was a Saria doll. "L-Link, what is this!" She sounded like a jealous wife.  
  
Smacking his tired lips, he looked down at her. "Hmm? Saria and me made them. I made my own self and she made this one and we switched. You like it?" Saria's had more detail thank Link's, but they were both adorable. At this time, Saria was curled in her own covers with the doll of him in her arms.  
  
She couldn't control it, she tried too, but she just couldn't. Her veil flashed off, she had taken it off occasionally for him, but this was no friendly look, this was a look of hatred. Her face was drawn up in a shouting movement, and she screamed out. "I knew it! I knew you loved her more! First it was sending me off, and now making dolls! Why don't you just go ahead and marry her, Link! Fine, go ahead and be her hero, but you'll need me someday and then you'll be sorry!" Tears streaking from her hued orbs, she took off into the night.  
  
Link just stared up at her, trying to interrupt, but was drowned out with a scream every time he tried to intercept, so he ended up sitting there. Confused? No, that couldn't explain the feelings he felt a more appropriate word would be flabbergasted. What in the world is she talking about? No time to even speak up, he jumped up, in his pajamas and grabbed his sheath, where the sword rested inside. Not even his shoes were on when he took off into the dark night after the glow. She left small sparkles when she ran, so it was easy to find her. For twenty-some minutes he ran after the little farie until he saw a small sparkle lying on the ground over a bigger shadow. This night, the moon was new, so he couldn't see what it was until he got closer, but nevertheless he sensed danger and ran with the unsheathed sword.  
  
--------------------  
  
How could she have been doing stupid! Why did she run right into its clutches? When she took off, away from it all, she wasn't thinking about anything. All she wanted to do was die.to fall into the ground and rot in her own grave. A few minutes later she felt a little better and was over the whole suicide-trip. Now she was caught in the clutches in one of those Stalchildren, while its friend were surrounding them with no escape. This was bad, and she finally realized she loved Linky, but he was a child.  
  
Of course, he is still a child, even though he will remain one. He is still a child, Kokiiri-wise, so he hasn't matured like the rest. Was there ever, in the history of the forest, a guardian who fell in love with her protectee? Well, she hadn't really always studied her history, hence the way she had never had a guardian. Well, whatever the case was, she loved Link and was about to die over some stupid friendship doll. Why wouldn't he love Saria, she is his best friend, his foster-mother, and an older woman. It was only natural, the way he felt. Love or crush, it was natural.  
  
Crying out his name, she stared into the soul-less holes of the Stalchildren. The evil dinosaurs were going to eat her; those soldiers of the old world would finally have a taste of farie flesh. "Linky-chan! Help!"  
  
--------------------  
  
That was all he needed, that cry and the scary little scuttle those Stalchildren made. Of course, they were the only monsters on Hyrule Field. The Peahats, which he had unfortunately run into a week ago, were active during the day unless they were harmed. Then they sent out their babies to take care of the mess. Brushing his blade back, he leapt in the crowd of shadows.  
  
Strikes were blown, the boy took hits, but he won. The claws scraped his entire body, not too bad, since he dodged most of them of the attacks. That was great, and he threw his own share of the ending winces, knocking the Stalchildren down. How many were there? Ten, eleven, maybe a dozen of those tyrants were around, and all active for duty. It didn't matter, because he fell right infront of Navi and defended her. She had been brushed with the claws, a little cut up, but she would live. They both would, and when the ferocious battle was over, he stood with the blade in his hands and a little blood falling from his chest.  
  
Falling down to his knees, he turned around and looked down at her, breathing heavily. "Are you alright, Navi-chan?"  
  
She burst into tears and buried her head into his chest, punching him and clawing at his face. She wasn't attacking him; the guardian was scolding him in her own language, cursing. Link wouldn't know what she said, so he lied down on his back and passed out. That night she carried the boy back and nursed him with the Lon-Lon Milk.  
  
--------------------  
  
Now they were in Kakariko, the two infuriated with each other. Link mad because she got mad over some doll and Navi at herself and him. She was mad at him because he came after her, and also angry with herself for leaving. The place also had a huge, three hundred-foot tower, that stood in the center of the town, right below a house on the ground. This entire place was unleveled; it seemed, with bumps and hills all over. Was it the mountains that did it? From outside he saw the whole Death Mountain and questioned it to Navi.  
  
"W-we have to climb that!"  
  
"Yea, Link, the race of the Gorons live on the center, though. You won't have to climb to the tip of the mountain, about half there."  
  
Now he stood in the first half of the village, wide-eyed. The whole place was overrun with Cuccos.  
  
"Navi, just like at the farm."  
  
"Yeah, they don't raise Cucco's at the Market Place, but they raise them here. This village is small, compared to Hyrule."  
  
"I noticed that, there are no shops."  
  
Twenty-foot towering wooden gates were closed off and other places, such as people's doors he knocked on just told him to ".Get the hell out", and whatever that meant. Navi's face would turn up in disgust, and she would lure him away, so he figured one of those words was bad. The next area, near the windmill, was where he met the Cucco Lady named Anjou.  
  
It was complete luck he ran into her at all, while he walking down from the windmill, seeing a weird man inside playing some sort of instrument lured him away from there, and he heard sneezing. Pulling himself down the large flight of stairs, he saw a small red-haired woman holding a Cucco and reacting to it dangerously. He never knew infection and sickness because in the forest everyone was always healthy, so he leapt forward and grabbed the Cucco throwing it aside. That was when she slapped him across the face.  
  
Standing there, dumbfounded, he watched the lady grab the Cucco and stick it inside of the large pen that was to her left. The pen was connected to a large house, above on a hill, that towered over the village. This was one of the largest houses there was, and a guard stood on the other side of the mountain, guarding the door. Link had seen him when he passed through, but now they were near the back, so there was no way to see him or the front of the house. Meanwhile, Navi had stared at Link, shaking her head. She knew about disease, she should have told him.  
  
"W-why did you do t-that?" Link whimpered out, watching the woman stare at him. She was a plain woman, but beautiful otherwise. Her clothes weren't like Princess Zelda-sama's, but instead, she wore a long blue skirt, that came with a tucked in shirt. Right now, her otherwise pretty face was red and infuriated with passion.  
  
"Why did you slap my Cucco's, you naughty little boy!"  
  
"Y-you were making funny noises.I thought it was hurting you."  
  
"I was sneezing, where are you from, wait until I inform your parents. I am going to te--" She trailed off, staring at the small thing fluttering over his shoulder. "What's that?"  
  
By this time, Link knew only the Kokiiri had faries, so he smiled and spoke proudly. "I am a Kokiiri, and this is guardian force, Navi."  
  
"Kokiiri? You are a forest child? No.they can't leave the forest."  
  
"Oh, I can, the Great Deku Tree-sama said so."  
  
"Who is this Great Deku Tree?" Anjou looked bent down at her knees, and watched him inquiry. He sure didn't look like a liar, but how could he be a Kokiiri?  
  
"The Great Deku Tree-sama is the guardian of the forest." Navi spoke up. She didn't want to give away that the Great Deku was dead, because if they found out he was dead, then someone might try to invade the forest for it's jewels. There were no jewels, of course, but did the robbers know that? This Anjou wasn't a thief, or so it seemed.  
  
"H-huh!" Anjou stared forward the tiny veil. "I-it's real!"  
  
"Of course, ma'am, why would I say she wasn't?"  
  
"A she? How can you tell?"  
  
"It's a veil, miss. My veil can be removed, but I prefer not to remove it." She went up on his hat and laid on it, her wings coming to a rest as she stopped moving, and her shine lowering down. There she stared at the two and stopped speaking.  
  
"So, who are you, ma'am?" Link just noticed her leaning down and giggled a bit, sitting down in the fresh patched grass. That was another thing, the Kakariko Village was patted with grass. When he first entered the Hyrule Market Castle, some of the materials confused him, especially the stone- paved ground. This place was sort of a relief, from the man-made materials of the castle. The grass felt good upon his legs, and so sitting Indian- style, he peered up into her eyes. They were a bit lighter than his were.  
  
"Anjou, and who are you, little boy?"  
  
"I'm Link, Anjou-san." Pulling his gaze from her eyes, his cheeks softened with a red crimson.  
  
"Link, Eh? That's a cute name. What are you doing out here, Link-kun?"  
  
"Shall I tell her, Navi? She seems nice enough."  
  
"Well, we need something in return." Navi, being quite the contradictor, did not expect to be given anything easy, so this Anjou woman wouldn't get anything in return.  
  
"What do you want?" Anjou, who had been staring at Link, now focused her attention onto Navi. "Well?"  
  
Navi didn't have an idea, so she shrugged her shoulders. It was Link who spoke up. "I.don't see an inn, and we don't have anywhere to sleep. Could we sleep with you tonight? In return for information."  
  
Anjou chuckled and stared back at the boy, a hand went to his cheeks and caressed them. "Sure, but on one condition. I need you to gather up my Cucco's. I am allergic to those Cuccos, but I love them to death, and someone destroyed the pen last night. I repaired it, but my Cuccos are all over town, except this little fellow." She pointed to the Cucco from before, who was inside the pen, asleep.  
  
"But, Anjou-san."  
  
"Oh, please, Link-kun. Please and I'll let you stay here, plus I'll give you a treat."  
  
"Yes ma'am." He replied to the red-haired women, while staring down at the ground, flushed.  
  
The woman giggled and parted the hair out of his face, brushing digits away from his forehead. "Go and get the Cucco's and I'll give you a special treat." Kneeling down, she cupped his cheeks, tilting his head forward and kissed his forehead. Link nodded quickly and turned around, looking for those stupid fluffy things with the feathers.  
  
"How many are there?" Navi asked.  
  
"All together five of them, but now three, since we already have two. One was already here asleep, and the other one is the one you threw, now get." She pulled him off and sent him off, patting his behind as sort of a push- off. Link was still looking down when he was twenty yards from her, hiding those cheeks full of passion. Navi scowled at the woman named Anjou, right before they left, and when they were some ways away, she spoke. "She was a little too friendly."  
  
"Hmm? What do you mean?"  
  
"I think she thought you were cute."  
  
"I'm not cute, Navi. Now where are those Cuccos." He could hear the clucking now, but the Cuccos were nowhere to be found. Link had dropped the subject, however she hadn't.  
  
"Yes you are cute, Link. You aren't a handsome young man, like the Hylian women like, but you are a cute little boy, in their eyes. They just want to eat you up."  
  
"Like Gohma?" He reached for his sword.  
  
She burst into a stream of giggles, and kissed his cheek. "No, Linky-chan. Not like Gohma. They love how you look and just want to hug you all over."  
  
"Oh, well, I guess they can."  
  
"No, they can't."  
  
"Why not, Navi? I don't mind."  
  
"I do, you are a hero. I don't want you to become those stupid heroes in the storybooks who get all the glory from every woman in the land. You are going to get praise, but these women want to do bad stuff."  
  
"Like kill me?" Link was now at the beginning of town and peered at a small Cucco. Leaping forward, he caught the Cucco in his hands, and turned around, heading back to Anjou. When he dropped it off, there he noticed she was gone. Probably gone to her house to make preparations for us. Link concluded and went back to looking around.  
  
"No, not kill you, other bad stuff."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like what Gohma was going to do."  
  
"You said they wouldn't eat me, Navi." Now, he past the beginning of the village, which signified the near center, by a huge palm tree bearing the mark. Under that tree, someone was laughing in a manner to himself, he couldn't see whom he was laughing at, but the man seemed good enough as anyone for information. He looked at the old man, grayed hair and balding, then spoke to him. "Mister?"  
  
"What do you want, kid."  
  
"I'm looking for some Cuccos, mister, and I need to know have you seen any?"  
  
"My daughter has Cuccos, why do you need some."  
  
"A lady name Anjou is asking we find them, she's allergic to them." Navi stayed quiet, she didn't like to direct her attention to people she didn't like, and she did not approve of this man.  
  
"Anjou? That's my daughter, what do you want with her!"  
  
"H-huh? We just need to find some Cucco's, she said she would give me a room and give me a surprise." "Oh.only that," He knew the surprise and nodded in approval. "Some of the Cucco's like to hide in the boxes around town, so try those, young lad." He said one other thing; something about his daughter needs to ask before permission, and walked off into the deeper section of the village.  
  
"Under some boxes? What did he mean, Navi?"  
  
Navi heard some clucking and pointed to the northeastern section. There, next to the stairs that led to a place he hadn't been, was a small box that was shuffling. Clucking was heard from inside of the house, and Link walked to the box, smashing it open. Inside was a small Cucco trying to get out of the place, but before it could get away, he had it. This time, however he didn't let the chicken go, he headed back to a small section where a large section looked like it was being built. Construction equipment was strewed all over, but the screw didn't seem active at the time. Probably on a break. Walking up to the area, he looked across the area and saw there was another Cucco across the stretch. This one was barred up by one of those large gates, but if he could get across he could get it. Then he had an idea.  
  
"The Cucco!"  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Let's glide over and get it." Before she could comply, he leapt across the crevice, holding the Cucco high in the air. This Cucco flapped its wings, so he and it didn't fall at all, they just floated across the twenty feet crevice and landed next to the clucking machine. Picking both of them up, he floated back and raced his way down until he reached the pen, throwing the two animals back in. There he saw on the fence, and waited until Anjou came back from her chores or whatever she was doing.  
--------------------  
  
Anjou returned at about three hours later, at eight o'clock. She found all the Cuccos and cheered him on, that is when she pulled a small glass bottle out from behind her back and presented it to him. It was just like the one from the Lon-Lon Ranch, but a tad bigger. "Here you go, Link- kun, a reward for your services. Now are you ready to come home with me."  
  
"Urm, Anjou-san, I'd like to explore. What's back there?" Pointing from behind them to a bath that led into the darkness.  
  
"It's the graveyard, Link-kun. All right, my house is right near the center of the village, from the tree you go north and it's the first house you see on the front. I will leave the light on for you, so hurry back." Bending down, she kissed his forehead and walked off into the village. He couldn't see if she headed for the house, but he had a small hunch that's where she headed. When she was out of the distance, he turned towards Navi. "Graveyard?"  
  
"It's a place they bury the dead, Linky-chan. When a person dies, they bury him in the ground so he isn't exposed to the world."  
  
He didn't quite understand, but he turned around, stuffing the bottle into his side pack and headed down into the darkness. The next few minutes of walking, it seemed the world go darker, and fear began to shiver down his spine. Link kept Navi close, using her almost like a flashlight, and she kept herself closer to him.  
  
"Let's go, Link."  
  
"No, Navi, I want to go and view this 'graveyard.'" You see they never had graveyards in the Kokiiri Forest, because the Kokiiri never died. Each Kokiiri was born every three hundred years, and Link was the newest of the pack, but they never died. These forest children remained just as they were. They remained children for all eternity, the only way they died is if a monster was there, and the monsters had disappeared centuries ago.  
  
"Link--please."  
  
"Navi, please, let's just wonder around then we can go back and see Anjou."  
  
"I'd rather be in a graveyard than with Anjou." Navi muttered lowly.  
  
"Why don't you like her, Navi?"  
  
"Because, I don't trust her, she likes you."  
  
Burying his hands at his sides, Link continued down the path in silence. For another ten minutes, he walked on, until a large sign, just like the Kakariko, streamed over the top of a new place. Across the top read the words "Kakariko Graveyard." In the front of the new structure, which was paved with stepping stones, was a large stone? This stone had all sorts of text on it he couldn't read, and was old as dirt. Wiping the dust away, he knelt and read it out loud.  
  
R.I.P. Here lie the souls of those who swore fealty to the Royal Family of Hyrule.  
  
The Shiekah, guardians of the Royal Family and founds of the Kakariko, Watch over these spirits in their eternal slumber.  
  
"Shiekah? Isn't that what Impa said she was?" Navi fluttered over to the text and read it silently, before asking.  
  
"Yea, she did. Wow, so she must have founded this town, or something. At least helped, huh? Navi-chan, what does R.I.P. mean?"  
  
"Rest in Peace, it means happiness for the undead. Anyway, you're probably right about her, Linky-chan, all right let's go on. I'm interested now."  
  
Nodding in approval, Link moved forward and above the large tombstone were smaller ones. He read most of them; some had flowers, some none, and most had wilted flowers. Most of the graves were Hylians, but the older ones were those of the Shiekah. This whole area was full of hundreds of graves, so the place had such a spooky entitlement. He was just about to leave when he looked up and stared into the face of ugly old man. His age was undetermined, but he reminded Link of the character from the Hunchback of Notre' Dame. Letting out a scream of fright, he took off running, but a sweaty hand clasped over his shoulder.  
  
"Hold your horses, young person, I may look ugly, but I am as friendly as can be. Could I interest you in Danpte's Heart-pounding tour? I host it and it only cost ten rubies. I dig up in this graveyard, there are many treasures, and whatever I find is yours. What do you say?"  
  
After recovering from his heart attack, the boy nodded in compliment. Navi went inside of his hat, keeping her glow down. The other man was all right, but this man was.she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him. Link pulled out his wallet and put down ten rubies in Danpte's hand.  
  
Danpte was dressed in brown rags, his entire body pale and deformed, from behind his back he took a shovel and pointed down. "You pick a spot and I'll dig." Link walked infront of the Shiekah grave and placed his foot upon the center. "Right here, I like this spot."  
  
Danpte dug for a few minutes, until he found a small fourth of a heart concealed inside of a container. "I don't know what it's worth, but it's yours." He bent down, grabbing the thing and pressing it inside of his hands, that was when Danpte threw the digging tool aside and headed back to his little shack. The shack was only about four feet wide, and six feet high, hidden by the giant fence from before, so Link hadn't noticed it.  
  
Link didn't even notice the man leave; he saw another piece of heart! Squealing with delight, he placed it inside his pocket and searched around the rest of the place with shovels. Link didn't dig up any graves, but he found enough money for his wallet to stock it full of ninety-nine rubies. When he was done, he propped the shovel up against one of the graves, leaning on it. "Hey Navi what should we--whoa!" He screamed as the grave he was leaning on, slid open and he fell through. The grave was deep and deadly, he should have died, but when he landed at the end, he stared around, unharmed. His scars from before didn't ache, neither did any of the other ones, it was like he dropped three feet. Turning around, he saw a small platform with light leading up and looked up at it.  
  
"Navi! Come down, it's clear, it wasn't a grave! It is a hidden passage!" Navi came racing down and stared across the room. Wow, this place was actually nice. The place wet all around, looking like it hadn't been inhabited for about a thousand years, but nevertheless, it was nice. Entirely, the room was made of stone, and not an inch of dirt fell inside. Cobwebs were all around the walls, but most were washed by the leaky interior. Stepping forward, he saw all the room had been stairs leading up to a small chest. A chest? A small one, but a chest!  
  
"Ooh! Navi!" He ran forward, not even bothering to unsheathe his sword and raced up the fifty stairs, to the box that led to the top. It was smaller than the ones he got his Farie Slingshot out of, the map, but this one may have still had some nice stuff in it. Kicking the edge open, he leaned forward and store inside was a large shield.  
  
Inside of the chest, was a Hyrulian Shield, with a long buckled strap along with it? Now, she nodded her head, and actually began to work on fastening it around his body. When she was done Link didn't know how, but the Hyrulian Shield was upon his form, and a strap came across his left shoulder, moving across his right armpit. The strap went fully around his back and held tight in place. How it was presented was that the strap wrapped around the center of the sheath, holding it in place. The Hyrulian shield was hanging off, around his back, stopping directly at where his neck began. Even his cap seemed to fall inside the shield. The Deku shield was, however, clasped in his right hand.  
  
"You'll have to carry it from now on, either that or stick it in your satchel. On the other hand, you could stick it in your side pack, but don't do it, because it will be in your way. Stick it inside of the satchel, and keep it on your hands unless you are using them to move something." On the shield were handles to which it could he held, and also clips where the shield could be held down. This was only on the Hyrulian Shield; the Deku shield had only two handles to hold it with.  
  
This shield resembled nothing of his Deku Shield. This shield, when propped up, reached almost to his waist. A silver rim surrounded the triangular shaped defender, but at the same time, it wasn't a triangle. At the top it was pointed, and the top left and right, but at the center and bottoms it curved inward. This rim of the shield didn't curve in straight, it moved in and out, in different directions. The shield wasn't all silver, though, because after the rim, the background was painted blue with small silver squiggles at the top of the, not connected to the rim. Right below the squiggles was a large golden Triforce. Under the Triforce was a large eagle, with its wings spread from the rims, this was in the center. Now at the end of the shield, below the eagle, was a single golden triangle. This one was turned upside down, the bottom facing up. Link held the shield up and turned it around, on the inside it was golden with some buckles. Some were to hold the shield to one's back and others were to hold for defense. Link held it out proudly.  
  
"Should I keep these both?"  
  
"Yes.I think you should. Death Mountain is an active volcano or it maybe. I don't really know. How much does it weigh?"  
  
"I would say about seventy pounds, but somehow I can hold it."  
  
"But can you fight with it? Why don't you just keep it on your back, and use your Deku Shield until it wears out? I know you can't hold the shield up and fight, so kneel when you want to dodge with that, all right? Let's try some flips, see if you can handle the weight."  
  
Pushing the shield on his back, under the Deku Shield and right below the sheath, so he had easy access to it, Link pulled the sword out and began to practice. It took a few minutes of running around, but he eventually got the hold of it and was able to perform some flips with it. The only problem was the Deku Shield was not in easy access. "How do I get my shield for easy access?"  
  
"Well, put it in front of the Hylian Shield, or you can just get rid of it. No, that's stupid, I have a solution." She grabbed the Deku Shield and began to circle him all over, making a few adjustments. A few minutes later, he had the shield right infront of his Hylian Shield, it was pinned up, so it had an access he could reach. "There we are."  
  
"Great!" You ready to go home? I think that's all for the graveyard."  
  
"Yea, let's go."  
  
That was the first plan, but when Link stepped into the light, he was transported not out of the grave he got out of, but out at the top of the graveyard. This way he was infront of a new grave, this one much larger than the Shiekah, with two other smaller graves to the side. On the ground, imprinted In the grass was a large Triforce symbol, and this symbol was shaped with the grass. Standing on the Triforce, he read the large text printed in the old language. Some of it he couldn't understand, but he got the familiar feel.  
  
Here lie the souls, who fought in the War of Wars, We honour thee who gave their lives for the country of Hyrule. Let eternal piece be blessed to those Shiekahs, Hyrulians, Zoras, and Gorons.  
  
Next to the tombstone were a set of graves, he read the right one, ignoring the left one because it said the exact same thing. Most of it was old and unreadable, but he managed to get most of it through his mind.  
  
To the Royal Composer Brothers, who gave their lives for the Royal Family of Hyrule? We honour their brave ness and wish them happiness for wherever they maybe; Peace and happiness shall prosper through Hyrule for their sacrifices.  
  
"Who are they, Navi?"  
  
"I don't know, I've never heard of them. Hey, remember what Impa said about the Triforce?"  
  
Impa stood over the two of them, her hands upon her broadened, muscular hips. She smiled affectionately and patted Link's head. "Young lad, the next Spiritual Stone is the Spiritual Stone of Fire. It is up in with the Goron's of Death Mountain."  
  
"Gorons? What are those?" Link stared up in the distance, staring at Death Mountain, from the castle balcony. "Those are the rock-eaters of Hyrule, Link-kun. You might need to gain their approval, but they are a friendly race, indeed. First you must pass through my hometown, Kakariko. From there you must climb the torturous Death Mountain. It will be hard, but I have faith in you."  
  
At this time, Zelda raced up to the trio and puffed out from her breath, the three had been heading outside, after Link viewed the mountain, when Zelda showed up. "W-wait, Link-kun!"  
  
Turning around, Link stared at her. "What is it, Zelda-sama." She had something folded in her hands, and placed it on his, clasping them together.  
  
"This is my signature and a letter. You see, there's a guard who will not let you in without my permission, so give this to him."  
  
"Good idea, Zelda-chan." Impa spoke up, and smiled patting her hair. She had it taken off, bearing the most beautiful golden hair that Link had ever seen. The two were just alike, an almost sibling way, in a sense from their looks, but it wasn't so. Link was a Kokiiri and she was a Hylian. Navi grabbed the letter and stuck it down in his side pack, turning to Zelda and nodding her head. "Thank you, Zelda-sama."  
  
She giggled and petted the farie. The little girl had rather enjoyed Navi's company these past few days, because faries were things of the past, but here was one now! "Your welcome, Navi-san. Okies, I must be going before my father comes looking for me. Now remember, Link, come back to me when you have both the Spiritual Stones. I don't want you to waste a trip unless you can't find the Water." There, she trotted back up the stairs, turning around once with a wink, then she was gone.  
  
Impa lead them out of the castle, eluding the guards, and taking a carriage towards the Hyrule Town Market. When they were out of the castle area, she walked them out of the whole market, finally resting when they were outside the castle gates. "Link-kun, take a look."  
  
He stared up, in the distance and caught just the peak of Death Mountain. "Link-kun, I want you to remember something. Whenever you see a Triforce embedded upon something, such as a symbol, play the Royal Family song, because those notes hold such special power. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, Impa-san."  
  
Leaning down, he pulled him up into his arms, hugging him roughly, then she laid out her palm and rested him on it. "You are quite a fine lad, Link- kun, take care of yourself and your partner."  
  
"Will do." He felt a little uncomfortable on her hand, but he sat there and listened.  
  
She didn't talk anymore, though; she clasped him in her arms, once more and kissed his lips. She kissed him long and hard, breaking it after a few seconds and sitting him down.  
  
Link sat there, staring at her, dazed. His cheeks were crimson, his eyes misted with a little bit of excitement. She was a pretty woman, indeed, so that is why her kiss made his eyes illuminate with pleasure. He was about to speak, when she backed away a few feet, and threw something out. The land seemed to explode, when light filled his eyes. Putting his hands over his eyes, he looked up as the smoke cleared and she was gone.  
  
"Navi, where did she?" But Navi was inside his hat, a little streamed off.  
  
--------------------  
  
"I remember the kiss." He giggled and pulled out his Farie Ocarina, but before he could blow a tune Navi smacked him on the side of the head. Rubbing it, he grinned and played the Royal Family Tune. As soon as the tune ended, the sky seemed to darken. The entire place was getting darker and darker, so Link backed up a few feet with light began to glow around the tomb. A few seconds later, he was thrown across one of the many gates, which surrounded the graveyard. He was thrown back when the lightning, from the sky, struck the tombstone and sent pieces flying everywhere. If he had been near it, the rocks would have crushed him, and now lying on his back, the boy thanked the Goddesses.  
  
"L-Link are you okay!" Navi was by his side, checking him for any new scratches, but besides the scratches from the fall, he was all right. Breathing a sigh of relief, she flew near the hole and called out. "Another hole, another secret passage!"  
  
"Really!" Jumping up, he jumped the gate, and rushed near the hole. Where the huge, two-ton tomb stood, was a hole about five feet around that lead into darkness. "Should I jump?"  
  
"Yea, just land on your hard shield. Link, that is a knight shield, I saw some of the knights wearing them. That shield can withstand anything."  
  
Without hesitation, he pulled the Deku shield off and jumped in the hole, bottom first. He should have landed on his behind, but again, he landed on his feet with a quick snap. There behind him, was another one of those transporters. "This must be the old magic of the world?"  
  
"Yea, like in the legends. Let me go check." She went forward into the darkness, and a few minutes she returned with her veil turning a complete white. Taking the veil off, she sat her small body on his shoulder, covering herself up. "Link, I think you'd better take your sword and shield out."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"T-there are bones in there, they look old, but there has to be something in there. I didn't see anything out their, but two unlit torches, and a room door that was barred. Let's go back."  
  
"Navi, if it's barred, then we need to go see what's out there!" He started forward, Navi pulled at his shoulder a few times, but she pushed her fingers aside and continued forward. The area was just like the last, made of stone and having carving all around the walls and floors. The only difference was on the left and right sides of the place were, in fact, bones. He couldn't tell if they were human or animal, because he saw no skulls, but they scared him half to death. He did, this time, pulled out his sword, and since his shield was already out.he placed them readily in his hands.  
  
Navi went ahead and rechecked the area, didn't see anything and flew back, with her veil on. It was just too damp in here for her, but what about him. "Link, if you stay in your skirt-tunic any longer, your going to catch a cold."  
  
"Can't help it, Navi. I've always dressed like this."  
  
"And been in a subtropical environment."  
  
"Well, maybe I'll try to find something to put under it one day, but for now I love this Kokiirish clothes, they give me a certain feel. I like for people to know I'm from the forest." They had been walking and talking at the same time, so now they were near the center of the tomb. Yes, tomb was the only word to describe this place. The other one was maybe a crypt, but this was a tomb. They both moved to the center, and he could see that they were about twenty-five yards to the entrance. "How do we open it?"  
  
"I wouldn't even begin to guess, unless we were to make some fire?"  
  
"It's too damp down here, Navi." He walked the entire distance forward, and was about the climb the stairs when Navi, who had stayed in the middle, yelled out. "Link! Duck!"  
  
Link hit the ground and as he did, three giant thumps slammed into his Hylian Shield. Jumping up, his Deku Shield raised up, he saw three bats flying towards him. He'd read about them before, they usually stayed in the caves and wet places like this.  
  
"Bats?"  
  
"No, worse than that, they are Keese! Luckily they aren't ignited." She whispered that part, but he caught it. Ignited? What is she talking about? Before he could comply, he saw two of them head for him. Flipping backwards, he slammed his blade through the neck of the other one and smashed the shield into the second one. They may have been stealthy, when hiding, but they were quite weak. Over the next two minutes, he stood forward, taking out his sling and putting his sword and shield back. Navi was at his side, and soon turned towards a shadow and shone yellow. "Another one!"  
  
Pulling a Deku Seed back, he slipped it into the notch and fired into the sleeping Keese. The thing screeched, a dying scream, before it plummeted to its death. The seed was just that strong inside the sling, that it had pushed into the thing's throat and ripped it out.  
  
"Was that one asleep?"  
  
"Yea, Link."  
  
"But I heard--Navi!" He leapt into the air, reaching for the sword, but pulled out a Deku Stick. No time to threat, he slammed the butt of the stick on the skull of the last Keese. It seems the thing had gone after Navi, that was, until Link bashed the brains out. The Deku Stick broke, it wasn't made for combat, but it sure did the job for him. Pushing the shattered remains of the branch away, he gathered Navi in his hands and checked her over.  
  
Navi let herself being checked, taking the veil off, and giggled whenever she was kissed. She usually did that, takes the veil off whenever it got too hot slept at night, alone with Link, or was kissed. When he kissed the veil, it tasted weird, and felt no affection at all. It was different with her, though, he felt much emotion. Right when he was about to speak a small snap cleared the air and the bars of the door raised up. Turning around, her raised in his palms, he saw it and squealed with joy. "It was a puzzle."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"It was a puzzle, Navi-chan. You see? Whenever the enemies died, there is was a triggering switch, or something, that activated the door."  
  
"Wow, Link, that is very perspective." Now hanging upon his neck, her arms around his face, and pressing her face to his left cheek. Link pulled his sword and shield back out, keeping them handy as he climbed the stairs up to new room. The bars were gone, but the door was still solid and couldn't be lifted. Kicking the door, it creaked and slid open at a stop. Another reason to look forward, this room was filled with complete darkness.  
  
--------------------  
  
"What's that smell?" Something was very disgusting about this next room. The next path was a bit stonier than the last, but it had the same feel too it. The only difference between the two was that this new room had sections of it cut off and in those crests were some green liquid bubbling about.  
  
"It must be that, Link-chan." Rising out of most of the pools, formed in pillar-structures, was gaseous forms. She pointed to the gaseous layers. The form entered Link's nostrils, and he broke out in a gag. Navi went right to his face and stuck his nose in the barrier, by sitting on his nose. Instantly, he was feeling with relief of the pressure.  
  
"Thanks, Navi." The room wasn't very big, a littler bigger than the rest by twenty-five yards. Small little lumps were piled around the rooms, they didn't look very dangerous, and so he sheathed up his sword, and kept the shield incase any more Keese showed up.  
  
About half way away from the first lump, his body froze. Link didn't know what to do, he couldn't move his arms, nor could he perform even a blink. Whimpering, his tongue the only thing that could move, cried out in a screaming voice. "Navi, I'm paralyzed!" That's when he saw it, the lump curled up and looked at him. This thing made Danpte look like a Raphael angel. This hideous creature revealed it hadn't eaten in weeks, or even months. It's skin was a dark gray and stretched across its body, like a tight suit. Its ribs, veins, and everything else slithered and wretched out of the body, giving Link a full view. Claws for hands, and its feet were already decaying, the monster was sexless, but from its structure, it looked male. But across its face was the worst, because across it's face was a brown mask, the mask made of a brown wood. Holes, where the eyes went, and a grinning mouth shone out from the beast. This monster was deadly, he didn't know what it was, but it was deadly.  
  
"Navi, what is that!"  
  
"Let me think.A Redead! Link that is a Redead! It's the body of a dead soldier infected with evil chi! Run, don't let it look you in the eyes." Navi flew up to the tyrant's eyes and flashed a full white. That made the thing cry out and cover its eyes, and since its eyes were off of Link, he could run.  
  
Run? Run was an understatement. What the hero did was dash for his life. First, he ran to her grabbed her, and ran across the left side of the room, because there were no cuts into the green liquid, which he was convinced, was toxic. There he dodged three of the Redeads; they were well over seven feet tall and hard to reach him. One actually jumped on his back, with its arms and legs wrapped around him, but Navi blasted it with some of the newfound powers she had. At last the new path opened, this time the sword inside his hands, when he dashed in and slammed the door shut. Wow, the new room had a large runic wall. Upon the wall was a bunch of unread text, but a simple message and chords from a song he could read. This is what it read.  
  
This poem is dedicated to The memory of the dearly departed; the Sun's Song. Members of the Royal Family of Hyrule, scripted by Royal Composer Brothers.  
  
"Those guys from the grave!" Link took out that piece of paper, with three other songs on it, and wrote down the script of the song. It was a very bright, dancing tune, or so it seemed on paper. I mean, he couldn't tell that until he played the Ocarina, so out that small playing machine went to compose this song. Link stared up at the notes, stuffing the instrument inside of his pocket and blew the notes out, but the strongest thing was nothing happened.  
  
"Navi, usually a tune happens. Or something happens."  
  
"I don't know Li--" A crash fell and the door exploded with a moaning rush. Out came all the Redeads from the room before, he hadn't noticed this many, there were fifteen of them! Navi squealed and hid behind his back, praying in her own tune to the Goddesses. Nothing could save them, anything!  
  
"I wonder.if we play these tunes, they are dead. This is the Sun's Song. Worth a try, I mean, I can't kill fifteen of those things at one time." Propping the Ocarina in his lips, he blew out the Sun's Song. Hrm, staring around, the moaning had stopped and all the Redeads looked at him with a paralyzing face on them. "Navi, they froze!"  
  
Navi peered up and burst into laughter, she fluttered up to his face and pecked his cheek, grabbing his Ocarina and holding it into the air. "This magical thing saved us! Yes!" She placed it inside of his satchel and stared forward at them, the bandages were coming unloosened. They had been wrapped in bandages when the song they heard, but they were unraveling. "Linky-chan! Run, they are unfreezing--whoa!"  
  
He was way ahead of her; he had noticed the wraps and packed his shield into his satchel while she was praising around. Then, yanking her forward with himself, he dashes passed the group of more than a dozen as they came to life. One actually caught him, but a quick hilt of his boot sent the monster back into a shallow grave of the earth. The old room was empty; all of them must have really been trying to open that door. Good, no more disturbances. Pushing forward, in an open sprint, he crossed the entire room in less than ten seconds and burst through the old Kesse door. Nothing there so the room with so many yards, from before, was now empty. So now he busted through that room and was up into the silver light within a matter of seconds.  
  
This time, the light transported him back to one of the old graves. Impudent, he walked to the center of the room, which happened to be the room the shield room and played the Song of Suns. The room changed, and a clear hole blasted through the roof of the floor. Also, some sort of ladder slid down. Taking this chance, he climbed up the ladder that was dropped, and when he came out he was back in the graveyard. At his side was another piece of heart, wow that made three fourths of it. One more piece and we get stronger! He still had Navi in his pocket, so as he walked back to the graveyard, he opened his hands and spoke. "How long were we there?"  
  
"Three hours at the...most? It's the evening, but how!" The sun was lowering when they had come out of the tunnel.  
  
"Maybe the Sun's song is actually warping time? I played it twice, so the first time maybe it became morning, and now it warped back to night?"  
  
"So you are telling us we wasted an entire day."  
  
"Pretty much." He was halfway back to the Kakariko Village, he had been jogging and now it was just darkening. When the two reached the inside of the village, they saw a small light on in a tiny house out to the west. "Must be Anjou-san."  
  
"Are you as tired as I am? Did that song drain a whole day out of us?" She yawned and slowly, but surely, patted down inside of his hat. Even if he spoke, she wouldn't be able to hear. She was in her own dreaming land.and she was queen there, but he was her king.  
  
Walking across the village, he followed the light and knocked on the side of the door. Judging from the moonlight, it was only about seven o'clock, enough time to eat and get to bed. No answer at all. Nodding against the door, he began to pound on the door and call out her name.."Anjou-san.Anjou- san." Too late, gonna faint. Yes, he slumped against the ground and fell into a small curl.  
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When Anjou opened the door, she couldn't help but stare down at the boy with awe. He's so cute. Scooping the young child into her arms, she walked inside of her small house and put him right to bed. The whole house wasn't much of a house, it was about the same place as Link's, except a little larger for her. The kitchen positioned to the right of the room, the bathroom situated with a shower in the left corner. In the center was a small seating area where when she had guest over, which was never, she would have seated them there. Finally, where he was now, was her bedroom. A large bed was there, enough to suit two, with a small chest full of clothes. Anjou sat him down, covering him up.  
  
He's so dirty. She pulled off his cap, and saw the small twinkle was here. Pulling the farie up, she moved her to the small couch and covered her up with a blanket--actually it was a towel and a small couch pillow, but you get the idea. When Navi was down, he walked over to Link and removed his armour. Wow, a Hylian Shield, how could he carry that! She had to throw the thing across the room, using every ounce of strength to move it. The thing must have weighed a hundred pounds! Next came out the lighter, twenty-pound bag across his back, and the heavier one across his waist. There she unhooked the sheath, sword, and pulled all that sweaty armour off.  
  
There, now let's clean him up. When she actually touched the boy, was when she noticed his soft he was. There wasn't an ounce of muscle on his skin; it was smooth as a baby. She guessed he was about nine or ten, but was he really from the Kokiiri Forest?  
  
That sparkle isn't a candle, Anjou. Her father spoke in her mind. Anjou got her sense of determination and sense of knowing if something was real, until she had evidence. She did not believe these people who drilled holes in their heads to let the 'evil spirits' out. That was nonsense!  
  
The woman, she was about twenty-five, didn't bother to go through his satchel, but instead pulled out some of her clothes as a teenager. This shirt would fit the boy not perfectly, but came down to his knees. At least he couldn't slip upon them; she was a lot shorter then she was now. Looking at his full body, she just had to ponder. Why is he wearing a skirt? Link-kun isn't a girl, at least she thought so, but tonight she would be sure. She did have to bathe him, after all. Looking up the skirt, too see if her wore anything under, she saw a small pair of shorts and nodded to herself. Quite embarrassing if he tripped over a rock or something in the middle of town. Ha! Now, the woman couldn't help blush and hid her face deep into the covers, right by his head.  
  
"You are quite queer, young boy. What are you exactly? You look just like a Hylian child, but carrying that shield, I am sure you aren't.hmm." Walking to the left side of the room, opening a small door, and leaving it ajar she began to draw his bath water.  
  
--------------------  
  
It actually took longer to draw the bath than she thought she had to go fetch some water from the newly refilled well. Yes, the Kakariko had been in the drought season for a few months, but now Hyrule Castle was sending water, and milk, for that matter, to the Kakarikoians. Weren't they so glad they had opened up their lands to us Hyrulians? Pulling off his hard boots then the socks. Anjou removed the tunic top first, running her fingers across his chest and resting her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He looked like an adventurer, but what she saw made her gasp. A huge scar was placed upon his chest! It was healed, but she scar was there. He must be an adventurer.  
  
Then she took came the tunic skirt, they were actually buckled from before, but she undid that in a matter of seconds. He didn't smell too bad. It was obvious he hadn't had a bath since he had come to Kakariko, so he just needed a good scrubbing. Pulling him, still in the small undergarment- shorts, Anjou headed to the fresh warm water and slipped him in. She did, of course, strip his shorts off and slide him in the water. When he was in, comfortably, she gathered up his clothes and stuck them near the wash. She'd fix the tear on his hem later, but now she needed to wash him.  
  
Maneuvering back to the room, with a towel and a washcloth, she shut the door and knelt beside the unconscious boy. Should she have awakened him? No, he is a maturing young boy, not that mature, but be rest assured he would have blushed and looked away from her the whole time he was here. The final decision was this: not to wake him up. For the next the twenty minutes, the young woman bathed him all over, first the started with his face and the upper neck region, then she moved down to his chest and arms now. That was when she moved down past his waist and to his feet and legs, scrubbing them hardly, and then going to his back and flipping him over washing his back, behind, and thighs. Anjou slipped him back on his rump and slipped a hand down there, scrubbing under the water.  
  
During the twenty minutes, Link moaned when he was flipped, and then called out various names. The most repetitive one was some one named 'Saria' and his farie 'Navi'. She knew who Navi was, of course, she had heard Link talking to him the day before. A few minutes into the bath, his eyes opened and he stared her deep into the eyes. A very embarrassing situation, except he had smiled and slipped deep into his slumber. He's probably a heavy sleeper. After he washed everywhere, she went down and washed down there. That was when he woke up and stared at her.  
  
--------------------  
  
Oh, his dreams were so sweet. In them he was dreaming of Saria, they were kissing again. Hee, but the dream flashed forward and he was inside of a large bowl of water. Looking up, he stared into the glaring eyes of a Gohma with a spoon in her hands. Something was creeping up his shoulder and washing him all over. Not being able to see what it was, he stared at Gohma as her tongue came out and ran upon his skin. Piles of goose flesh appeared all over his body. When he was able to stare up, he stared into the eyes of a man. No! His worst dreams had come true. Above him, It was the man from the room. It was Ganondorf! He had a giant spoon in his hands and was chuckling evilly. Springing out of sleep, he stared down at Anjou washing his body.  
  
--------------------  
  
Anjou stared down at the ground, and was still washing at his area when a voice spoke up. "A-Anjou-san!" Link was staring down at her, widened eyes, and his face was turning a deep crimson. "Anjou-san, what are you doing?" He nearly squealed with a whimper and peered at her sharply.  
  
"L-Link-kun, I was just washing you. I thought you would be out for at least a day or so, so I decided to wash you. You do smell--" A pounding came at the door and suddenly a loud voice boomed in. The voice wasn't a man's, it was a pissed off little farie. "OPEN THIS DOOR, ANJU-SAN!" Before Anjou could comply, the door turned and Navi burs in the room, looking at Anju with her rag still down there and Link looking scared.  
  
"What did you do to Linky-chan!" Nearly soaring towards Link, she sat up his newly washed hair, and stood up staring up at Anjou. "What did you do! Were you touching him!"  
  
Anjou's eyes widened when she heard what Navi said. "Navi-san! You know me better than." Cut off, by herself, she realized that Navi didn't know her, and she didn't know Navi. Staring down, pulling her hands out and shuttling them, she spoke. "Link-kun, I didn't do anything, I was.bathing you, you were smelly, so I wanted to give you a bath."  
  
Navi stared at her, eyes glaring with hatred and flew down to Link's face. "Linky-chan, do you feel different, did she rub you or touch you in any way?"  
  
Link rolled his eyes. "Of course she did, Navi, she was bathing me. You have to touch to bathe. Hee! Don't worry, Anjou-san, I believe you. I don't know what Navi is speaking of, but you didn't do it." He slowly grabbed the towel and slid out of the water, walking into the living room to dry him off.  
  
Anjou looked up at Navi, who had stayed behind and frowned. "I didn't do anything, Navi-san, believe me. I was going to give you a bath too. He was just so cute looking, and when I took a scent of him, I had to bathe him."  
  
".I know, I just got mad. He is cute, isn't he?" Navi flushed under the veil, showing a deep crimson through the center, and fluttered right infront of Link.  
  
"Yes, he is adorable. His flesh is so soft, but come on, I have some clothes for him."  
  
"Okay, Anjou-san, I am sorry."  
  
"It's alright, Navi-san." With that the argument was forgotten and the two headed into the main room to dress Link.  
  
--------------------  
  
"No." Link looked at Anjou and Navi and shook his head. "I can dress myself."  
  
"Come on, Link-chan. Let me dress you, please? You can slip the shorts on, I just like the way you skin feels." Anjou pounced at him, gathering him inside of her arms and began to tickle him profusely.  
  
Link, in turn, burst in a stream of giggles and pawed away from Anjou. While they were gone, he had slipped on his boxers and was looking for his tunic, when they came in. The place was very small, reminding him of his own room, but why did they want to dress him up? What was this?  
  
"Linky-chan. Come on, we just want to pretty you up."  
  
"Pretty me up? Navi-chan what are you talking about?"  
  
Anjou intercepted the conversation. "We want to see what you will look like with a dress and such on. You are such a pretty-looking boy, we want to dress you up like a little girl." There was no real expensive or beautiful looking makeup back then, and since Anjou didn't wear it, there was no need to use it. Or no desire to do it at all. Link frowned towards Navi and finally agreed.  
  
That night, he was prettied up and dressed like a little girl. The embarrassed Link took it all with full force, and at about ten-thirty that night, he went to sleep in a dress.  
  
--------------------  
  
The following morning, Link and Navi set off for Death Mountain. The two ate breakfast with Anjou, and Link was dressed up in a tunic that was sown up. Looking up towards the woman, he gave Anjou a huge hug and ran off towards Death Mountain. There Anjou stared at the strange boy as he headed up the miles to the mountain top. He might have some trouble with the guards, but if he did, then Anjou would make sure that the boy was put up to that place.  
  
Moving north of the town, they climbed a little section of the mountain and by eight-thirty reached a huge gate that enclosed the entire region of Death Mountain. The gate was long, steel and fifteen feet tall, covering against walls so no one could get out, and not a being could anyone enter. Link was walking to the gate, examining it from right to left, when a voice sprang out of no where. "Halt! Who goes there!"  
  
A tall man, well large compared to Link, was sitting along the right-hand side of the mountain with his arms folded around his chest. The man was dressed just like the guards at the palace: ugly small clothes, no real leg armour, and a helmet that hid his face to the world. A large spear was withheld inside of his hand, which he had pointed at the young boy. "Where do you think you're going, you little ass, I think you had best step back from me, before I decide to get angry!" This man was not one to tempt with.  
  
Navi just stared at the encounter, and surrounded the man's face, yelling out to him. "Hey! Leave him alone, this boy is on orders from Princess Zelda-sama!"  
  
"Zelda-sama! What the hell is this thing talking about." Trying to swat at her, but profusely missing. "Give me some proof, you little punk."  
  
"She must have been speaking of him Navi--"  
  
"Shut up and show proof!" The guard sputtered out, the spear pointed right at Link's chest.  
  
Nodding, Link pulled out the large letter and handed it to the guard. What it read was this: This young boy's name is Link, and he is on his way to save Hyrule. Please let him pass onto Death Mountain. It was signed Zelda-sama, and a small insignia of the Triforce was right below her name.  
  
"This is definitely Princess Zelda-sama's handwriting, but what is out princess up too!" He burst into guffaws of laughter. This laughter went on for about five minutes, which Link stared at the man rudely, but when it was done the guard handed the letter back and clapped his hands. "Alright, Alright, Mr. Hero! I'll let you pass, but it's a good thing you have one of those Hylian Shields. Death Mountain is an active Volcano, you know. Usually you need the King's permission, but I guess our little Zelda-sama's is just as preferred. I'd kill you if this was forged, you know."  
  
"Yes sir." That was when he looked up at the gate, growling and slammed his spear into the ground. A clinking sound surrounded the atmosphere and the gates slid back into from hence they came: the mountain. Link stared at it, gape-eyed with amazement, as the guard broke out into laughter.  
  
"Alright, Mr. Hero. I hope you have a fun time on Death Mountain." Breaking into another barrel of laughs, he had the nerve to ask if Link would get him a mask for his 'son.' Link was considering it when Navi shook her head, pointing at the veil and twirling her finger. Giggling, he walked away, but the man was still laughing when Link walked away with his hands stuffed in his pockets, boiling with anger.  
  
--------------------  
  
Death Mountain was a lot larger than that it looked. For the next three days, the couple spent the entire days climbing the mountains, but by the second day, they decided it was best to climb at night. There were no Stalchildren on Death Mountain, he heard the rutting of Skulltula in the walls, but never saw them. There was a new type of enemy on the mountain and, they were called Tektites. These monsters, which looked more like spiders than the Gohma spawn, only had four legs and a small torso. These monsters were red, with large eye in the middle, but the funny thing was they were easy. Link could dispatch three of them with the basic spin of his sword and block of the Deku Shield.  
  
Traveling at night was more preferred, because of the hot sun on Death Mountain, was it called Death Mountain called that for the sun and the mountain was active? Probably so, it seemed, because after the first day he almost died of dehydration. This mountain was dangerous place. So, he would sleep in his shade, under the Hylian Shield, and travel at night. Instead of stopping in the morning, he traveled until it was well into the noon.  
  
No time during his trip was there a 'volcano explosion', but Navi did explain what they were talking about. This mountain spilt out fire and ashes, it seemed, that would consume whatever was in it's path, but she said that the stuff happened up at the top of Death Mountain and Goron City was at the center of the mountain. While he was traveling, about the first day and a half, he ran into a large cave that was blocked by a huge boulder. A small sign was labeled Dodongo's Cavern. He didn't know what a Dodongo, but they must have been quite the secretive people, because they didn't want anyone inside.  
  
Another strange thing happened to Link, he ran into a crossroads, and I mean literally. The duo ran into a small piece of wood stuck in the ground with a red flag hanging from the top of the flag. Him and Navi flipped a coin and went up towards the top. That was a mistake! The way up lead towards a huge set of boulders that they couldn't pass without some severe explosives. Maybe they have bombs for this bag! So, a half a day was spent traveling back down the mountain and going south of the flag. That led right to the city, it seemed they were right under it!  
  
Link and his companion reached Goron City the third night on the mountain, coming close to the fourth, it was about eleven o'clock when he saw the inner gates. They weren't really gates, but a large arena slightly carved different from the rest of the mountain. It pointed out towards a large squarest structure that had a huge block in the center aligning rocks in a circle. Link kicked the rocks aside, to find some of those pretty hear containers and drank a few. The strength returned to his body, and he and Navi drank two apiece.  
  
"Navi, is that is?" He pointed north where there was a medium sized door that lead inside of the rocks. "I think so, Linky-chan. Now be warned, this race looks a lot different from the Hyrulians, Kokiiri, and the Faries. They don't have pointy ears, like us, or the same colour of skin. We might find them repulsive, but don't show your disgust. We need their cooperation to get the Spiritual Stone of Fire, and knowing Daruina he won't give it up."  
  
"Daruina? Who is that?"  
  
"The Great Deku Tree-sama told me about him once. He is the Great leader of the Gorons and as stubborn as a mule. He doesn't listen to other people, but he isn't a bad guy. Some where in the Lost Woods is a path towards here and there, so he likes the music of the Lost Woods, but he's never been here.  
  
"Wow, alright. Are you ready?" It had been eight days since they left the Lost Woods, leaving Saria, and it had been twenty-three days since he had begun to journey. Wow, almost a month! Three weeks and two days! This was incredible, because it never felt like it. It was quite an astronomical feeling he felt. This journey was quite into it, he believes, and so he jumped off the rock and ran forward to the City of the Gorons.  
  
--------------------  
  
Why was it everywhere he went, the places seemed to get bigger and bigger? An asterisk of confusion swelled over his mind as he stared in the city. This was definitely why they called this a city, and Kakariko a village. Link guessed they could just about fit twenty Kakariko's into this one Goron City. Probably every Goron lived her, he assumed, since he had never seen a Goron.  
  
"This place is huge." Navi spoke, reading Link's mind, and fluttered around the area in utter amazement. They entered from the top of six-layer city. This wasn't like a normal city, because there were no houses, there just was this huge.sanctuary was the only word! The first level was full of dirt clogged paths, the entire room was in a sort of oval shape, not really a circular, but it would be considered that. Different holes covered the area around the top level, and in those holes were endless paths of stairs. Large rocks covered one place when he turned right in, but something else caught his eye.  
  
In the middle of the entire region, four ropes sprung out in the cardinal directions, and a small platform was suspended in the air from there. "Navi?"  
  
"The Spiritual Stone maybe there, come on Link."  
  
"N-Navi.that is a long way down. And I don't see no Cuccos."  
  
Blowing out a long sigh of frustration, she took off her veil and latched onto his clothes. "Hold on, and don't scream."  
  
"Navi what are you--" Link cried out in a gasp as he was lifted into the air and was levitating. Levitating! No, he was being pulled across the structure, through the air and to the center, by the one and only Navi. Holding his hands to his side, he prayed the Goddesses until his fit hit the five by five hexagonal shaped platform. In the middle was a stone with a small inscription.  
  
The Spiritual Stone of Fire Lies here; Separated by the Goddesses, and praised For the Goddess of Flames, Din. No one shall ever touch thee stone.  
  
There was also something else he didn't notice, that surprised him. A large lump, which he thought to be a rock, propped up and stared at him with those beady little eyes. "Who are you?" It croaked.  
  
Leaping back, barely catching his balance on the edge of the rocks, he stared at the being. It was obviously larger than he was, about seven feet this one was was, but it was covered so strangely. A tannic colour, it was, with bumps of rock that ran along it skin in a structural way. A huge potbelly ran along its stomach. It was seen clearly that this fiend or friend was not that weak. Deep muscles ran along his chest, arms, and legs, with those veins bustling out. This one had a small amount of hair on its cone-shaped head, and some under it's lips. A pair of fish lips smiled out, those huge stained midnight black eyes staring at him. No pupils at all were on its face. Link let out a horrified gasp, and reached for his sword.  
  
"Wait! Wait young Hylian! I am not a fiend!" He sat up; Link's guess about his height was quite accurate, and slowly wobbled over to the boy on its uneven feet. Huge bear-like paws were on its hands and feet, and upon its left arm was a small triangle with three triangles sprucing out in three single directions. Two holes were pressed into its skull, no nose, just blowholes, and the monster's hands went to his shoulder. "Wait, don't draw your sword, young Hylian. Just who are you?"  
  
".I'm not a Hylian, I am a Kokiiri, from the forest. What am I doing here? I am on a quest. Are you a Goron?"  
  
"A Kokiiri. So odd to see one out of the forest, I've never laid eyes on one." He chuckled and sat back on the ground, staring up at the boy. It was obvious he was male, his voice deep and charging. "Yes, I am a Goron. Now, young Kokiiri, what are you doing up on Death Mountain."  
  
"I'm--uh--looking for the Spiritual Stone of Fire."  
  
"Oh, the big, juicy stone? That red stone used to be out here, but Aniki took it away. I was so hungry, I just came out here for a little bite."  
  
"Hungry, do you want some food? I have some bread and fruit."  
  
The Goron made a gagging sound and stared at Link, bewildered. "I don't see how you Hyrulian children do it."  
  
"I'm not a Hyrulian--"  
  
"Yes, you are. I mean, you are the children of Farore-sama. We are from Din-sama, which means we live on the red earth."  
  
"Oh!" Link giggled, and nodded his head clearly. Maybe the Zoras were Naryu-samas? "So, who is Aniki?"  
  
"Aniki means 'Big Brother.' It is the head boss of us Gorons, Daruina."  
  
"Oh, the head boss, like the Zelda-sama's father and the Great Deku Tree- sama."  
  
"You've met the Princess-sama?" The Goron stared at the young boy; eyes were wide with such a small little passion. "Wow, I can't believe it."  
  
The boy nodded and told him about his encounter with the Princess, then he told him about the Great Deku Tree-sama, but that was when another question popped up, this time from Navi. "So, why are you hungry?"  
  
The Goron stared at the young farie and sighed deeply. "Did you two see a large cavern down at the center of the beginning of the mountain?"  
  
"Yea, Dodongo's Cavern. We read the sign."  
  
"Well, our food supply was in there, but ever since that man showed up--" The Goron was interrupted by a wild-eyed Link.  
  
"A man! Was he wearing black armour and have evil eyes!"  
  
"Yes, he did. He came here about two weeks ago and asked Aniki for the special stone. Aniki denied and then that man shut up the cavern. We have tried to live off of our current rocks, but it is useless. We tried to remove the rock, and it was gone for twenty-four hours, but the people who went into there died."  
  
"D-died? How!"  
  
"Well, the Dodongo are supposed to be extinct. They died out a long time ago, but after the man left, they started to repopulate the area and ate our fellow Gorons."  
  
"So, you eat rocks?"  
  
"Yep, that's about it. We eat rocks and that's it, the rocks are so sweet inside of the cave of Dodongos, and we are running out of these spares."  
  
"Wow, could you take me to Daruina?"  
  
"Sure, normally it would take you about three hours to get down here, but I have a short cut." At this time, he curled up into a ball and laid down on his back, so they were pressed into the earth. "Climb onto my stomach and hang on." Link complied and put Navi under his hat, then he climbed on the Goron's stomach and smiled a little. What was he doing, was he going to jump.off? Hearing the rev of the rock-eater grunting, he tried to protest.  
  
"Goron-san! Don't do what I think you are doing!" Crying out, he hung onto the Goron, burying his face into the rock-eater's face as they sailed off the mountain.  
  
Each thing layer was about a story long, so they sailed past the layers in a matter of seconds. Link thought he was going to have a heart attack, and he yanked Navi out, kissing her face and crying out. Yet, he held onto the Goron, hoping the impact wouldn't kill them. This Goron had strong skin, he probably didn't know much about the Farore-children.  
  
No, he does know. He knew that you were from there. Us Kokiiri may have been isolated, but it seems the other races weren't.  
  
Why did the Great Deku Tree-sama do that?  
  
HOW SHOULD I KNOW! I was separated along with you, but the Hyrulians and Gorons know each other. Plus, Impa is a Shiekah, and Ganondorf is a Gerudo. All these races know about one another except us.  
  
It was like time slowed down.they impacted into the ground and the Goron held onto the boy until the entire region stopped and a small hole was formed in the center of the earth. Link stared up, jumped up really, and screamed in joy. They were at the bottom layer! He stared up at the aerial platform that seemed hundreds of miles away. Wow, they just saved a whole bunch of time.  
  
"Navi, we did it! Thank you Goron-san.?" He saw the Goron was rolling away, in a ball, but a hand popped up and waved. Then the Goron was back inside a small hole and up the stairs.  
  
He also noticed something else about this room, and the others, from looking up. There were paintings of the Gorons, and these were as large as most of the fifteen feet walls, all around the place. Something else was strange; he caught the sound of music. "You hear that?"  
  
"Yea, sounds very soothing." She went to his face, and sat upon his nose, humming. "You ready to confront Darunia? I have heard he is a very hard Goron. That one from before was soft on you; he is just a citizen. Don't expect that from the Goron Boss."  
  
"Yes ma'am. I guess I can handle him. I have survived a lot these past three weeks. Okies, I guess I am ready for this. Let's go."  
  
"This place reminds me of an ant farm, Link. What is that!" She fluttered up to this huge tower. Now, this thing was about fifty feet tall, and in the shape or a Goron. Why hadn't he seen it before? Because the monster- tower had been a layer below, nevertheless it was huge. Other than that, the place had no other distinct features, there were torches all around and a sealed door to the north of them. Link walked to the door and pounded on it, only responded with a voice almost as loud as the Deku Tree's.  
  
"Unless you are from the Royal Family, Aniki doesn't want to speak to you! Leave me alone before I crush the precious stone!" Horrified, Link backed away; tripping upon a rub that was underneath his feet.  
  
Navi flew to the rub and spread it out, reading the text upon it and noticing the Triforce symbol. "Link, the Triforce. I think you may have to play the Royal Family melody before we can enter. Thank Goddess we learned it, Eh?" Link grabbed the mat, positioning it back where it stood and read the text upon it.  
  
The Great Daruina's Room. Only shall the Great Royal Family enter the scorn Without the Royal Family Tune, nothing complied soon.  
  
A quick flash of the wrist, and the ocarina was placed in-between his palms, with the nozzle at his lips. Concentrating without the paper- written notes, Link played the entire Song of the Royal Family. As in compliment, the door slid from its hidden hinges and slid into the wall. It was a tyranny large door that stood at least seven feet tall with the scuffle of some paint upon it. The paint resembled some berry fixations, the whole door was outlined with connecting lines going inside of the door and forming the shape of some jewel of a kind. Link would take a guess and say it was the Spiritual Stone of Fire, but that was just a hypothesis. Inside of the newly opened entrance was a path that led into a field of darkness.  
  
Navi stayed ahead of Link, to guide the way with her veil. This prevented any misjudged danger of the ghouls that lived within in the dark. Malachite form upon his body shone forward with the azure light just a few centimeters from his body, but the warmth kept the pursuit on. A hollow corridor led down for what seemed to be thousands of miles long, yet it only lasted less than five minutes. Pretty soon a rouged shadow of the room appeared as they crossed from around a corner.  
--------------------  
  
Damn that man! Damn him and his fucking Gerudo whores! Our entire race is going to starve just because I wouldn't give up our precious stone. Is this my own fault for my own gluttony? Sure, he liked to lick and nibble at the stone from time to time, but he guessed that this was his fault. When was the king going to send his men to help? We are sworn brothers! Daruina placed his hands at his sides, breathing in a deep breath from the Islamic cremation-look a like room. This room was his; it always helped him think during crises, so he had locked himself up in this room less than a week ago. A few days after that man from the desert had left, Ganondorf Dragmire, had visited him. Yes, he still remembered the coldness in his eyes.  
  
Ganondorf had actually started the mission off as a plea-party. He asked the Goron for the stone.  
  
"Please, Daruina-sama, I beg you for the stone of the fire. The King needs it."  
  
Daruina, never having trusted those Gerudos, just scoffed and broke back with a sarcastic comply. "Really? Then why hasn't my Sworn Brother sent me a keepsake? Unless you are one, but you don't seem the messenger type, to me. "  
  
"I am not a messenger, but I need the Spiritual Stone of Fire, please!" Sincere was reflecting through his eyes, but Daruina could see that inside of those pores bled the heart of an evil man.  
  
This man was not from the King, because the king always sent a special insignia with his messengers. Of course this man wasn't one, he didn't have the insignia. Daruina just scoffed at the man, shaking his head sadly. "I am sorry, Gerudo, but you are not allowed the stone. My Brother gave me this stone to me nine years ago, and told me to never lose it or give it too anyone. Besides, I never trust a Gerudo."  
  
That was his fatal mistake, and Daruina was now regretting it when he heard the tune of the Royal Family. The big Goron regretted it because soon after that conversation, the man in the black armour looked him dead in the eyes and hissed out like a snake. "You will suffer, Goron. I will make sure you will suffer."  
  
He took a swing at Ganondorf, if hit probably would have fractured his skull, but the skilled Gerudo leapt back using his theft training. Turning around, the evil man stormed out of the Goron City and was never heard from again. That wasn't the end of it, however, because by the end of the second night after he was gone, was when Daruina ran into some trouble. The long extinct Dodongo had reappeared, and a giant boulder had appeared on the cave of Dodongos. Whenever anyone broke or blew the rock up, it would regenerate in a matter of seconds, crushing those who had dared to get close to the site. He had sent word to the King that he was in trouble, but the funny thing was the messenger never returned. His long returns and bitter nightmares were interrupted with that tune.  
  
Snapping out of it, he let out a long chuckle and pounded the switch that opened the room. Yes, his brother was coming to visit him. When he told the king of the troubles that Ganondorf had causes, his Sworn Brother would surely crush that preposterous villain, but something happened the Goron didn't expect. A small boy appeared in the front of the door.  
  
--------------------  
  
Navi didn't even get the chance to explain the structure of the Gorons, because a loud and voice as loud as the Deku Tree intercepted her feminine voice. This was the voice from earlier, except it was ten times as booming. "Is the King of Hyrule denying the Daruina the privilege of a real meeting!"  
  
Link turned towards the voice, letting out a gasp of fright, he looked nothing like the other Goron! That first one he had met was a towering seven feet, but the Aniki of rock-eating races was a bludgeon nine feet tall. No flabby stomach was on this one, his stomach was sticking out, but it shone with the same muscle-veins that aligned over the rest of his body. They must all have those naturally.? Thought the boy, before noticing his face. The head was fit for the body that was for sure. Upon his head was more than a small inkling of blonde hair, the hair was naturally spiked up in the same right direction, but there was at least ten different up dikes on the top of his head. It curved down to his lower head and connected with his beard, that reached downward at the middle of his gut. A strong determined nose stuck out, not at all like those holes stuffed into the other Gorons. Speaking of his muscles, they bulged out three times as much as the other one from before, and two tattoos were on both of his arms. Maybe that is the clan symbol? It was the same design as on the one from earlier. Another quality were his hands were so large Link could sleep in them, oh and the wrist bands around his arms and legs. Gulping, Link stared forward and started to speak. "I'm--"  
  
Navi intercepted him, as usual. "This is Link, he was sent by Princess Zelda-sama to receive the Spiritual Stone of Fire."  
  
Daruina stared at the small fly, or whatever it was, then his face grew a large red. "Now everyone is after it! No, no, no! I refuse to give the stone up, even if we all starve. You aren't from Zelda-sama, you are from Ganondorf, correct!" It wasn't a question; the Goron pounced forward, taking the small child up by the collar on his tunic, staring him in the eyes. "Don't you lie to me!"  
  
"I-I'm not! She taught me the song! Impa-san used to sing it to her as a child. Please, Daruina-san!" Link cried out, when he hit the floor with an abrupt smack. It wasn't a forceful fall, otherwise his bones would be broken, but he stared up at the sighing Goron.  
  
"I am sorry, young man. I did not mean to lash out at you, it's just that this half a month has royally pissed me off." He picked the child up, sitting him down in a chair and brushed him off gently with those huge hands.  
  
Link couldn't believe how gentle he was, but he took the brushing off and nodded. "Anything I can do to cheer you up?"  
  
"No, you are much too young to do anything I would like." He turned around and began to talk about his encounter with the Gerudo King.  
  
While the Goron king spoke, Link took this opportunity to explore the room with his eyes. It wasn't that big, a very small room, and some of the rugs as from the outside were in here. These had only random marks he couldn't make out, he guessed they were the Goron languages. Turning his eyes towards Navi, he rolled them boringly.  
  
Navi shushed him quietly and turned towards the room, also exploring it. The story was quite interesting, but with all the things they had heard about Ganondorf, they did not want to hear anymore about this cold-hearted bastard. Flicks of conflagrant fire went ablaze around the room. They were assigned in a pair of torches at each sides of the room. Also, there was a huge wall at the back of the room, near where Daruina was, but on this wall were all kinds of rock-structures with a figure standing alight. This figurine was taller than the King Goron was, it actually reminded the two of pre-evolution Gorons. Navi went to Link's shoulder, sitting down and rested the face of her veil against his neck. A bright spark was accustomed when he stroked her veil, also stroking her body, rewarded with a small sigh of satisfaction.  
  
Daruina finished just in time, for when he turned around, Link was staring at him nodding eagerly. "But, I guess this doesn't concern you. You aren't a Goron, after all. What are you? Some Hylian who liked green?" The Hylian men, except royalty, all wore the pants and shorts. This little guy was dressed in a tunic, had a sword and two shields. Surprised he was carrying a Hyrulian shield upon his back; he reached over and stared him down.  
  
"I'm a Kokiiri."  
  
"A forest child! Ho! That is a good one, but you can't be a forest child, they have far--" He had seen the spark from earlier, but he thought it was something else. No, Sprites were pink and never wore veils. "You are a forest child, I thought they couldn't leave the forest."  
  
"Should I tell him, Navi?"  
  
"Sure, he is the King and wouldn't really try anything."  
  
"Try what, if I may prey to ask." Daruina hated the game of cat and mouse, he hated to be manipulated, and always wanted the truth straight out.  
  
"The Great Deku Tree-sama died, he was cursed by Ganondorf, that man you speak of. I clashed swords with the spider named Gohma inside of the Deku Tree-sama, but the poison was already fatal and he died soon after. He asked me to come see the Princess of Destiny, there I met Zelda-sama, learned this tune and was assigned here."  
  
"The Deku Tree died, so sad. I remember him during the old war." Who would forget? The Kokiiri were the ones who did not want to participate in the war, the only civil ones, as he remembered. "The Princess requests the stone?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"No, I refuse too. I do not feel the mood; I am too grumpy to even negotiate with my Sworn Brother. Leave, please!" Spinning around, he walked back to a table, slamming his fist upon, it and studied the maps. It wasn't actually a map, but how to divide up the food supply between him and the rest of his people.  
  
Link craned his head, putting Navi in his hands, and stared at her, whispering. "What do we do?"  
  
"Lighten the mood. Maybe you should play a tune for him?"  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Zelda-sama's didn't work, so try Saria's. I doubt the Sun's, or Malon- san's will work." Navi fluttered down to his pack and retrieved his Ocarina, placing it into his palms.  
  
Taking a deep breath, and trying to not mix the notes up, he respectfully played the song of Saria for the grumpy Daruina.  
  
Something changed between the old Goron, and the young boy. Daruina turned around, when he heard the first part of the ocarina tune, as to make him stop, but he stopped dead in his tracks. Staring forward, the Goron began to hop up and down. Racket was displayed as he hopped up into the air and cheered to the Goddesses. The Goron spoke with a full jovial voice.  
  
"Hot! Hot! Oh, yea!" Spinning around, knocking the table over, he began to bend down and shake his behind all over the room. This went on for another few minutes, when he stopped, heard the beat and broke up into another series of senseless dances, this time whooping with joy.  
  
"Whoooaa! Yahoooo! What a hot beat!" Finishing the tune, the astonished and scared, Link gaped at the man in wonder. He was no dancer, that was for sure, but even Link could dance better than that. Gorons must have had two left feet, as the old saying went. Putting his ocarina back, the boy walked to the creature with easy steps, hoping not to get pummeled for doing something bad.  
  
Daruina calmed down, giving a few belly laughs, before he scooped Link up, holding him before him. "Ha! What a hot beat, young man. You made my depression run away."  
  
"So, we can have the Spiritual Stone?" Navi inquired. She had been just as shocked as Link of how much of a bad dancer this one was.  
  
"Well, little farie, you may have it. But on one condition."  
  
"What's that, Daruina-sama." Link spoke out.  
  
"Clear the Dodongos out of the Dodongo's Cavern. Now, don't look so surprised. If you want this stone, you have to prove to me that you are a real man!" Beating on his chest, he sat Link down and reached back behind him pulling out a small wristband. This band was must different from the ones he was wearing; it was golden and looked sort of like a crown. The Goron insignia was implanted on the front of the fashion attire, and he slipped it on Link's right arm.  
  
"Here, take this. Don't think of it as a present or anything, you'll need it, believe me. Wear this and even a little guy like you can pick up those Bomb Flowers. You are going to need them to survive the adventures in Dodongo's Cavern. The cavern is full of places that need to be bombed, walls and special areas of that sort."  
  
The new piece of equipment went right below his palm, and he could feel the newfound strength with this piece of hardware. Smiling towards the Goron, he ran out of the door and made his way up the stairs that led out of Goron City. In such a hurry to get out, the boy left the Goron City in an hour and a half, instead of the usual three hours. The Gorons were probably slow, that was all, right?  
  
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It took a lot less more time to get back down then it took on the way up, and that was a wonderful thing for the two. The less time it took to get down, was the faster they finished the cavern and were on their way out with the second Spiritual Stone. On the way down Death Mountain, the same mistake was no repeated of the path switching, so they actually only spent a day heading down towards the Dodongo Cavern. It only took a day because Link would run down the paths, jump over the crevices, and went with no breaks. The climbing up would take longer, but the downward part was the most fun.  
  
Before he left the Goron City, Navi had wandered a few yards from the entrance to the city and shone a bright green. "Link, another area."  
  
The wandering wind blower's intentions had been true. When he got to the area, he saw one of those "Bomb Flowers" everyone was talking about. It was basically a huge black object stuffed inside of a flowing petal of leaves. Heaving the bomb up, the thing ignited, and the frightened Link threw it over the edge. That wasn't a real bad accident, because a few minutes later a small ignite went on and peering over the cliff, he saw that the boulder blocking Dodongo's Cavern was gone. He had to beat; there was only twenty-four hours, maybe more since Ganondorf was far away. The boy just had to beat it, and he knew it was possible. That was the start of racing away from the city and dodging down the pathways to the Dodongo's Cavern. There were no stops, a two-hour nap spent the next day, and eating while he ran.  
  
During the day and a half stride, he called Saria once. It was weird talking to her this way, and when he blew the tune of Saria, a voice piped in. It was hers, giving him a beautiful "hello." Link chatted with her while he ran and explained his situation. Also explaining he may not have been able to go out to the Kokiiri Forest, explaining where he was.  
  
"It's fine Link. Oh, I found some information on the third Spiritual Stone. It's called the Spiritual Stone of Water."  
  
"Water?" Now panting, he had the Ocarina inside his satchel, since he didn't need it to talk to her. It was if they were linked telepathically.  
  
"The Zoras own the Spiritual Stone of Water, also known as the Zora's Sapphire. I will tell you more about it when we talk next; you seem out of breath. Even if you can't come see me, come visit me before you head back to Zelda-sama with the final stone."  
  
"Sure, hee!" The conversation didn't end there, he told her of his travels so far from when he left the village. Mentioning the new friend Anjou, the people of Kakariko, and the outrageous dance of Daruina. That had actually caught a giggle from her, thinking of a giant Goron dancing around from her song.  
  
"Link, I've heard that strange music you speak of. Maybe there is a passageway that warps the two lands together?"  
  
"Maybe, I'll check when I get back. I am on my way to beat the Dodongos to earn Daruina's trust."  
  
"A Dodongo. You know what those are?" "No, I don't."  
  
A sigh blew through his ears, almost a feeling she was there, and then she spoke out sadly. "Link-kun, I taught you better. Dodongo is Kokiirish for dinosaur. As in the ancient, extinct species of giant lizards."  
  
Link had nodded bluntly, and then the talk went on for a few more hours, before he laid himself down for a rest.  
  
--------------------  
  
The rock never regenerated. Some withstanding act of purity kept the evil from multiplying and holding the hero back ever more. A hole was firmly standing ajar when the two descended down the slope to the cavern, only one fourth from the Kakariko Village. Brushing a loose strand of cornstalk back, Link went through his pack easily, checking to see if the Fairie Slingshot, nuts, sticks, and heart containers were at easy access. These beauties had saved his life one too many times, and he needed them for these occasions. Navi prepared him by pulling out his Deku shield from the bag and wrapping it around his left hand where a small caplet was. There he could slip his arm under it, and prop the shield up with guarding defects. Doing so, the Kokiirish blade settled into his right hand. Navi fluttered at his side, staring down the path. There was no way to see what was going on, only blackness surrounded.  
  
"You ready?" She peeped out, guarding above his head, as an animal guards its territory. The mistake with Gohma wouldn't happen again.  
  
"I.I don't think I'll ever be ready for these adventures. Is it going to be like the Deku Tree?"  
  
"I am very sure it is. These Dodongo's don't seem that tough, but there may be a mother, or a leader like Gohma was to her offspring."  
  
Link couldn't help but shiver at the name. Gohma. He still had nightmares about the spider. Sure he joked about it occasionally with Navi, but deep down he knew that he would never stare at another spider in his life.  
  
"Ready?" This time a little more compassion in her voice."  
  
"Yea, sure. I don't think I'll ever be more ready than I am now." Pacing himself a few steps back, as if turning to run, he stopped himself assertively. No.no running away from these monsters. I will prove myself, this time. A flick of the wrist, keeping the sword at his approach whenever necessary, and his hand never leaving the shield, the young hero entered the deep cavern with a guardian light at his top.  
  
--------------------  
  
The path led out two more miles into the darkness, before a gloomy aura began to prevail around the entire scenery. A background, he entered, separated from the darkness and inside of a new room. This new room was arranged with the walls that were made of rocks, it rained up thirty feet. Of course, that had been the size of the entrance to the caverns. Up ahead was a straight path that led to a door. No, no, it wasn't a door. Because when Link walked up to the door and tapped on it, the thing didn't spring up. Tapping it with his sword, a clank sound erupted the atmosphere. Blinking abruptly, he turned around and sighed. "Navi?"  
  
"Tap the wall, see if it sounds different."  
  
This little experiment proved actually useful. The walls made a clink sound, but when he hit the door another clank sound went all around. "The door's hollow, Navi-chan?"  
  
"Yea, Linky-chan. Let's see.Link! The bombs!"  
  
Turning around, he peered that to the side of the rock-clawed path they went down were two small platforms with a Bomb Flower upon each platform. Grasping forward, he ran into one of the Bomb Flowers and yanked it up. The fear went over when the fuse ignited on the bomb. This was weird, because he had only had it for a few seconds before, but these flowers were bigger than the ones up in Goron City. Throwing the explosive at the wall, he backed up a few yards, holding his ears and waited.  
  
A kA-boom sounded and all at once Link thought he was going deaf. Frantically, falling onto his side, he clawed at his ears crying out softly. He would have kept clawing if Navi hadn't pulled his hands aside and kissed his forehead. "Shh, be quiet."  
  
After what seemed like ten hours, but was ten at the least, the pain subsided and his eyes fluttered open in confusion. It was like the pain had not throbbed away at all, and the weirdest thing was that the ache just dissipated all at once. Looking forward, Navi was sitting on his cheek, leaning down with the veil off, and kissing his cheeks. She was humming a soft hymn. Noticing the crying stopped; she looked up and smiled at him, stroking his cheeks. "Shh, it's gone."  
  
"That hurt, Navi-chan."  
  
"Yes, Gorons don't have ears, you see. They do have ears; they are stored deep inside of their skulls so they have a high pain tolerance in sound waves. But I do have something for you."  
  
"What?" Standing up, his hand caught her before she could flutter away, and he stared at the door with a gaped expression. Where once the door stood was now an opening inside of a much larger room. This adventure was just starting, sure the bombs hurt, but he might be able to stop it. Yes, if only he could stop the pain. That was when the time would start for his new adventure. He could hardly see inside of the room, but he could feel the evil roaming through it. Ganondorf had definitely been here, because it smelt just like Gohma's lair.  
  
Navi interrupted his thoughts of the new places, by flying up to him and pulling his face down to hers. "Here you are, Linky-chan. I want you to have this." She reached inside his satchel and pulled out the bottle they got from Lon-Lon Ranch. Inside the bottle was a little farie. Yes, he remembered how they got this one; they had bought her from that man in Kakariko. He was selling faries, so Link bought her for a few rubies.  
  
"How's about a prize, sonny?" Link turned towards the man, shrugging his shoulders, Anjou had given him some rubies to spare.  
  
"I have this ancient pixie dust. An ancient sprite from the forest!" He spoke in a mysterious tone, pulling out a small bottle. Store inside the bottle was a small pink sprite, staring at the ground, in sadness. Navi gathered at Link's ear and had explained that it was not a sprite, but a healing farie.  
  
"I've seen one of those before, mine is better, anyway."  
  
"Yours? Sonny, this is a farie. Only Kokiiri have--faries?" He had glanced at his shoulder, only to see a large veiled figure that was a bit bigger than the boy's palms. Hovering over his shoulder, the thing spoke in a feminine voice. "I am a farie, that is a healing farie, you want to get charged with fraud. I know what a sprite is!"  
  
Gasping, knowing he had been had, the man emptied the sprite out, throwing it at him, and stepped aside uneasily. "I am sorry, great Kokiiri!"  
  
Leaping forward, Link gathered the healing farie, sticking her inside of his second empty bottle, the first with fresh Lon-Lon Milk, then Link threw out ten green rubies. "Here you go, I don't want to take your stuff without pay." That was that, the sprite that would save something was now bought.  
  
"Navi, what do you want with Fiija-san?" Link had named her that, and had been keeping her safe ever since they left Kakariko. It had been the morning they left Anjou that he had ran into that crazy old man in the blue robe.  
  
"Fiija-san is going to help you with your ears."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Like this," Navi proposed, pulling the cap of the bottle out and a pink sprite pulled out. They were actually more of fairies, than sprites, but that was unimportant. The little healing being flew up to Link's ears, caressing them, but instead of disappearing she stayed at his side and guarded near his ears. Navi was just above the healer, and she nodded to Link. "She will heal your ears so much, so that they won't hurt."  
  
"Wait--explain that again?"  
  
"Well, Linky-chan, let me tell you. This farie is going to guard your ears, because the reason it hurts so much in here is because of the cavern. This cavern is made just reflect sounds, or this is what I think, since the bomb outside didn't hurt your ears. Whenever you use them, which I think we may have to go, she will heal you before the pain starts."  
  
Chuckling, he gathered the pink farie up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Small high-pitched laughter came out, and then she went back to his ear, hanging off of it like an earring. Gathering Navi up this time, he kissed her cheek, setting her on his hat and walked forward into the nearly lighted room.  
  
The new room was twice as tall as the last, being because there were two levels, but no way up. When he looked up all he saw were some platforms connected to the high grounds, and two bridges that stretched across the width of the two hundred feet scenery. It may have been eighty feet up, but it was wider than the pervious room they had been inside. You think that was strange? Up ahead was one of the strangest things he had ever seen. At the end of the main room was a giant dinosaur's head! The monster's skull breached into the wall. It was a beautiful blue, with black, soul-less eyes staring forward. Two small holes in its long snout breathed through a dead display. The thing had been dead for whom knows how long, but it wasn't a skull. It looked like the skull was plastered with armour to preserve it, or maybe worship it?  
  
"Navi!"  
  
She wasn't even looking at that, she was staring at what was beneath the floor. They were on a platform, but it had two slopes that led down to two other platforms on the left and right sides of the room. At the back of the room was the Dodongo skull, and positioned in the center was another piece of land. Beneath the cracks, and there were a lot of those cracks, since the platforms were small, was lava. Hot, flowing lava poured all at the floor regions of the ground. It wasn't exactly lava, but the floor melted bubbly hot with just a little of the liquid magma. "Link, walk to the edge and look down."  
  
Ten feet forward, staring, and then he leapt back with his eyes widen with fear. "What is that!"  
  
"Lava. This is an active volcano, after all. It is still hot, but I wouldn't worry about it emerging, just don't land in it or it will burn you to death."  
  
Gulping, he nodded and walked towards the edge once more. Across were a small spinning statue and the middle platform, but he noticed something else. A sliding sound had been in the room ever since they entered, but now he saw what it was. Between the platform connected to the ground, both the left and right, were two smaller pillars that were going up and down. They stopped right above and the lava, and ended right above the platforms. Nodding, he ignored them and leapt forward.  
  
If Link had measured, the jump would have been twelve feet forward. For someone his age, that was impossible, but the strength pulled forward, especially when he pulled into a ball. Remembering what the Deku Scrub said, Link had rolled up and propelled himself forward. An uncomfortable thump occurred, but he was back on his feet in a few seconds, brushing the dirt away. Navi was watching the statue, which turned out to be a small metal figurine of a creature with one eye and a mouth. The mouth was close shut, but the eye was spinning right above his head and heading towards them.  
  
"B-Beamos! Link, run!"  
  
"Navi, what are you--" The eye had stopped right infront of him, staring at him, and a beam of chi light emerged from the pupil. If the beam had hit him, it would have been pain, but if he had blocked the beam would have penetrated through the wood and still fried him. He knew this, so he jumped to the right. That should have been the end of the crisis, except the beam didn't stop, and this time it hit the ground and started dragging towards him. How was it dragging, you ask? The "Beamos" was tilting its head hurriedly towards the boy, the mouth still in a ferocious grin. This was no statue that was for sure.  
  
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Navi had to save him. Why hadn't she seen it before! She knew what the Beamos were, of course she did, but she had just thought it was a statue, that was, until he had leapt across. The leap had really frightened her, she not thinking he could make it, but once again the young hero had proved her wrong. I love that about him.  
  
Concentrating all her chi into a single beam, knowing she couldn't kill it, Navi hit the thing straight in the eye. Like automation, the beam of its stopped and the eye slammed shut. A screech of pain filled the hollow corridor, and Navi yelled out. "Jump Link!"  
  
--------------------  
  
All at once he had a direction. The right direction seemed the most appropriate, because it was his favorite direction, and the other region held another one of those Beamos characters. So, turning right, he leapt forward and landed upon the small platform. The Beamos had come back to life now and the funny thing was its chi light couldn't reach him. Giggling, he awaited for the platform to raise up, then he jumped the other six feet to the right platform. When it was over, he slumped against a wall like the one he bombed before, looking back at the Beamos. "What was that?"  
  
The fairish muttering sounded, it was Fiija, now at his side and soothing the scratches he received from earlier. Looking over, he saw Navi was lying by the Beamos, and the Beamos was awake. Navi is by the Beamos! Gasping, he pushed Fiija at his side, leapt up and kept his sword up. During the struggles with the Beamos, he had sheathed it into his sheath for the time being, but now it was out and ready. Running to the fully ready pillar, he jumped upon it and easily leapt across to the Beamos. Its beam was narrowing towards Navi when Link pushed the blade of the sword into its pupil. Another screech went forward, the sword buried inside of it. Link gathered Navi up, yanking a bearer out of the creature's pupil. Link was on the other side, before it started shooting madly at no one.  
  
When he reached the other side, Fiija gave Navi a good run through, disappearing under his hat for further inspection of her temporary master. Link knelt at Navi's side, checking her wounds, sighing with relief. "Navi.wake up, what happened?"  
  
--------------------  
  
The thing that happened was that that monster had struck Navi in the back. After she had blinded the creature, she waited for Link to get across, hopeful would make it against the tricky corridor. Before he got across was when the Beamos came back to life and struck her down. It didn't notice her at first, because she was so small, but soon the tyrant spotted her and started moving towards her. That was all she saw, before unconsciousness took over.  
  
Next thing she reminisced was a pair of beautiful azure eyes staring into her own. Blinking awake, she stared up at Link, and gasped out loud. "Link-chan, what happene--?" Never getting to finish the sentence, he engulfed her in a barrel of hugs, giggling and snuggling with the little one. She complied back, not being able to give much out, but she took as much as came to her. Even though he was getting stronger, the boy was so gentle with her, that it was almost funny.  
  
A few minutes later, Navi pulled back and stared over at the Beamos. It was staring at the ground, shooting blindly at bold dust. Black blood gushed from where the eye used to be. So, he blinded it, Eh? Chuckling silently, she crept over to examine the newest part of the room they were in, with Link following behind her. The right platform consisted of three different passageways, the one they leaned against, another wall that would be bombed, and one that was ten feet in the air. The one in the air was actually a huge square high above, so she couldn't reach in, but flying up she saw that it was a huge door and a switch. The switch was too heavy to come too, so she ignored it for the time being. She may have been able to carry Link far when she was at full strength, but now she was a little tired. Moving backward, she laid on his shoulder lazily.  
  
Link spotted another Bomb Flower, but two doors. A problem presented him, so he pulled the bomb out and threw it to the left. As it explored, a sprinkling sound went onward, and his earache never went on, but the sad thing was in the door was just one of those stupid Gossip Stones. Yes, they were in the Lost Woods, plus they told the time. Striking the stone with the Kokiirish blade, the two-foot tall model that was imprinted with curves and an eye in the middle, now spoke in a squeaky voice. "Boing, Boing! The time is twelve twenty-five o'clock!"  
  
"That was useless, Link." The farie led Link back to the Bomb Flower and to both their surprises, the flower had regenerated itself back to normal.  
  
"N-Navi?"  
  
"Hmm, weird. I thought they may have to be grown, but it seems not so." All right, there is another wall on the other side, let's try bombing that, and if nothing happens we can try the other side. That seems unlikely though." There weren't any Bomb Flowers over there.  
  
Link bent at the knees, lifting the bomb with the crown upon it. The long ash fuse began to sparkle, and he leapt forward, throwing the explosive up against the wall. The fake slide imploded and the brown walls with the cracks upon it, crackled into tiny bits of pieces. Rushing forward, as the smoke cleared and his own elven ears healed up, Link followed Navi inside of the newly opened passage. The walls closed in once more, like the entrance room, and led down a similar path in darkness.  
  
A room of spiky-shaped end was in this one. The ends seemed to jag back and forth, as if zigzagging to one different direction and then to another way. The dirt upon the still stone paved wall was a lighter shade of brown, but that was the only new thing about the room. About forty yards ahead was a platform raised on crisscrossed bars, and two statues at both sides of the platform, on the ground. There was nothing else in the room that seemed sort of idiotic. "Navi, what is this? We've only run into one monster. This isn't a dungeon."  
  
"Yes, but you must stay on your guard, Link. You never know what is cre--" Stopping dead in speech, she stared up ahead, a hand pushed from the veil and yanked forward. "Link! Something is coming out of the ground!"  
  
"Huh, what are you talking about." Glancing down at the ground, some seven feet ahead, the ground began to crumble a little. Nothing big was rising, at least not a giant, but something was definitely coming.  
  
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It felt something, all right. That was why sensei sent them too do. Search out and destroy the intruder, because this one wasn't like the others. This one was smaller, had a blade of steel, and two blocking utensils. Each was situated in a group of three, so they wouldn't be out numbered with this creature and its minion. Yes, it had a minion that shot out something like the Beamos did. The others had been sent to other rooms, since sensei couldn't pinpoint the intruder's location, and they had been the lucky ones.  
  
It was the leader of the squadron, so when it began to burrow up north, the other two were at its left and right moving through the dirt. This creature may have been able to take out the Beamo, but they were superior to that minion, and this new creature would taste just delicious for them to snack on, giving the rest to their sensei.  
  
Finally the ground split out from the twenty feet tunnel they were digging in. This was to keep those stupid special crops those old creatures made from affecting them. Now, with teeth bared, it leapt from the earth first and darted at the creature. Its own squad leaping out four seconds later.  
  
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The next two holes were easier to hear then to see, but he finished by looking north and spotting them. They weren't as important as when the creature leapt forward. This monster that Link could have held with open arms jumped forward with a pair of razor sharp teeth bared. Navi was quick at the creature's side, examining it and screaming out.  
  
"A baby Dodongo, just like the Gohmas. It's vulnerable all around, since it's new, so slash it anyway you want." Link couldn't have slashed it, because the first went past him, almost clearing his arm off. Dodging westward, the razor blades, but they scraped against his forearm. Immediate pain surged throughout the entire escapade, but Link ignored the numbness that now took on this luck of evasion. It was only a bloody scratch; those things could have gone for his throat. They were aiming for that area.  
  
Spinning around, ignoring the two that had so much half way out of the ground, he took a quick second to study the creature. It was smaller than he imagined at first glance, he could easily lift the thing with on arm. Yes, it was a baby Dodongo for that reason he saw no arms or legs. This 'fearsome' monster was just an infant squiggling upon its cold, yellow underbelly. Smirking a little, Link walked to the thing, which was turning towards him, and pushed the head of the Kokiirish Blade inside of its skull. The crimson eyes filled up with blood, as a screech echoed through the empty room, a screech of pity and death. Kicking the dinosaur away, he yanked the blade up and turned to the other two.the two were flying right at him.  
  
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Navi had blinded the two, only temporarily, when the boy was in his battle with the young Dodongo. The determination in his eyes actually frightened her for a few seconds. He had changed, that was for sure, moving from a scared little boy to a fear-less warrior. That was good and bad, for some of her reasons. It was wonderful, because the journey would be easier with him, but horrible at losing his childhood to some demeanor of Goddesses never shown to the world. What she didn't understand was why these three couldn't stop Ganondorf themselves. Of course, when she saw the scratch with the Dodongo, her mouth filled with bile. How dare they hurt him!  
  
Now those two siblings were back in full action, leaping towards their prey: Link. Letting the thoughts chill away, Navi rushed at the two beings, firing a solid light into each of its eyes. This was no blindness, but one of those chi attacks that Impa had taught her. Penetrating the eyes was an understatement. What the chi did was burn those orbs right from their sockets. Two more screeches went up, the two stopping dead in the air, fighting nothing that was there. She now turned towards Link and nodded appropriately. It was time to finish them off.  
  
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Great thinking! Link had been ready to hide under the Hyrulian shield when he heard the screech, watching the duo fall down, in surprise. It was almost comical how they each fell upon their bellies, never being able to get back up, yet still flapping around like fish taken from the water. Smearing the blood from his blade on the ground, he wiped it clean, and decided a better way to finish these two off, and there he walked to each one of them, smashing them right in the skull. Red blood splattered all over those cloth boots, rolled at the ends, to keep from falling off. Smearing dirt with his other foot, the liquid soon came off and nothing was left except two dead, twitching corpses. Funny thing was, the things were glowing red. Then an explosion from where he had been thirty seconds around. Spinning around, Link saw the corpse had a self-destruction sequence.  
  
"Link, they blow up! Run north!" Navi was already tugging at his ears, before he turned north and ran for those statues and the platform with bars. Not that big, but an accumulating blast launched him forward, just as he reached the platform, twenty-five seconds later. Leaning against the wall, he reached into his pack and took out the 1st Aid Kit that Saria had packed for him.  
  
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"Stop being a baby!" She shushed him, rubbing some more of the alcohol with a small piece of cloth. They had originally planned to sit down for twenty minutes to eat lunch, bandage Link up, and then head off. The two had eaten some of their berries and those new meats that could survive days without freshness, but the patching was a different story.  
  
"It hurts, Navi-chan!" Link was sitting on the structure. It wasn't actually a platform, being it was only four feet up in the air. The structure was actually brandished in a rustic wire from head to toe, only two small boards made room for foot walking possible at all. With their stomachs full, both recharged from those heart pieces (Link had three actually), and clothes fastened for battle. How could this little hero be scared of a little alcohol?  
  
"It treats infection. You want it to get infected so we have to cut it off? Hmm, how does the one-handed swordsman sound?"  
  
He frantically whined, swatting at her playfully. "Shut up!" Not at all offensive, just a cute way of saying it, he didn't believe her, did he? Biting his lip, the last of the full amount poured upon his scraped forearm. After a few shakes of pain, it wasn't as bad as the slash had been; his arm was patched up with some of the 1st Aid bandaging.  
  
"See, was that so bad?" Navi questioned after the two had finished packing the supplies up and as it turned out they had been seated for about an hour or so. That might back an hour or thirty minutes through this entire dungeon.  
  
"Yes, it was 'so bad'!" Whining, he turned towards the door, seeing the bars once more and pouted aloud. "How do we get to this? If we step on the switch and then step off, the bars reappear."  
  
"I've been thinking about it for a while and I have a solution."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
She pointed to one of the two statues randomly. "Pick a statue and push it there."  
  
"No way." Those things were hideous! A statue wasn't going to hurt you, he knew that, but these two creatures looked like something out of his nightmares. They stood over six feet tall, not that tall, but compared to him it was. Each was made of a very hard rock material, so if it tipped he would be crushed, and the things were no coloured at all. They held a sword and a shield each, the sword pathetic and rusted, while the shield was cracked all around. A pair of demoniac horns positioned on each of their heads, beady black eyes portrayed an aura of evil, and that grin? Woo, all around its mouth area it was rocky and rubble, except around the grin. A smooth surface was right there, and pointed teeth poured out the edge. This set of creatures was round at the top, moving down to a center platform at the end of it, and around the waist area it had numerous horizontal crests.  
  
"Come on, Linky-chan. I'll help you push it, I mean unless you want to wait for some more of those babies to come back."  
  
"I can handle them."  
  
"But can you handle the alcohol."  
  
Leaping over the edge of the platform, he pushed upon the right statue, which easily moved up a few feet. This new bracelet was seemed to be a lifesaver. Not only did it let him pick up those heavy explosives, but he could also move large blocks and stuff. Pushing the statue to the end of the platform, he changed directions and began to push it left, towards the switch in the center. This switch was just like the on in the Deku Tree (the underwater switch), but now he got a full view at it. A deep azure, it was, about two feet across and a bolted up a foot in the air. In the center was a small crescent moon, the same as on the blocks, with a star at the ending and beginning of the moon.  
  
The statue fit finely, because when he placed it on the switch, climbed up, and walked to the door was when the bars didn't go crying down. Navi hovered right at his hat, smiling a little. "See, it's not scary."  
  
"Yea, as long as it doesn't come to life, I am fine with it." How little did he know.?  
  
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An overwhelming hiss of steam spread across his face, when the two entered this room. Staring forward, they were about inside the volcano. Small little isles stretched across the sea of lava, but I wouldn't stay isles, more like stepping-stones. Each was in a pentagonal shape, about four feet around over all. The room itself was in the shape of a rough pentagon.  
  
"Navi-chan?"  
  
"Don't fall, that's all I am saying. Do not fall down."  
  
Eight small stepping-stones were all around. The one he entered the door from, six in the middle, and the ending one, which had a door that, led to another passageway. No way out of here, except forward. Bracing himself, the Deku Shield went up in defense from the heat, knowing it wouldn't do any good. No magma was boiling, or overflowing, but the steams were sure to leave a mark in themselves. Finally taking a few steps forward, Link stopped dead in his tracks from the sound of a squawking sound, except it wasn't the sound a bird made. It was the sound of something else. Not really a squawk, yet that is the best way to describe the sound. Staring to the left and right, since the north was so far away, he spotted two figures staring at him, each squawking.  
  
"Navi, what are those!" The high-pitched voice screeched out. Usually his voice wasn't a scream, but these guys definitely scared him, especially when they came into visual view. Each stood a good seven feet high, green all over, but with a very muscular body. From the looks of it, they were evolution dinosaurs, of some sort; these had a lot more evolution than the Dodongos. The creatures stood on two legs, well claws is a better word, because razors were upon each of their appendages in a five-fingered manner, with four on the legs. A jaded green tail, matching the scaled skin, whipped around in mutilating fashion with that long blushed tongue, and sun coloured, reptilian eyes. If that wasn't the worst of it, both left hands of each creatures was a beautiful broadsword. The hilt a dull gray, but a streaming splash of silver stood out at least five feet in fashion. The next and final piece of destruction was that the creatures were wearing a simple piece of body armour. No, not body armouries, something more of a vest that protected just the upper region, covered the groin, and on the right shoulder blade was a rogue ending with four sharp spikes. Not very noticeable was a red sheath, metal made obviously, to hold the sword, perhaps?  
  
".I-I don't know. Link get ready. This is going to be a real test; these things look like actual fighters. From now own, you've only been fighting monsters. These maybe monsters, but they are intelligent ones!" Sparkling an angry blush, Navi stayed at his head-level, whispering. "Guard and hit the open spaces. Hit where the stomach is, Linky-chan. I need you to promise me to do well, does your arm ache?"  
  
"No, it's fine." Turning towards the farie, he was smiling, and cupped her down in his palms, kissing her softly. "I will make it, there maybe two, but they seem like they wouldn't gang up on me. Alone I can take them out."  
  
Nodded, she quickly added. "I will target one individually, you aim wherever I light up yellow at, alright?"  
  
"Yea, here comes on." It seemed Link was right, either that or they were too stupid to realize that. Maybe not as advanced as we thought? The platform they were positioned on was the largest of the eight, so this was a perfect battleground. This pentagon stretched out more than twelve feet, enough room for him, but maybe not enough for these creatures.  
  
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The two were smelt five miles away, sensei had sent them too take care of what these idiot Dodongos couldn't take care of. Sure the sensei made the offspring, but they weren't as advanced as them or him, now were they? These new ones, the bigger one in more aspect, were now frightening them. How did he find his way through the puzzles, handle the Goron's special crop, and dodge the Beamos? The sensei didn't have answers, all he wanted was to kill them, so the best was were with swords, since he used them.  
  
Lizalfos were the name of this beautiful race, approved from the evolution of the ancient dinosaurs, the runners of the dinosaurs. Skilled in swordsman ship, the major could taste the fear of when the young boy saw them. They had been talking about how to gut him, since he was in the next room taking care of some business, when the door opened and all had been lost to this young creature. Flicking the rose-coloured tongue towards his comrade, a position to stay, the Lizalfo leapt from platform to platform for the young creature.  
  
Agility was a great specialty for these creatures, so easily the experienced warrior found its way to the larger path. Stupid of the boy, he should have picked a smaller one for a better chance of falling off. Then again, he didn't guess this race was too smart. Those Gorons sure weren't, they ate rocks! Snapping his beak shut, he wouldn't need it until after the kill, the Lizalfo unsheathed the broadsword from his packet. That was when he peered at the young creature taking out a dagger, and a protector made of wood. Another protector was upon his back, one that would prove worthier, but maybe the creature wanted to die? Whatever the case, he squawked to his companion this wouldn't take long, launching at the boy a few seconds later.  
  
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She wouldn't let this happen, because that was not the way things were supposed to be. Luckily, for her, Link jumped when the blade slammed down, pulling out his slingshot and shooting a bullet at the enemies' head. Unfortunately, for them both, the thing dodged and rammed at Link. Impa had given Navi a new ability, that was to register the enemy and find it's weakness. So far, she had found out that it was a Lizalfo and it's weakness was that the area below where the armour wasn't stored. Nothing real useful at all, but she yelled out its name. "It's a Lizalfo, Link. Guard it, the Deku will hold!" Well, she didn't know what for sure, for broadswords were never used against any Deku materials.  
  
To prevent the other monster from back-attacking Link, Navi guarded the areas where he was, but incidentally went around the lizard, fluttering a bright sunshine.  
  
--------------------  
  
The next few moments counted on luck. If the wood broke, the blade would slice through and cut him in half, but if the blade held, that was when Link would strike. Following its movements, as the monster leapt back and forth upon the isles, headed for him, he heard his guardian yell out the monster's name. Lizalfo? Whatever this creature was, he was taking it out in a few seconds. Gripping the shield with his left hand, raising it up into the air, Link bit his lip silently, crying out to the Goddesses. If they truly wanted this quest to end, then it would, but if they believed in him was when he survived.  
  
Iron from the broadsword slammed into the children of the Deku Tree. The crimson insignia began to shimmer when the blade slit on the head of the shield, but nothing cut through. Nothing cut through because the blade was pushed back by Link's strength. Jumping forward, Link blocked the blade from its position, knocking the creature completely out of balance. Out of balance was the time to strike, so he did.  
  
Precious Kokiirish blade from Farore shined brightly when an uppercasing gesture slit into the beast's stomach. A screech of pain erupted from the monster, and instead of jumping away, it leapt over his head with the broadsword moving towards his skull.  
  
A small chi light intercepted the blade, throwing it out into the lava below. When the smoke cleared Navi was right above the creature's head, yelling to Link. "Get it now!"  
  
Chuckling quietly, Link threw the sword towards the narrow of head, feeling the burst of fresh blood that coated all around his body. When the sword connected with the skull the immediate skull and brain matter gushed forward in a panic frenzy. Quickly shielding his eyes with the Deku, blood coated the thick hide of shelter, staining the thing completely, but this was when the light on the shield shined down to its original colour.  
  
Navi quickly retrieved the dagger, throwing it at the frenzied Link. He caught it with ease, turning towards the other Lizalfo that was heading towards his region. This one wouldn't be so easy, he thought, because the monster had seen the tactics from before.  
  
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She begged to differ, this creature would be must easier, because this creature was at a distance. Hovering ahead of him, she spoke to Link. "I am going to blind him when he arrives, go for the neck."  
  
"All right." The blood shed had become more immense, that show presented itself self-evident. A few seconds later, the creature arrived with its sword drawn, but a sense of fear plastered across its face. Yes, this tyrant had seen just what the duo were capable of, especially too one of its own, and that very much frightened it. Time was of the essence, and Navi shot a thick beam into each of its eyes.  
  
Screeching went forward, along with Link jumping into the air, slinging the sword in the middle of the mutated dinosaur's forehead. This time more blood gushed from the open wounds, but Link luckily back-flipped to Navi, ten feet away. Fastening his hands inside the shield, curiously wondering to the two corpses, Link kicked each of them inside of the hot, boiling lava. Hisses were head, as he leapt across each tiny platform, coming to a rest to the newest door. It seemed bars had been set from before, however, they weren't there now. Those two had been booby traps, someone had set them, and that someone was very peeved they had survived.  
  
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The scene had a lot of trauma on the hero, it wasn't seen, because it held it inside for Navi, but when they reached the scene of the next room, he broke down with a slumping motion against the door. Throwing the sword aside accidentally slit the throat of an arriving Business Deku Scrub. These were the beings that sold you items right after you beat them at the test of reflecting nuts, but that wasn't the case now. Not even noticing, nor caring, the little boy threw the Deku Shield aside a few feet, curling up, sobbing down and hard. "I killed them!"  
  
"No, no! Yes, you did kill them, but you had too. They were going to kill you!" Falling at his side, Navi flashed the veil off and revealed himself to her once more. Usually it was glimpses, or when they were talking in the dark, but now were more important than ever. Completely shedding the masque, the young farie walked along the ground to his face, cupping her hands in his cheeks and slapping them playfully. "Stop that, I say. I want you to be brave for me."  
  
Staring up, he caught a glimpse at her, nodding helplessly. In the veil she was easily bigger than his hand, but in this form she could fit in his palms exactly. A pocket farie was a nice word for her. Bigger than the spites by all means and the healing faries, but smaller than the legendary Great Faries. Looking aside, he sat himself up, watching her flutter up to him with those two pairs of wings that connected to her back, splitting out the back of her behind. Navi was dressed in ravishing shawl that wrapped around her body, but under that was a matching dress of the cerulean colour. Clearing his throat, the blush creeping to his face, he spoke. "I don't know, Navi. I just-just realized I killed, and.what's worse is I liked it!"  
  
"Good! You need to triumph in your victories, Link. I want you to be glad you won, show them no mercy, but do not torture them. Put them down for good. Remember what these animals did to the Gorons."  
  
Yes, those poor Gorons. What happened to them was inhumane and terribly injustice. Their deaths need be avenged. These creatures are only dinosaurs, dinosaurs that Ganondorf brought back. Ganondorf! Gripping his bare fist tightly, he stared off into the night. This new room was pitch black, with dripping sounds of some underwater cavern around. Some light was present, maybe moonlight. "It's always going back to him."  
  
"Him? You mean Ganondorf?"  
  
"Yes." Voice just shaking, he slammed his fist into the bare wall, looking back to Navi. "We have to stop him, kill him or something. He is not stopping this insanity.  
  
"I completely agree. It is your responsibility to eliminate him."  
  
Quietly, but assertively, he contradicted. "It is not my responsibility." At this time, he brought her close to him, staring into her eyes, his cheeks still flushing.  
  
"Then whose is it?" She stared back; her entire body was glowing red. It was really shown through her pale skin, she almost wanting to pull the veil up, but somehow knowing it was the wrong thing. Sitting on her behind, she watched as he pressed their faces closer and closer, until his nose touched hers.  
  
"It is your responsibility also."  
  
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head, lying down upon her stomach. Arms were propped up in a fashion so she could still stare him fragrantly in the eyes. Mm, his fragrance smelt of a sweet soap, so nice she couldn't help but moan. "I am not that important."  
  
"Yes you are, don't kid yourself. I need you and you know it. I'm nothing without you, I never really was. I've always needed someone, but I like it that way. I need you.and I hope you need me. This responsibility is of ours."  
  
Oh! Every time I see him, I fall more and more in love! Staring back at him, she nodded her head. "I do need you, Linky-chan. No one else matters, but you!" Leaning forward, she kissed the tip of his nose, returning to her position.  
  
"As are you." Placing himself up, Link took out his satchel, setting Navi on his shoulder, and began to clean himself off. First came the blood off the shield, the blood from the sword (after retrieving it from the carcass of the scrub), and finally his clothes. Nothing had dangled his bandage, which was great for him, so within twenty minutes he was all set to go. No strength had been lost from the last battles, as quick as tried to be, so he gave Navi one of those little heart drinks, sharing half with her. Re- fixing his hat, the little pink farie. Grumbling uncomfortably (for she had just awoken) Fiija went at Link's ear, hanging off of it. Navi sat on the top part of his cap, and they were all set to go. Returning his sword and shield to the correct fixations in his hands, Link left the small little room into the next. No door was actually present, but only a little path that led into much more darkness. Like before, past fears returned, but they were conquered when he ran through the pitch-blackness.  
  
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An almost identical room was presented at the last, except a few new reasons were added to his worry. For one, there were many pillars in the center of the room (possibly hiding enemies), some torches that were probably a trap to open the next door, and Dodongos. These weren't as small as the babies weren't, either; these Dodongos were possibly the mothers of the smaller ones. Each Dodongo eight feet across, and if standing on the tip of their tail would reach up that far. Forest-coloured scales shimmied across hits muscled body, but the from the mouth of barred teeth it changed to a darker gray.  
  
Staring at the creature, with the eight-inch spike leading off of her forehead, Link gulped sadly while staring forward. "How shall I answer this one?"  
  
"These creatures have armour, the babies didn't. There is armour everywhere, except the tail. Try hitting the tail. The only other alternative would be getting it from the insides." Giggling, Navi fluttered over to the active Dodongo. She hadn't seen the group yet, so she continued to hunt through the damp corridor for food.  
  
Pulling out his slingshot, Link took aim and fired a seed directly into the left light blue eye of the Dodongo. A screech of pain hit his ears, sounding just as back as the bomb, but instead of recoiling back, the Dodongo stared him down. Barring herself for a fight, she held her breath for a few seconds, before unleashing out in a gasping impact. Instead of some bad breath coiling out, laps of flames came out.  
  
His eyes widened, jumping to the left, while slamming into a wall, but that was the least of his problems! Seeing an opening, he yelled to Navi. "Stay on her!" When his guardian lowered right above its face, Link jumped forward in a slashing motion. Two hands, having dropped the shield now held the blade, when the impact sliced into the tail. She spun around, knocking him with what was left of the tail, throwing him against one of the pillars while preparing to breathe up fire. That's right, he took the whole thing off. All that stood was a small stump wavering back and forth in fury.  
  
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Navi grasped the Deku shield, throwing it right at the Dodongo's skull. She stopped the puffing breath, turning to see nothing, and with a cry of frustration breathed fire into the air, as if trying to kill a stealthy enemy. Appearing right at the tail, she looked over at Link, who nodded and sliced the blade right at the new area that had appeared. Yes, a new area right where the tail was appeared to be beating. Crimson was all around, so she guessed it was the monster's heart. "Must be her shield, slice it!" At this time, she darted behind the creature and gathered the Deku shield for Link, so he wouldn't forget it.  
  
The reaction was one of a dying creature, because as soon as the steel sliced the delicate feature, the thing began to convulse and shake all around. Her body slumped to the ground; a bright red aura appeared around her, like the baby Dodongo, which gave time for Link to grab Navi and dive for an area of cover. As it just happened, another Dodongo was wondering where the dying one was. Without hesitation, she took off in a direction for help, but was stopped when the dying creature's blast knocked her own heart out of balance, resulting in two blasts.  
  
He ran into another one of that stupid Dodongos. Stupid was literally put, because as he threw a bomb flower down at the creature, knowing it wouldn't work, and he was surprised the dinosaur ate the bomb. That resulted in its insides being blown apart by the huge explosion, killing it in under a few seconds. Navi handed the shield to the boy, who in turn, thanked her and put it back on his left hand, holding it steady.  
  
".Those things are stupid."  
  
Navi agreed, chuckling with him and ran forward noticing how the torches conditions were around the room. No need to use those Deku Sticks, because the blast from the Dodongos created a chain reaction of blasts that lit each of the torches. When he heard a slinging metal sound, Link raced across three Dodongos (jumping across the bodies, for they were asleep), and headed to the doors before the bars shut from the lack of fire on each torch. When he passed through the newer door, Navi slumped on his shoulder, staring off into space. "Do you think there is a king?"  
  
"I don't know. You think there is a king, like they said. " Link complied, looking forward.  
  
"They said sensei."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Sensei means master. Like a teacher, or mentor. Either there is a king, or there is a master." Looking with Link, Navi gasped. "Look!"  
  
It wasn't a new room; they were in that room they couldn't reach before. Gasping after Navi, Link ran forward, jumping on a small switch, like the blue one from before, but this one didn't require automatic weight and was a tannic colour. A clicking sound shut off, and from across the pits and pillars from before, Link saw a door with bars show itself to them.  
  
He sat upon the edge of the walled room, and slid down the twenty feet. Landing down in a curled roll, as the Deku Scrub said from before, Link only had a few scratches upon his body. Putting the shield up, he ran forward and jumped across the tree platforms to the next room. The Beamos was at the other end of the room, Thank Goddesses, so there was no need for a confrontation from it. Navi interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"A chest."  
  
"Where?" He turned towards it and just as luck would have it, a large chest was right past the Beamos. Cursing his luck, the lad slid past the Beamos, right under its nose, and came to the chest. Pulling the steel rimmed box open, another one of those old maps was imprinted on it. "A map!"  
  
"Yea, now slid past the Beamos again." Of course, he did it again, because those Beamos weren't that smart at all. They did not even bother to look up or down. Since Link couldn't jump over the Beamos, he crawled under it this time, making an easy escape.  
  
He just ran forward to the giant door, slamming his fist upon it, which in response slid open and showed down another dark corridor. It was actually lighter, but the next room confused him. There was a new room ahead lighted very headily. The room led up into the second floor, but there was a problem. Bomb flowers were stridden around so if he took one wrong step then it was time to die.  
  
Navi fluttered away from the flowers, coming to a new entrance to a room. "Right here, let's try this door first." The brand-new room was unlocked, and Link walked inside the new room. At the end of the hall was a similar giant chest, like before, but this one was positioned between three of those statues. Walking forward, Navi slid past the statues and opened up the chest, there was one of those small blue machines from before.  
  
"What is that, Navi-chan?"  
  
"A compass, we were going to get one last time, but the trap. Now, this tells you where important items are in this dungeon, but not what they are." Throwing the compass forward, it bounced off the top figure, ricocheting into the boy's arms. Rolling the map up, with the compass tucked inside, Link stuck the tools under the waistband of his side pack.  
  
"Good, now we don't have to wonder." As he turned around, something pushed into his body. Not into, but slammed so hard against him, a little trickle of blood slid down the side of his arm, where the wound was. Falling forward, a strange sound interrupted the atmosphere.  
  
-Hurrahh!  
  
"Link, the statue's alive!" Floating right beside him, she checked him off, and dashed back to the monster's head, hovering over it.  
  
Spinning around, only the shield in his hand, he stared down to the beast. The exact same statue as before, from the baby Dodongo's room, but this time around it was tanner than usual. Those beady eyes shown a blood red through them, while the sword stuck out for his blood. He didn't even need a warning, for he leapt forward, grabbing his guardian, and rushed out of the room with his new items stuck inside his pack.  
  
When the edges of the doors shut, two more screams erupted. He must have woken up his buddies. Pounding against the door commenced for another ten minutes, until the creatures returned to the hidden chest and returned to their normal state. The group inched away from the door, wondering back into the other one. On closer inspection, the room seemed easier than before. In the center of the room was a huge platform that hung fifteen feet in the air, with stairs at the end. No easy access to that entrance, but at the base of the platform were Bomb Flowers spreading across the left and right sides? The only problem was that there was a spot in the middle for them to connect.  
  
".Maybe a chain reaction would work. Navi-chan?"  
  
"Very good, Link. Ah, look!" She had illuminated a brighter blue towards two Bomb Flowers that sat at the base of the door they just came out of. "If you put this in the center, then the bomb will go off and signal the others for a reaction that will rumble the base of the stairs. Of course, it may collapse and kill us both."  
  
Chuckling, he gathered up the left bomb, placing it in the center, then throwing the right bomb on top of it. Running down the hallway of the statue-room, he ducked down on his hands and knees holding his ears for the impact. This was the time the small sprite circle around his ear and healed it, for if she hadn't, then Link would have gone deaf. There were forty Bomb Flowers that went off, in total, each one including the impact bigger than the rest. Now, this added up with the balance of the structure falling fifteen feet, making up the entire explosion to that of an avalanche. For a few seconds, Link couldn't even hear, but then the smoke cleared and his hearing returned. Staring up.he saw Navi right beside him, shivering.  
  
"Are you all right!" He was screaming because his hearing hadn't fully returned.  
  
"Yea! It just hurt my hearing a little, that was a first!"  
  
"Want to wait a few minutes! Our hearing will return!"  
  
Nodding, Navi and him walked out of the room ten minutes later, with ears back to normal. The sprite had disappeared; it seemed she had used up her power, which sadden him deeply. "Did she die?"  
  
"I told you, Link, they return to the Great Farie."  
  
"Oh. Hee, yea!" From staring up, he saw the platform had indeed dropped fifteen feet, but that didn't matter since the thing went up forty feet. Bracing himself, the two climbed the stairs (they were actually giant's stairs, so they climbed up each step). There were about forty steps in all, so the group spent two hours climbing up the entire flight of stairs, maybe It wasn't forty feet, and Link had misjudged his own trajectory. Upon reaching the top, he sat down and watched the new level of walking.  
  
This room was a square, like the last, with familiar planks that led to the other end. Small little spider webs hung on the wall, and Link could hear the familiar clicking of those monsters from the Great Deku Tree.  
  
"Left or right?"  
  
"Left." She fluttered up the path, checking for monster's, with an eager Link following her with his sword drawn in his left hand. The protecting Deku was placed back in his satchel, with the flap open if he needed easy access. The entire brace was just a ruse, because when they reached the end of the hall, nothing was there aside a door at the end of the planked wood. Stepping through the door, he ran into an empty hall way, a rest spot. Sinking to the ground, he threw his equipment on the ground, slipping down into slumber land.  
  
"Link! Get up!" Searching around the room, she spotted some plants, and threw them at the boy. Nothing. He was out cold for the night. Growling, she searched the room for supplies, finding some more seeds, and heart containers. Gathering them up, Navi went by his side, guarding him while he slept. Not that it lasted long, soon after she was slumped at his side, unconscious.  
  
--------------------  
  
What were these two doing? He inspected them from the special device that the man in black had given him. Yes, the man had revived him and his people from the dead, and then given him this special device. He said that it was too watch anyone that would enter his domain. Now, however, there was this pipsqueak Kokiiri and a little sprite in his cavern!  
  
Yes, he would wait until the little one got to his section of the cavern, then he would feed on it and him and the sprite. Hot flesh in his mouth, not like that nasty Goron flesh, would be a nice change from the regular meal of Armos, Beamos, and Kesse. The monster watched throughout the device as the little one slept. Yes, you shall sleep your last, Kokiiri, for when you get to the King Dodongo, you shall perish. Chuckling silently, the monster slammed its fist into the device, cutting it into pieces.  
  
--------------------  
  
Seven hours later, he awoke to the smell of peacefulness. Was he dead? Was the adventure over? Yes, the boy had been eaten in his sleep, and now he was resting with the Goddesses. Staring up, he saw three beautiful women before him, each with a multiple colours of hair he had never seen. One, the colour of Malon's hair, one the colour of Saria's hair, and the last the colour of his eyes. Each was adorned in a long white dress, with the Triforce on each of the dresses. On each of the Triforces, a different piece was brighter than all the rest; for instance the top was brighter on the red head, the green wore the left, and the blue wore the left piece more illuminative.  
  
Staring up at them, he heard the voices of each, yet their mouths didn't move.  
  
Thou must go on, Hero of Time. The green-haired one spoke. She seemed somewhat closer to him, as if they came from the same land. The redhead just smirked with her arms crossed over her breast, while the blue haired one nodded her head softly.  
  
Go on? I am dead.  
  
Doesn't be silly, young one, thou art alive. Leaning closer to him, all three of them kissed a piece of his forehead, chanting out his name. Link, Link, Link, Li--  
  
--------------------  
  
"nk! Link, get up!" She fluttered right above Link's nose, slapping his cheeks softly, but was thrown aside as he woke up with a yawn.  
  
"Hmm.ohh, how long have I been asleep?"  
  
"Seven hours."  
  
"S-seven hours? Why did you let me sleep that long!"  
  
"Because I slept that long," she giggled a little, shrugging her shoulders. "Now, we need to go on, all right?"  
  
Raising himself up, he brushed the dirt from his tunic. Picking up his equipment, Link walked to the other side of the safe-room, pushing the door open and walking through it. Seeing that they were in a brand new room was just two doors (one he came out of), and a new one at the other side all barred up. A small platform in the center held the switch at the top, but unfortunately was guarded by four Armos on each side.  
  
"Tempt it?" His voice wavered, trying to say soft, as not to wake them up.  
  
"Want me to carry you."  
  
"If you can. Would you mind?"  
  
"Not at all, Link-chan." Grabbing him by the collar, Navi flew him over the statue-creatures, sitting him on the switch. The doors clanked open, and jumping off the platform, Link ran to the door leaving those creatures behind. Heh, he would probably have dreams about living statues for weeks.  
  
A familiar room? They were in the Dodongo-skull room, but instead on the top level. "We did it!"  
  
"Sure did. Wow, you had better watch out. The bridge doesn't look sturdy" That was true, the huge bridge stretched from the beginning of the room they had came out of, and stopped at the end of the upper level Link had viewed earlier. That's a long way to fall. he said silently to himself. Breathing heavily, the shield came back out, pushing the sword back into the holder. "Ready?"  
  
"Yea, I see no immediate dangers, Link. Good idea to keep the shield out." Moving ahead of him, she went first, while he trailed behind. Every now and then there was a loose board, or one that was completely gone, and she would warn the boy so he could hop over it. That went on for a long while, because it seemed the higher up they got, the wider it got. The group walked the bridge a full ten minutes, before the real action started.  
  
Flying towards them, the creature knocked Navi aside, and ran for Link. This wouldn't have been a problem for Link, except this monster was on fire.  
  
"Kesse, elemental! Duck, Link!"  
  
Staring up, it was the same bat as he had seen from inside the graveyard, but this one was ablaze. Yes, the creature was on fire and hovering towards him. The shield was useless, so he rolled forward upon the bridge; almost losing his balance that would surely bring him a bone- smashing death, or a fiery. Now, don't those sound nice? Smashing the mark on target, Link rolled forward and jumped up running for the other end.  
  
The creature followed him all the way to the end of the bridge, which was evidently its death sentence, because once it reached the end of the bridge it met steel. Link had been waiting at the end of Rope Bridge, sword drawn, and slashed the thing in half, then to bits. The sword was protected against fire, so it didn't become affected, but he did get a little hot being so close to it. With a conflict finished, he still kept the sword drawn, exploring the platform. There was another bridge that lead to a smaller chest, but the bridge was so broken up he dared not attempt it. Plus, it was across a ledge 20 feet away. Something about the bridge intrigued him for there was a headstone over there. They would work their way over there, because Navi couldn't carry Link that far.  
  
"This platform is small." Navi had witnessed the battle, amazed at how much of a tactician that he had become. Congratulating him for the victory, she stared down the brightened hallway and the steel door that lay ahead. "Come on, now. Let's finish this already."  
  
Nothing of interest was around, so Link headed down the door, letting it open itself and welcome himself inside. A pit was at the end of the room, a real pit, or a lower region in the room. Taking the small ladder down into the deeper layer of the cavern, Link heard the sound of metal rustling, slamming against the wall just in time.  
  
"Link! Are you all right!" Navi was quickly back at his side, watching that little torture that tore the hem of his tunic.  
  
A small little machine (reaching in height, to Link's ankles) slid across the path, and returned to its resting-place. The little mechanism was not all that way wide either, so light, in fact that he would be able to hold it. All though the fact of the matter was that the black structure was condemned with metal spikes. Yes, blades of all kinds stuck out of the machine, streaming in six different directions. Looking at it, the trap slid forward again, missing him all together this time, but giving him that queasy feeling in his stomach.  
  
"I-is that an monster?" Link asked desperately, if it was, he wouldn't be able to get a hit on it.  
  
"No.it's a trap. I hear no signs of life, so it is a trap. All right, leap."  
  
"Leap! Are you crazy!"  
  
"Leap, now. Climb up the ladder a little and leap forward. See the platforms?"  
  
Yes, there platforms hanging around, the spike was only guarding one thin hallway, so if he leapt forward then he could hide in-between the structures from it (and maybe more) or the similar machines. Nodding, Link scaled five feet up the red ladder, gave a thumbs-up to Navi and jumped forward.  
  
The scrape of metal sounded again, but this time it seemed far away when Link sailed over the small trap, landing on his behind at the other side. Going to the other side, he peered over a little and spied another one of those traps. Reaching into his pocket, he threw out a nut. The Deku nut startled the machine to go that way, which Link passed by into another set of structures.  
  
"Good, you are doing it!" She yelled from afar, rejoining him a few seconds later. "I saw six more of these columns, so you are going to have to do it a little more."  
  
"Sure, no problem, I have enough nuts."  
  
Some of the columns they went under were short enough to reach if he stood on something, and others reached the wall with no ceiling to climb on. Five nuts later, he was at a place with another one of those huge rocks, the ones with the crescent moons, pushed into the wall. The thing was pushed into the wall, so even if he had the strength, he couldn't pull it out. Slumping against it, the farie came to his side.  
  
"What to do.what to do. There is a ladder up there." Speaking aloud, to her. Also, it was ten feet in the air, so he couldn't latch on it.  
  
"Try pulling it out, Linky-chan."  
  
"I can't, remember last time?"  
  
"And you have powered up twice in that time. I think four pieces of hearts powers you up just as the blue light does. Now try it."  
  
".All right, but I am warning you."  
  
To his surprise (but not Navi's), his own limits were surpassed. "Hee! I did it!"  
  
At least it slid out four feet, enough for him to climb on and search the way around for a new way. There was a small column he could jump on. Leaping forward, his digits pressed into the top of the platform, pulling him on the five-foot wide thing. Standing up, a Bomb Flower was to his left, while the door-passage was north of him.  
  
"It's blocked!" Yes, the door was covered with one of those barriers that you bombed, but no where to put the explosion, except a measly one foot!  
  
"Try to make the ladder." Navi suggested, fluttering around the huge black explosive.  
  
"What? What do you mean?"  
  
"Throw the bomb and try to make it slid where the ladder meets the door. It's either that or hold it a few extra seconds, hoping it doesn't blow, and throw it at the wall."  
  
No answer was needed, and he yanked the bomb and threw forward.utterly missing. The bomb fell down to the large block and blew that to pieces. Frowning, he waited a minute for the bomb to regenerate, balancing his wait, and launching it at the ladder.  
  
"Perfect, Link!" A few seconds later, the bomb blew up shattering the barrier. Navi floated at his ear, somewhat amazed. "It's stopped."  
  
"What has?"  
  
"You're hearing. It is fixed, now, Link. You are adjusted to the blasts."  
  
"Oh.you are right." Shrugging his shoulders, the lad jumped the estimated feet from the ledge of the platform to the new room. When he landed, he ran forward, ignoring the darkness, for the darkness was limited because all these puzzles were easy.  
  
Crimson and orange flames came out of the next room. Blocking his eyes, the boy saw that this room consisted of a lower consisting of nothing, and a column in the middle that was held with flames. No other way forward, but there was a small diamond shaped headwork at the end of the room, an eye in the middle of the centerpiece.  
  
"That must be a trap, Link, shoot it with your seed might extinguish the fire."  
  
"Like the ladder from before." He mentally spoke aloud, pulling out the sling and taking aim. The first seed missed, but the second hit the target right on schedule making the fire disappear. A ticking timer sounded, as if giving him limited seconds. Not even waiting to be misjudged by Navi, Link jumped upon the first platform, and jumped across to the next end. At the end, it was like the first room with the statues (the ones not alive); the surface was made of some weird black and red materials.  
  
--------------------  
  
Another group of those lizard-men appeared to Link in the next room. It was basically a replica of the previous Lizalfo room, but with a waterfall of Lava at the end. More platforms to cross too, and one that led out to the end with no prizes at all.  
  
Even the fight was a repetition of the previous one, for Link had the two monsters down in a matter of two minutes. With each with impaled wounds, he leapt across each of the islands, until stopping at the one where another door stood.  
  
Another door.how many of them are there? When will this end?" Frustrated, he smashed the hilt of the sword against the door, which in response, opened up.  
  
"Hey, we're almost there, don't worry. Just take a look at the map, if you don't believe me."  
  
"When did you read the map?"  
  
"While you were passed out, we should only have two more rooms left."  
  
Pulling out the map, he leaned against the wall with it spread and looked forward. Yes, this was the third to last room. Another room with a similar trap was next, and then a room with some chests. That compass worked wonders because it located where each of these things was. Throwing the compass into the lava, he rolled the map up and stuck it at back between the waistband around him. "You are right."  
  
"Of course I am. You ready?"  
  
"Yup." He put her under his hat to rest, saying. "You said you were tired, now take a quick nap. I can take care of the next two rooms."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Reluctantly she slid under his hat to rest herself up for a fight, and of course there would be a fight. Always there would be a fight, for these dungeons had a master in themselves. Hopefully, this fight wouldn't end as bad as the last one did: with a stroke of luck. It was his anger that stopped the Gohma, but he weaker then.  
  
--------------------  
  
A remembrance of a previous puzzle did come up, as the map said. This time there were two platforms ablaze. Shooting the eye again, the first platform out, but when Link crossed onto the first one, he saw an eye to his left. This eye was at the left wall, enclosed in a small box, with only one way to shoot in. Aiming precisely, the ticker still coming on, he nailed it in one shot. Second pillar of fire ended, and the boy leapt across this one and off onto the exit just as both pillars began to spit out fire once again.  
  
That was his last puzzle, as the map showed, for the next room was a series of small ledges he leapt out, and crevices to pass over. When he finally reached the end (Navi being asleep about thirty minutes) he saw to his left were smaller platforms he could never balance on, but to his right was a series of stairs that led to the treasure. Giggling, he ran up the stairs, well climbing them, reaching the top of it, he yanked open the door. The same sensation of when he found the Farie Slingshot was overcome, for inside this chest was a larger bomb bag and thirty bombs.  
  
Taking out the old bag, which only held twenty after some speculation, Link threw the older bag aside and attached this one right at his side with the bombs stuffed in them. They were a bit smaller than the Bomb Flowers, and could only the size of his palms for mobile access. Slamming the chest shut, the boy ran out down the room and into the next one, the end of the line.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Maps like to lie!" Stomping his foot into the ground, Link stared over his position with disgust. He was basically over that twenty-foot jump, in the main hall, that had worried them nearly forty-five minutes ago. Shrugging a shoulder, the boy walked over to the small headstone pushed up out of the earth. A steel plate was set in the center of the tombstone, where carved writing was scratched in with what seemed like a rock. Bending at his knees, Link read the heading.  
  
Giant Dead Dodongo When it sees red. A new way to go Will be open.  
  
Does it mean red, as in the colour? I am assuming it means the huge skull, but the eyes are.black. "Red. Of course!" Nodding, he walked towards the long drawbridge, but on his way over stomped on a huge switch in the center of the platform. After a screeching sound of some machinery, the pillar that once stood on the first floor would now reach to the top of the second hall. This must be my way down. Moving over the bridge until he came to a part where a loose board was, Link kicked it out and pulled out the bomb.  
  
The way the bomb worked was if you pressed on the fuse, it ignited and started to burn down the wick. Pressing on the mark, he threw it down the hole and watched it fall exactly on the right eye socket of the Dodongo's skull, and this presented itself of when the bomb exploded the eye turned crimson. Squealing, he moved over to another lose board and preformed the same task, but this time when the other turned red something different happened. Both eyes were red, sure, but the mouth of the Dodongo slammed open.  
  
He couldn't see what was down there, so running back over to the platform, he leapt upon it and let himself be taken down to the first floor. When the pillar stopped at the first floor, Link dodged the Beamos and ran up inside of the Dodongo. No traps were inside there, but only a hidden door, and walking enough distance so the Beamos didn't notice him, he awakened Navi, explaining to her what had happened.  
  
--------------------  
  
A few minutes later, she was inspecting the bombs for bugs (so they didn't ignite when he wasn't using them), and gave a quick nod. Link had already explained all the traps to Navi, and to her surprise how he figured out that complex puzzle in a matter of seconds, no matter how the difficulty. Floating at his side, she viewed the huge door inside of the skull, speaking to him directly. "All right, let's go. The map doesn't explain this area, probably because no one ever gets this far."  
  
Nodding a quick approval of apparition, the lad ran forward inside of the Dodongo's mouth, walking where its throat was, and opening the door. With a simple kick, the steel plated door popped open, giving him access to a newly lighted room. Preparing himself for what was a puzzle (or so it looked), Link pulled his sword back into the sheath, while keeping the shield and slingshot handy. Stepping into the new room, the boy spotted two Kesse flurrying towards them.  
  
He aimed and shot two seeds directly at the birds, taking them out completely, well with that knocked out, there seemed to be no more dangers. Just incase, he slipped the slingshot right under the waistband of his belt, and grabbed the map throwing it aside. There was no need for those things anymore.  
  
Enlightening his way forward, he noticed there was a four feet drop from when he entered, basically another pit, and dropping down he spotted four different directions to go. Barred walls blocked the north direction, the east was too tall to climb, the west about right, and the south was where he climbed out. In the center of the room was a group of submerged stones surrounding a small hole, in a square shape. After peeking inside, he saw a small blue switch from before, but after sitting on it and climbing out the bars of the room remained the same.  
  
"Do we venture west?" His voice wavered a little, scanning the walls for Kesse.  
  
"Yes, let's do that, maybe we can find something to push forward and hold this switch down."  
  
"Your right. Hee, you are so smart." Throwing aside his fear, the boy walked to the east and climbed up the two feet to the wall. Settling him down, the paths were stonier than before, for when he ran down the darkened path (that was lit by a torch every now and then), and while this went on his eyes would scan all the stones around. Finally, a few minutes later, the light spread up and he entered a new room where another drop down was needed. Sliding down the two feet, Link stared forward at the existing room.  
  
Heavily lighted by unknown sources, the room consisted of nothing except a wall that led ahead seven feet from where he stood. Up ahead were two Kesse, which he took out in a few slingshot targets, but aside that there seemed to be nothing to do. Heavily scanning the walls, he discovered there was a place to climb up that lead to the other side of the room, and with a the upbringing climb, the boy jumped down the small cliff that stood two feet high. Identical walls were aligned, as the other half of the room, except this time at the end of the hall was a pair of blocks from the room with the spikes.  
  
Nothing was of importance of the stones, only for a descent procedure, and after some struggling he was on the other side of the third wall. The room in all contained two walls that separated the room except the small cliffs at the left and right ends of the room. In the center of this room was a door that contained the need to be bombed, and after doing so, he peeked in seeing a Armos, quickly slamming the door shut.  
  
Jumping down with Link, Navi noticed that the path was blocked, yes the path they were supposed to take out of here was blocked. Frowning, she left his side and circle the blocks, getting a conjugation. "Link, the stones, match them up and push the other one over here. If you do that, we can pull the stone over here to where the exit is blocked, climb on it and push it aside."  
  
Brilliant! These stones were a bit smaller than his previous ones, so after only two struggles, he had the stone pushed to the other side of the third passageway. Pulling the stone to the exit of this maze, centering it to Navi's configurations, he climbed up on top and pushed the stone away like a brick. If this had been the first quest of his, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish it, fortunately for them both it wasn't.  
  
Not even bothering to push the stone with him, Link ran down a familiar looking stony path that led back to the room they couldn't climb up because it was so high up, and at the top of it was a stone like the ones from the previous room. Nodding, they both pushed the stone off the ledge, watching it fall down below into the room with barred doors. Hopping down on the stone, Link pulled it out from the wall, and went behind it pressing it towards the switch. A long distance, for this stone was a bit heavier than the others were, but eventually it slid in and like automatics, the barred door slid open.  
  
Sprinting at the direction, the doors slid upon the hinges, revealing the final door. The newly adjoined room was actually quite small, with nothing there. Only a floor that looked like it was about to collapse, and a chest in the middle. Staring down the red and white walls (which reminded him of a volcano as explained in the books), Link growled and slammed his feet into the surface.  
  
"Where do we go?"  
  
"I don't know--Link!" Grabbing him by the collar, the center of the room collapsed into another room. She realized that if she hadn't grabbed him when she had--because the room went down one hundred feet. All she could view down there was a red surface and the smoke that emitted from it. Placing him right infront of the chest, she leaned heavily on his shoulder.  
  
"T-thanks, Navi." Poking the chest open, he found some more bombs, two more to be exact. Placing them inside his Bomb Bag, Link left it open for it. "I can bet this is going to be the monster's lair, the center of the volcano."  
  
"I would imagine so." Groping him by the collar, she flew towards the center of the path, fluttering down the one hundred feet. When they were just five feet, she dropped him, so he landed quickly upon his feet with the sword and shield drawn for battle. Looking around the room was a mess, for in the center was molten lava quickening the pace of the room. Nothing was streaming, Thank Goddess, but if he just fell in. The room itself was oval shaped, so only a small path, about five feet wide stretched across the entire room.  
  
"Navi, I don't see a boss."  
  
"He has to be here somewhere."  
--------------------  
  
It was about time! Ever since the machine had been destroyed, he regretted it now; the monster had been worrying that the boy might die. If he died, he wouldn't be able to taste the flesh of the Kokiirish. Mustering out a long growl, the monster was positioned right behind the two. What fools they were! Didn't they think to look behind themselves? Now would he just gobble him up, or play with his food a little? The answer was quite obvious: playing with your food always tenderized it.  
  
Pulling on his four haunches, the tyrant deepened its growl, letting out one of the strongest war cries in the history of them. Soulless blue eyes stared down the boy, as he turned around, and that was when he saw the fear in the little one's eyes. Why shouldn't he be scared? He was, after all ten times the boy's size. This was a revenge mission, for all of his children were dead, or dying. Nothing was left except those stupid Beamos (and you couldn't kill those), so he stared the boy down.  
  
--------------------  
  
"I really don't know, Link." Clicking her teeth together of fright, the growl had startled them. Looking from the left to the right, the two saw nothing.  
  
"What was that.?"  
  
"I don't know, now stop being a--" This time she was answered by the largest yell she had ever heard. Turning around, her little eyes gasped with fear, and all of a sudden she was glad the veil was on her. No one would ever see her fright.  
  
Those little Dodongos didn't compare squat to this one. The creature stood over sixty feet tall (no wonder it couldn't get them earlier), with at least no green upon its body. A gray colour, mixed with a tan, was placed all over the scales, but upon his shoulders were some black and light green scales upon there. Well, scales are a bad word, because they were spikier than the rest of them. Like the other Dodongo, this one had a huge horn, but it was ten feet long and twice as sharp, showing scales upon its back were sharper than his blade. Four legs, instead of one, rolled upon is body holding up that great white belly along with that face? Two layers of teeth, big enough to swallow the other Dodongos, were stretched out in a yawn, and also a pair of larger fangs pressed out into the atmosphere. Those eyes had nothing but blue in the, showing off no affection or emotion, for that matter. A massive tail sprung back and forth after its rear, with enough force to impale them both in one turn.  
  
"Link.turn around."  
  
--------------------  
  
"Did you find him?" Stumbling around, he spotted the tyrant, and this monster was nothing compared to Gohma. His heart stopped as the monster stared back at him, crying out once more. That was when the monster held its breath and began to spit out fire. Gathering Navi up, he held out the Deku shield for protection. How much trouble did that need to be? Well, we shall see.  
  
The Deku wood designated into nothing, as the fires licked upon the ends of it. All the shield did was protect him from the fire, but when he threw it aside, some burn marks were scuffed on his hands. Staring up at the monster, he watched as it curled into a ball and began to fall towards him, and without knowing what to do, Link fell to his knees letting the shield take the impact of it. Yes, he would die; he was ready and prepared. Too cocky, he always got, why did he always get so God damned cocky!  
  
--------------------  
  
What a fool! First the shield didn't work, and now he plans to let the metal piece protect him? The monster bellowed silently, with a mental shrug of the shoulders. This was the best way to take him out; tenderizing was what the little Kokiiri needed. Letting out a snarling laugh, the monster rolled forward, curled up in a ball and flattened the surface of the shield.  
  
That should have been the end, it would have been the end, but it wasn't the end. Something was protecting him, because the shield began to light up, mainly the Triforces did. A special someone was protecting him, and the monster saw this. When it saw this, it covered its eyes from the light and began to circle away from them, running around the long circle to escape the light. Damn him!  
  
--------------------  
  
Was he dead? Looking up, his body was in perfect condition! With only one shield now, he drew his sword and kept his hands on the bombs. Well, what was the plan, boy? What would he do to kill this beast? It's shell was obviously too hard to pound on, but what about the insides?  
  
"Navi-chan! Have any ideas!"  
  
"What about the insides, you saw when he began to breath fire. I think you might be able to throw a bomb in his mouth." There were bomb flowers surrounded them, but it was too risky to touch them, he trusted his own bombs.  
  
"Yea, I see. And the bombs would blow up his insides?"  
  
"It might take a few times, but yes, I think that might work. His shell is too rocky to hit."  
  
"We have a plan. Ooh! Here he comes!"  
  
The beast hit the side of the wall, a few feet from them, and towered over at them with its mouth raised. Link grabbed a bomb from his pocket and leapt forward, throwing the bomb right at his uvula. With a gasp of surprise, the bomb went down its throat and for a few seconds, it just sat there. Opening its mouth, ready to breathe fire, but it stopped when a splash of pain went inside of it. Falling upon its knees, the monster began to shine a bright red.  
  
"We have him, Link, stab him!"  
  
Taking no time, she fluttered around his eye, brightening her aura to yellow. For a second Link didn't move, but then he yanked the sword out and did one of those jump-slashes from before. This slash was aimed right for the eyes, so when it went down, the monster jumped up and spread off in the opposite direction screaming with pain. Black fluids poured from both of its eyes (Link had nailed both of them, instead of one), growling and yowling as it sat on the other side of the room, still in a ball.  
  
--------------------  
  
How dare him! At first, he didn't know what he had eaten, then he had tried to throw it up, but he was too late. Most of his internal organs were already flattened which meant he would die within the hour. Curse him! Damnit! The monster slammed its paws into the ground, but it was paralyzed? What was going on, its skin colour had changed and now it couldn't move?  
  
That wasn't the worst of it, though. The worst was when both of its eyes were gouged with that little Kokiiri's blade of steel. Steel had stung his eyes, blinding him from both of them, so he wouldn't be able to aim himself properly, and throwing out of his mouth the fire would hit no one. Not knowing what to do, the Dodongo sped down towards the end of the room, stopping at the other side and staying curled. That monster couldn't get him now, yes that was a monster. How else could that Kokiiri survive the impact of his own body? It wasn't a Kokiiri; it was that only to tease him, what it really was some sort of deity  
  
--------------------  
  
"I don't think he is going for that trick again, Link."  
  
"Oh, I know, I am going to do the Deku nut trick."  
  
"Good idea." Navi sped towards the weakened Dodongo, firing blast at his shell, some of the shell cracked open, revealing some skin, but it didn't do much good at all. Running across the circle, not as fast as Navi, the boy took out a Deku nut and launched it right at the dinosaur.  
  
The monster turned on its back, bloody eyes ajar, with mouth open and staring at him widely. Link pulled out two bombs, igniting the fuse, and placing them inside of its cavity. Jumping forward a few feet, he hid under his shell as the impact fell out, but there was no need for no more slashing, for when he turned back around, the Dodongo was bleeding in all its glory. Half of its stomach was gone, all the scales shattered off, and the head stared ahead with brains pouring out.  
  
Curling into a ball, the monster ran out into the hot lava, sinking inside of the lava until its skull was the only remains. Some of its body was still alive, but as the lava hardened and crumbled, it all turned to ash. Yes, the lava was crumbling too. It froze down to a light red, the heat of it dissipating to nothingness. Staring down at the monster, blood flowing from his sword, Link wiped it off and sheathed it down. Near where the skull disappeared, the familiar blue light stood open for their entry.  
  
"We.we did it."  
  
"Yes, Linky-chan.we did it."  
  
"H-how did that save me, the shield?"  
  
"I guess Farore must be looking out for you, Link."  
  
".Must be, must be." Tying the bomb bag shut, he hurried over towards the light and stepped into it. That familiar feeling of returning strength appeared around his wounds, the scuffs of the fire disappearing, and also a new power was rejuvenating inside his soul. No, whenever this happened, he didn't look physically stronger, but he just got physically stronger. The third time it happened, so now he was three times as strong as when he the journey began. Just like last time, the room disappeared and he was transported to another area.  
  
The scene switched from the boss dungeon of the Dodongo's Cavern, to right outside of the cave. Shaking his head lightly, a small pinging sound entered his ears, before a smash settled right next to him. Throwing himself around, he spotted a familiar looking Goron standing himself off. It was Daruina. A large smile was plastered on his face, and he beat on his chest furiously.  
  
"Kid! No, Link! You've done well!"  
  
".Yea, you saw?"  
  
"Of course not, but I sensed it. You have defeated all the Dodongos in the cavern; all we have are that stupid Beamos, which we can take care of with our special crop. I see you have some of our crops. You may keep them, I am sure they will help you on your journey to blow off walls and stuff like that."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Now, you wanted the Spiritual Stone of Fire, right?"  
  
Navi went in at this time. "Yes, we do want it, Daruina-sama."  
  
"Ha! Such a polite farie. Call me, Daruina. Please, I want you too."  
  
Link looked up at him expectantly, and held his hand out politely. "The stone?"  
  
"Oh, sure, but first let us become Sworn Brothers. No, there is no ceremony involved, we just have to come back to the City of Gorons and receive the stone, and it is inside my room. Hop on."  
  
Climbing upon his back, Link held onto the Goron as Daruina streamed up towards the City of Gorons. They weren't actually gone that long (it only took an hour to get to the city), and when they were there Link received the Goron's Ruby. The ruby was quite beautiful; it was a red jewel, adorned in gold from the sides to the top of it. When receiving the ruby, Link stuffed it in the special pocket of his side pack where his ocarina notes and the other stone was. That night a small ceremony was met in his honour, and there he was given a wonderful feast (which he ate heartily). Him and his farie ate there to their heart's content; it was a dinner that was well indeed deserved.  
  
"Here you are, Great Dodongo Buster." That was just one of the few nicknames he had inherited since his first night here. Turning around, he noticed one of the many Gorons with its arms pointed up to a new arena. They were on the second floor, and this room had normally been blocked up with boulders. Now, with rocks pushed aside, he pointed down the ten-foot tall square door.  
  
"What's in there?" Spoke Navi. She had been secured in his hat, but now was up with the overfull moon.  
  
"It will be to both of your liking, Miss Navi. Please, trust me."  
  
With a sulk look from Link, Navi nodded her head in defeat. How could she say no to that.? Leaping forward, Link ran through the door and into the newest room. This room was twenty feet wide and thirty feet long, filled with lava rocks on the sides, was a long metal tank filled with water. It wasn't bubbling like the magna had, but the water was red from the immense heat.  
  
Yanking boots side, the young hero placed his feet in the water, only to be slapped in the face a few seconds later.  
  
"Link, are you insane! These are Gorons--ohh is your foot all right!"  
  
He now had both bare feet in the water, sighing sweetly. "Yes ma'am, it feels wonderful. It isn't hot, but what is this? I've never seen water like this before."  
  
"It's called a sauna, or a Hot Springs. It is where a person relaxes in the pool and bathes their troubles away." Contenting with a sigh, she fluttered over the pool, testing the water. Yes, this was so wonderful, such good Gorons.  
  
"Wash your troubles away? What are you talking about, Navi? Navi?" She had flown out towards the middle, so he pulled his satchel, side-pack, and weapons off, placing them at the entrance of the room. Lastly, he yanked his hat off and dove into the water. Link had taken some swimming lessons before, so he easily glided in the water, and came to a stop next to his farie. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"L-Link, you are n--" No, he wasn't. His hat and materials were over there, but the boy had obviously not gotten the key word: bathe. "Link.sweetheart, it's like a bath. You have to strip down so your clothes don't shrink in this water. Now come on and get naked." Wow.her cheeks exploded in embarrassment, turning around.  
  
"Oh, all right. You too?"  
  
"Me too! Link, what are you--" Of course, she realized he meant nothing by it. Why would it be fair for him to strip and not her? "Why.all right."  
  
"And no veil."  
  
"No veil? Why not?"  
  
"Because I don't have a veil, silly." He had yanked the wet clothing off under the water and threw it upon the coals at the sides. There, that would dry them while he bathed. Swimming over to the sides, away from the coals, was a scrub brush, some weird looking soaps, and other shampoo essentials.  
  
"Link. I don't know about this, I am.after all a girl."  
  
"So is Saria, but she used to take baths with me."  
  
She countered. "Does she anymore?"  
  
"Well, no." He confessed. It was weird, but after he grew too eight she said he was too big for them to bathe together. "I guess we don't. But, anyway, we are partners, remember. Whatever you have is mine and whatever I have is yours."  
  
--------------------  
  
Ohh, I'd take anything you have to offer Linky. She thought dreamily, slipping her clothing off, and sliding into the water, a few feet from him.  
  
Really? It was the voice. Would you?  
  
Yes, I would.  
  
Ha, like you could handle him. The voice seemed to be growing stronger and stronger, why did it want too keep the two apart?  
  
Aren't we the same?  
  
Of course we are.  
  
Then why don't you love him!  
  
The voice was quiet for a few seconds, but it quietly answered back. I do.but we both know we can't have him, now do we?  
  
Yes we can! Several minutes passed, Navi called out in her mind again. We can love him. We can together! "We can love him together!"  
  
"Love who?" Navi had been in her trance for a few minutes, so he had slid over to her and checked her out for any signs of strains. Nothing was wrong, no strains at all. Navi went in these trances sometimes, but Link was used too them by the third or fourth day on the road. She is different.that's all. That was fine with him, for he loved different things. Saria is different, he is different, and so is she.  
  
Turning around, she noticed that Link had wrapped her in one of the many clothes the Gorons had left, sitting her upon the sides where the flames were bursting. Had he seen her naked? Gasping, she looked up at him with curiosity. "What did you say?"  
  
"You said 'we can love him together!' who is he?"  
  
"H-he? Ohh, he is.he is.Mido! I was saying we could love Mido together one day.? Yea, that's it."  
  
Distaste ran through his eyes. "Navi-chan, you are too close to the flames." He smiled a little and splashed her with the water.  
  
"Oh. I am, aren't I? I think you were the one who got his brain smashed in the Dodongo Cavern."  
  
Giggling, he backed up to the other side of the pool, waving his hands back and sending a wave towards the girl. Now it was only a wave too him, but too Navi it was a tidal wave. Squealing, she flew out of the towel and deep into the water, so it stood over her neck, staring up at the grinning Link. His own water level was up to his stomach; actually revealing that tanned chest was becoming a little muscled. Frowning, she growled a bit.  
  
"Linky-chan, what was that for!"  
  
"Oh, that? It was for this." Gliding away, his feet went into an uproar and spilled what seemed like gallons and gallons of hot water on Navi. Crying out again, she fluttered the barrier on (just from her breast stopping at where her vulva began), it was basically a one-piece suit made of chi. Gliding through the water, she stopped right infront of him, blasting some harmless chi into his eye.  
  
Standing up, he fell into the water, screaming in surprise. When he came up, Navi had the strangest look upon her face. He stared at her for a few seconds, and spoke. "Navi.what's wrong, you are paler than usual." It was true she almost looked like she had albinism, but her pigment was whiter than ever.  
  
".Nothing, Link. Nothing at all, I was just thinking."  
  
"Ah, well you want to be alone?"  
  
"Kinda, could you go bathe and come back when you're done? It is personal."  
  
Looking hurt, he began to swim away, when she blurted out. "I love you."  
  
He didn't have too look back, he yelped out. "Love you too, hope that the personal thought isn't any of my flaws, hee!" At that point his voice echoed out, and he glided to the end of the Hot Springs, washing himself off.  
  
--------------------  
  
Oh, yes, it is about you, but it's not a character flaw. When Link stood up, Navi had been as joyful as ever, probably the most fun she had had in years, but as usual the fun came to a stop. Little Link jumped up and revealed himself too the young farie, which in turn had made her skin grow colder and all her emotions numb. Yes, she had seen that forbidden part of him, she wasn't supposed too see. The Deku Tree had agreed with her that the two must never fall in love. Sure, she hadn't known this was going to happen, but after that case, the two were going to remain partners until all eternity.  
  
There were many rules in the Kokiiri Forest, and in most cases Faries and Kokiiri could fall in love, all though children producing was zero to none. In this case, however, the Deku Tree had forbid her from even thinking of those thoughts. That, in turn, had driven her wild, too think about him forbiddingly. Her first impression of him, was that he was this spoiled little child who had been raised by the most beautiful Kokiiri and lived up to snob issues, but she was wrong. Now the impression is that this is the sweetest little guy you would ever meet, whose courage is far past that of all Kokiiri, Hyrulians, Gerudos, Shiekah, and Gorons. Navi still remembered the conversations they had had almost a month ago.  
  
Never, Navi, I forbid it.  
  
'But why?' She didn't seem that interested, Navi was naturally curious. 'I know some faries that have fallen in love with some of the other Kokiiri.'  
  
'Yes, I understand that, but I forbid you too to get close. Link may seem ordinary, but he is far from ordinary, his future will bring great things.'  
  
'Great things? Like what?'  
  
'Nevermind that, I want you to promise me you won't get anything physical with him. The boy is young, anyway, much younger than the rest of the Kokiiri and as innocent as a newborn. Don't soil him, Navi-san.'  
  
Soil him? How do you know, I know about those things?  
  
The Deku Tree had just grinned, as Navi flew off in rage.  
  
Was she breaking her law against the Deku Tree, by falling in love? Maybe she was, but she didn't care in the least. You couldn't deny love, love was just like that, and sure she saw how those other girls eyed the young boy (he was naturally a very adorable one), but it didn't matter. The only one she had too worry about was Saria, no she wouldn't forbid Link to not see her, and she would just keep a close eye on the older Kokiiri.  
  
When Link was done, he returned to her and washed her back, letting her bathe by herself. That night, they spoke of unimportant things, the stars, what was next, where the next stone was, and of course about themselves. Nothing particularly exciting happened that night, Navi snuggled up by his face, instead of in his hat, but that would sum up the entire Goron facility for that night. They were so much nicer than when the Kokiiri had given them a good-bye party. Of course, they hadn't killed Daruina, had they?  
  
--------------------  
  
The next three days he spent wandering the Goron City, the first day he lit all the torches with the help of his Deku Stick and got that large statue of the Goron in the middle to start spinning around. A few hours later, he wondered to the third floor and threw some bombs inside of the mark, which resulted in throwing a heart piece at him. The last piece until he got stronger, so he connected them and the feelings he had just felt a day ago returned to him with full extent. Stronger than ever, he could run up the entire place in and it too a half-hour shorter than before.  
  
On his way up to the top of Goron City, Link ran into a Goron who called himself Hot Rodder Goron (that's what the sign said.) It also challenged anyone to throw a bomb out, to stop him from rolling. Link took the challenge with every bit of himself, throwing an explosive when the ball was two feet infront of him. Dodging the Hot-, the bomb blew up and threw the Goron against the wall. Gasping, he ran to the Goron and helped him back on his feet, who was smiling at him.  
  
"You've stopped me!"  
  
"Are you hurt?"  
  
"Not at all, young Kokiiri. I've heard of you from the local Goron, you helped end our starvation, right?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
The Goron reached inside of his pocket and took out a larger Bomb Bag could fit more bombs than ever. "You have more bombs, correct?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"All right, take this Bomb Bag as a sign of my appreciation for stopping the great Hot Rodder."  
  
Taking the Bomb Bag, inside were eleven more bombs, which brought his total number of explosives to forty bombs. Putting the bag back on his in place of the other one, he traded it and wondered off, for the Hot-rod was already gone with the wind.  
  
--------------------  
  
On his explorations through the city, Link discovered an entrance to the Kokiiri Forest. It really explained why Daruina liked Saria's music, for they were so close together, that he had heard it before. Placing a bomb right infront of a pillar of rocks, Link went off to the side letting the rocks crumble. When he wondered through, he was in the middle of the Lost Woods.  
  
"That's where those rocks led. Hee!" Navi was tuckered under his cap, so he let the girl sleep while he wondered through the rest of the woods and back through the Sacred Forest Meadow. When he came upon the exit of the meadow, he peered through the gardens to see Saria was sitting upon the stump, as the last time he visited. There she was, in all her glory, perched upon the bench, enjoying herself. The instrument wasn't being used, so at least there would be no time to practice.  
  
"Saria!" Running from the entrance of the new meadow, he saw as she jumped up and met him halfway. Giggling, he fell into her arms, causing them both to collapse into the dirt, yet he smothered the forest child with kisses of glory and misfortune. She, in turn, retrieved the smooches and gave a few back. When it was all over, he sat infront of her, grinning a little.  
  
"Link--you're back, but you were still in Goron City less than a week ago, how did you get back so fast!"  
  
"A secret passage. You see, there was this place covered with rocks, and I bombed it." Triggering off the sentence, he pulled the bomb bag out and showed her the fresh patch. These never went bad, so there was no need to replace them after a length of time.  
  
"Wow, what are those?"  
  
"I'd show you, but you aren't used to them, they might make your ears bleed. Almost did for me, first time I used them. Anyway, in Goron City, there is a place where you can bomb rocks, and we could hear your tune. So, I bombed the area and turns out it leads into the Lost Woods."  
  
"You mean that stone wall that was covered up?"  
  
"Yea, a few sectors away from where the small lake is." Putting the Bomb Bag up, he told her of his journeys with the Gorons. What happened between him the Dodongos, and a lot of other stuff, basically he told her the entire tale until up too today. The boy also mentioned what Navi had done (his words didn't describe what she saw), so Saria glanced at the hat and passed it off as embarrassment from her nudity. Half-agreeing with her, something else seemed wrong, he dropped the subject and went on with his tale.  
  
A few hours later, the tale done and them both eating, Navi came from her hat and was surprised at the place. "Link, how long have I been sleeping!"  
  
"Three or four hours, ohh, the place? I bombed that entrance with the music we heard, that took us here." "Hello, Navi-san." Saria spoke up, she had Link bounded in her lap, but since she was hovering over them both, he fully recognized her without moving.  
  
"Hi, Saria-san. Urm, Link-chan, when are we leaving?"  
  
Saria grasped, trying to hide the frown, so she stared down at the ground. What was it with this farie? Why was she always trying to separate the two of them? This girl, is she jealous, because they spend much time together, but why was that? Saria grasped it with full colours, nodding with anticipation. Of course, that was the perfect reasons. "Maybe you should leave tomorrow?"  
  
"Saria-chan! I came too visit you!"  
  
"Yes, but you need to spend time with Navi."  
  
"Navi-chan? I see her all the time, she knows I care for her, right Navi?" He looked up at the grinning farie, but her grin disappeared and she nodded a little. "Of course you do, but we do need those Spiritual Stones."  
  
"Yes, Link." Saria had picked him up and sat him upon the stump, kneeling before him and resting her head in his lap. "You need to find the last Spiritual Stone, and then before you go see the princess, you can come and see me for a while. I have a feeling that maybe the entrance to the water leads to the Zoras, but it is too deep to swim. When you return.my hypothesis is you will be able to swim it."  
  
"Saria.I--we can't be-- you don't.like me?" Staring off to the side, he was holding back the tears. Saria didn't love him anymore! Why did he have too leave! Silently, the salty sprinkles escaped from his tiers and stained his small tunic. As if like magic, he was gathered up in those arms, returning too her lap, and feeling her kiss and stroke his brow affectionately. Navi also sat on his shoulder, nuzzling him pitifully.  
  
"Oh, Link! How can you say that? I do love you so much, but now isn't the time. You are slacking off, my little hero, and the sooner you finish this. The sooner you can come back too me, all right?"  
  
".Okay, then tomorrow?"  
  
"Yes, Linky."  
  
Navi came over to Saria's side, speaking out loud. "Saria, about the Zora's?"  
  
Peeking up his interest, Link rested his head against her small breast, but listened too them speak fondly of each other. Nodding quickly, she reached into her pocket and spread out some material she had written down. It was in Kokiirish (which Link could read little of, he mainly read Hyrulian, for that was mostly what stuff was written in.) Clearing her throat, she spoke.  
  
"I found this in the Deku Tree-sama's files, it's written in the old language, but I roughly translated it. What is means is that the Zoras live down in the domain that lies south of that village you were at, Kakariko. It also mentions you don't go across the river, but you follow the river downward and that will lead you to the domain. This text mentions you need to learn to song of the Royal Family too open up the great waterfall that leads inside. You have that song?"  
  
"Mmhm, Impa-san taught it too me."  
  
"Great. The Zoras have the Spiritual Stone of Water, also known as Zora's Sapphire. The King is in good relations with the Zoras, so you shouldn't have a problem."  
  
"What do they look like?" Navi spoke, hovering over the tablet, reading the Kokiirish with little trouble. "It says fish-people, but that could be a mistranslation. I think they just maybe a race of swimmers, and the Deku Tree-sama misunderstood."  
  
"Nevertheless, do you have a special tunic for Link, any water-proof ones?"  
  
"Ah, yes, I do have one. If one is sprinkled with the dust of a Deku, then we can have it. I just happen to have some dust. Link, take off your tunic for me?"  
  
"Mmhm, Saria-chan." He sleepily pulled himself up, and slipped from his tunic. Standing just in the boxers, boots and weapons, he climbed back onto her lap and watched peacefully. Saria stroked his hair, pulling it over his ears, and gathered off his hat also, along with his socks, boots and the rest of the clothes.  
  
"It will also keep his sword from rusting, and that new shield. We can do that tomorrow, how about we go too sleep, now?"  
  
"I like that idea." He was asleep in a few seconds, being moved into the grass, and covered with his own clothes. Saria spread out a large sleeping bag, pulling him into it and sliding in herself. Offering Navi a home for the night, she refused profusely, flying away with a trail of disgust spluttering from her aura. Sliding down, so their heights were the same, the older Kokiiri kissed his cheeks wetly.  
  
"You asleep?" She spoke aloud, keeping her voice quiet; the forest had turned darker and a bit more frightening.  
  
"Nnn-uh."  
  
"Want me to let you?"  
  
"If-you-don't-mind." He spoke in one quick word, cracking his eyes open too her. Staring into her face, his eyes widened, and he stared back at her. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I'm a little scared, Link-chan."  
  
".Oh." Giggling, he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head upon her shoulder. With their bodies pressed so close together, his figure couldn't help but scream in some unknown feelings. This felt as if hot lava was being poured upon his stomach, and yet the feeling was marvelous. Groaning, he nuzzled his head into her shoulder, mumbling aloud. "Scared now?"  
  
"No. as long as I have my little hero, why should I be scared?"  
  
"Someday, I'll be bigger."  
  
"Oh, no you won't. I like you this way, you are much cuter." Ruffling his hair up, she settled her head on his shoulder, in a matching manner, closing her eyes. If he replied, she never heard, for she was in her own dreamland ten seconds later. The same feelings were starting to flow over her body, sure she had felt it before, and knew what it was; yet it mystified her while she felt it for one so young. Each of the Kokiiri was thousands of years old, yet he was barely a decade old. She being one of the oldest and wisest, it really was strange too feel something for one so young.  
  
--------------------  
  
She just had too cool off. It was fine, for in the morning; Navi was right at Link's side, curled in those blonde tresses. That morning, while the duo ate Saria's breakfast, she prepared his tunic and clothes for the Zora's domain. When it was done, he shyly gave her a kiss and a hug goodbye, watching as Navi shook Saria's larger hand. So weird how they never got along, it really made him mad, since they were never angry with him. At about ten o'clock that morning, they walked back inside of Goron City, heading right for the exit. On there way out, Daruina was at the gate, with a few of his men.  
  
"Brother!" Beating his chest profusely, he entangled Link in another one of those Goron hugs. Crying out, he hit the ground a few seconds later, and smiled a little.  
  
"Hello, Daruina-sama."  
  
"Brother, are you leaving?"  
  
"Yes, sir. I need the next Spiritual Stone, remember?" He had told Daruina of his quest, they were Sworn Brothers now, so he knew all about the quest for the stones of elements. The Goron nodded his head sadly, he was quite sad too see the little guy goes, but his spirits kicked up as he remembered what he was here for.  
  
"Link, you might want to visit the top of the mountain."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"There is a mystical farie that lives up there. Some of the Gorons have seen here, not many though, she maybe a legend, but I wanted you too see for yourself. As legend goes she will grant you manna power."  
  
"Manna power? What's that?"  
  
"It is sort of like your chi power you showed us, but Manna gives you the ability to use your sword attack to more of an extent."  
  
"An extent?" Leaning against the city walls, Link crossed his arms over his chest. This Great Farie would be worth going too, so it seemed.  
  
"Yes, you can use it a lot more often, and won't get tired as easily."  
  
"Wow, thanks Daruina-san."  
  
"My pleasure, brother."  
  
Waving a quick goodbye, Link and Navi journeyed past the outskirts of Goron City, passing that red flag from before and headed up there. On the way, boulders were considered around the area, easily blown up by the boy and his new special crops. With little ease, there was not much trouble up the mountaintop.  
  
--------------------  
  
The third day after leaving the city was the worst of all. The duo had left the area and begun to sink in a sort of cavern. Nothing of the volcanic activity was around, so the two ignored the little rumbles every now and then. They had arrived in the center of the canyon, when the action started. The sky all of a sudden grew a darkened black, the clouds swirling all overhead. Staring up at the sky, since it was day, Link turned towards Navi with caution plastered in his eyes.  
  
".Navi?"  
  
"I don't know, I don't--the volcano! Link, under your shield!" She had blurted that out, for a large molten rock headed right for Link's head.  
  
Cowering under the shield, the farie scrawled under it with him. Craving his arms around her tightly, he began to cry softly. The rocks stung as they clashed upon the shield and dented it inward. No immediate damage, so the stings were minimum, they were really from the pressure of the protector. Burying his face in the dirt, he shivered and cried out.  
  
"Shh.Shh! Calm down."  
  
"W-w-w-w" He couldn't even speaks. They were going to die, and it was his entire fault! His entire fault! Letting out a shakily cough, Link pressed his head into the darkness, but a beam of light lit up into his face. Blinking, he peered forward and saw her aura brightening a lighter shade of azure. She blew him a slight kiss and his entire body was filled with the light and chi he always felt when close to her veil. Shivers of pleasure ran down his body, the aura all around.  
  
Gazing forward, he saw that he was inside of her aura. Somehow, someway, she had expanded it so it included him too. Pushing himself up, Link brushed the dirt from his body and gazed over at her. At the full light, he finally caught her with all her glory. With the aura on, she would fill his entire hands, and some of her would stick out. This way, she could stand in the palm of his hand, but could also curl up and be held.  
  
A mini-human is what she reminded Link of. He had seen Navi a lot, but usually she had some of her aura on, or she was hiding on him. Chuckling nervously, he looked down at the ground, embarrassed. She stared up at him curiously, and spoke.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
".I was scared."  
  
"Of course you were, Link, sweetie. You had to be scared, you saw fire and it frightened you." Her wings were finally shown to him with full colours. These were a clear, see-through substance, the top part connected to her back, while the bottom were at her back, but stood out south. Wearing a blue top, and silky pants on her body, a shawl extended down across her body, covering up her pale stomach and other hidden fleshy parts. On her feet stood a pair of small shoes, this was maybe what she usually wore. He guessed Faries didn't need to bathe much, because she always smelt good.  
  
Link had been staring at her, eyes agape, which in turn made Navi flush a little. Flying up to his face, she kissed the tip of her nose, and spoke out loud. "Link, the fire has stopped?"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, and we didn't need this aura. It doesn't protect you, you know."  
  
He knew this; Gohma had mortally wounded her while wearing this little veil. Nodding simply, he curled her inside of his palms, stroking her like a doll. Navi, in turn, flushed and pulled away from him giggling a little. Pulling her close, he kissed her cheeks sweetly, before settling her back on his shoulder, speaking out. "You ready?"  
  
"Y-yea." Clearing her throat, she snapped her fingers and they appeared back in the old scenery. Her aura was gone, for the time being anyway. Gathering up his scattered shield, the boy ran out into the valley even deeper, running into the rocks sometimes, but he learned they were easy to dodge. That night it was officially decided that from that day on the veil would stay off unless they were in the company of others. She argued, he compelled, eventually winning the argument and receiving what he wanted.  
  
--------------------  
"Why do you want too look? Aren't I ugly?" She spoke of the subject the following night. He had spotted a new area to climb, but it was at least a few miles away. They rested for the night, so they could tackle it before noon tomorrow and be done with this dreaded mountain, but all Navi knew was this Great Farie had better have been as good as the legends said.  
  
Link smiled a little, stroking her hair somewhat, it was quite lovely for her. You would never tell by her veil that she was lovely. "I want it, because you can see me and that isn't fair. Remember that, we are equal."  
  
"Yes, but am I ugly?"  
  
"No." He answered without any thought put into it. Thinking a little, he shook his head once again. "You are very pretty Navi. You have some things on you I don't quite understand." He was referring to her breast. "Yet, I didn't understand why those are on Anju and some of the other women in this land."  
  
"Women get those when they get older."  
  
"Saria's older than me."  
  
"Doesn't matter, she's a Kokiiri. You all don't grow up."  
  
"Ah, yea. So, how old are you?" They had set up camp; Link lying in the sleeping bag with Navi rested right before him. It wasn't really a sleeping bag, but a comfortable sheets stocked together for when people traveled. No monsters were on the mountain, so the fire had drawn out of its cover and was put out when Link kicked it out. Receiving an odd look from Navi, he stared back into her deep eyes, kissing her forehead. "What, what's wrong?"  
  
"It's impolite to ask a woman her age."  
  
"But, I know mine, and I know Saria's."  
  
"Ohh, how old are you and her?" Navi stretched herself out a little, curling the covers around her body, and watched Link with quite the glaring movements.  
  
"I'm ten Navi, you know that. Saria is 5,600."  
  
"S-she is!"  
  
"Yea, she said that she is one of the oldest Kokiiri. Mido and the Know-it-all's are the oldest."  
  
Wow, she was a lot older than Navi, which was for sure. Navi wasn't even a century old at all. Should she tell Link how old she was? Nah, she just drifted herself off to sleep as he explained what he and Saria did that night down when Navi was asleep. Nodding off to a distant unconsciousness, the jealously was erased, because they were together.  
  
--------------------  
  
A total of five days the two they spent wandering the atmosphere. By the third day, they reached the little area that led up out of the valley. Taking out the trio of Skulltullas, he spent the next day climbing up to the top of the area. There were little crests in the mountain where he rested upon one that night. The fifth day he climbed up the top of the Death Mountain, and peered into a hot molten lava entrance of the mountain.  
  
"We can't go in there?"  
  
"No, we can't, Link. It's too hot, you would suffocate, and this is the direct lava. The Dodongo's Cavern was at the bottom of the mountain, this is the top." "Where is the farie then!" Growling, he slammed his foot into the left area of the wall he was leaning upon. A small creaking sound interrupted his thoughts. Gasping, he stared at the wall, setting down a bomb and setting it off. Moving back a few feet, the bomb exploded, and when the smoke cleared a hole was in the place of the wall was.  
  
"Navi!"  
  
"That must be the fountain. We can go inside here, it is safe!"  
  
"You sure?"  
  
She didn't even answer him, but flew into the cave, with him running after her. As soon he entered, the soft harp music fell upon his elven ears. Sighing softly, he stared around the brightened room. Sprites of all kind were erected in the room, talking amongst themselves, staring off to the sides. When his presence was shown, they immediately surrounded him, pouncing Link in the ground. Letting out a stream of giggles, the smaller faries nipped and nibbled at his flesh, playfully excruciating him.  
  
"De go, fee he nai! Link he jie!" The sprites made tracks, returning to around the structure in the middle staring at him with wide eyes peering out of the veils. Sitting on the pale blue stonewall, he stood up and stared forward. Up towards the ends of the stairway were two small steps and the symbol of the golden Triforce. Right above that was a pool that sprinkled with glistening water, the water wasn't very large, but the pool extended out twenty feet. Where the sprites were, were drips of water that they could rest on, but it didn't compare to this place. Turning to the owner of the voice, he stared at Navi.  
  
"What did they want?"  
  
"They were trying to eat you."  
  
"E-eat me!"  
  
Smacking her forehead, she let out a little chuckle. "Not swallow you, but taste you. Most sprites up here never get too meet anything close to a Kokiiri. Gorons hardly travel up here, and no one has ever found this place, they wanted too taste your skin."  
  
"Did they like it?" He blushed, staring at the sprites. Each of their veils was off, only surrounding their waists. It shown that all the faries were females, at least all here and all had pink hair that was long, short, or medium built. Each wore different pairs of clothes, which included shorts, dresses, shawls, battle armour, and just regular attires. None of them battled, but they were probably meant to aid someone on a quest.  
  
"Of course they did, you are a Kokiiri. Besides, you are sweet, I've tasted you."  
  
"Y-you have!" Covering his cheeks, they were burning up. Trying to catch himself, he sat upon the stone path, lying down on his back.  
  
"Yes, of course I have. Don't worry, that is how sprites and faries tell if your personality. Most of the Kokiiri faries taste there masters of mistresses, it is a way to find out if they even want him or her for a partner."  
  
"Ohh, urm, what is the deal up there?" He pointed at the Triforce symbol, and with the crimson to his cheeks already gone, he pulled the ocarina out and walked up to the symbol, standing upon it.  
  
"Play it, that summons the Farie-sama, she is just the one of many. I forgot which farie she is, since I have never seen her. Only Royal Family members can access the faries, of course, no one usually finds them."  
  
Placing the nozzle to his lips, the young lad blew out the tune of the Royal Family. After the tune was out, a few seconds passed, but nothing happened. Then a scream of laughter pierced Link's sensitive ears, making him grip it with one hand, holding the ocarina with the other. A spiral of magic interrupted the water, spewing out in a cone-like structure. Out of the cone came a body that started to form in the air. Beautiful soft skin clad upon her body, a darker colour of pink hinter her long hair, maybe magenta, it was. The woman was at least six feet tall, with ivory vines aligning upon her form, with the illumination of those deep brown eyes staring at him.  
  
Link couldn't help but be propelled by her beauty. Never had something seemed so lovely, and yet at the same time too be so forbidden. A nervous laugh entered his esophagus, throwing out in the atmosphere, and throwing up his head, he stood upon the Triforce with full stance. Navi stayed at his side, watching the sprites every now and then, but keeping a close eye upon the farie.  
  
"I am the Great Farie of Power, what is it you wish to ask me, young hero? You have traveled a far and dangerous road, as I can foretell."  
  
"I-I-I was told by the Daruina that there was a farie up here who could grant me something called manna. Is that true?"  
  
"Manna. Yes, Daruina knows well of his tales, yet has never been up here. Indeed I am one six of the most power faries in the world. Maybe I shall grant manna, but then again, maybe I shan't." Smirking, she laid upon the air, as if it was some sort of furniture, defying the laws of gravity.  
  
"I.what do you mean?"  
  
"I shall grant you manna for your hardships, but I require something in return."  
  
"Anything!" He blurted out.  
  
"Link, don't say that!" Navi scolded, staring up at the farie. She didn't know what this one was capable of, she wasn't evil, but something about the glimmer in her eyes made lower class farie feel a bit uncomfortable.  
  
"I haven't seen anyone out of this cave since I entombed myself, which was three hundred years ago, and I require something that hasn't been given too me. I would like a dae nei."  
  
The guardian's eyes widened, what did this want! Looking up at the higher in the chain of faries, Navi shook her head all of a sudden. "No."  
  
"Dae nei."  
  
"No, not that, please!"  
  
"I need a Dae nei, little farie."  
  
"What is a dae nei?" Link stared up at the farie, then changing his expertise to Navi. Both seemed in some sort of spoil or a battle of some sort.  
  
"It means she wants a kiss." Growling, she fluttered off to where the sprites was, pouting. She knew he needed the manna if he hoped to take any of the other monsters our, but this was ridiculous! Keeping her distance away from the group of sprites, she heard their fairish speech of what the Farie-sama wanted. They understood her, but not any other Hyrulian, so it was hard to distinguish if the boy was going to reply.  
  
"You want a kiss? But why, I am but a little boy." Link had sat himself down upon the Triforce mark, gazing up at the farie. Lowering her a few feet, but still hovering over his body, she grasped him by the collar and brought him up too where she was. The boy gasped, levitating up to her height, which she returned to where she lay only a few minutes ago. Nodding a quick approval, the farie spoke.  
  
"Yes, you are a young boy, but one day will mature into a Kokiiri. Sure, you have your form of it, but yet I desire something from a true hero. Heroes aren't as common as they used too be, so I desire the love of one. Just one kiss, and we shall begin the training so you may gain manna."  
  
"There is training?"  
  
"Of course, you did not think it was just a restoration process? The other faries might not require training, but you need my manna to gain their powers. So, do you agree?"  
  
Turning around, he faced Navi, and spoke. "Navi.it's for the mission."  
  
Remaining silent, she nodded a sigh of deep consent through her mouth. Link couldn't help, but feel bad for it was weird how her emotions spurred out when they were around other women. Never-ending the thought, the young hero nodded a little for the approval of the kiss. It wouldn't be painful, nor as beautiful as the one with Saria, but he had kissed a few times.  
  
Nothing was ready for what came next. The farie began to smirk, her long arms coiling upon his body and entangling him into a barrel of passion. Lips moistened, puckering for the release, and went into motion with a barrage of feelings surged through out her. Link's arms flailed a little during the kiss, coming to her neck, and holding onto it for the support of accidentally falling. There were no words for what his thoughts were during those two minutes of kissing. Repeating Saria's actions from before (meaning the tongue), it coiled and slid to and fro from inside his mouth too inviting his own to hers.  
  
All the sprites watched with ease, and when their mistress waved her hands, the sprites sped up towards Link. Being covered with an entire suit of pink veils, each of the sprites began to lick at certain parts of his body, but they couldn't go in specific areas, those were just off limits. Some crowded upon where his lips were; some just picked any other spot, but most went from place to place, searching for his sweet spot. Shivering lightly, he could feel them all around his body, while the kissing went on.  
  
Finally, the farie broke the kiss, dropping Link down on his knees before the Triforce. Smirking a bit, she petted his head a little, reaching into his satchel for that bottle he had gained from Anjou, opening up the top and pouring the Milk out. Grabbing a sprite, she placed it inside of the bottle, shutting the cap on it and returning the glass jar back to the home where from hence it came. Touching his head, she spoke sweetly.  
  
"I was kidding."  
  
"About what?" His breaths were a bit harsh, trying to rejuvenate after the experience; it had really left him winded.  
  
"About the training, I was going too train you for no power gain if you didn't comply to my kiss, but you did, so I shall restore it onto you. Peii, heal Link!" A small Sprite came up to Link, kissing his cheek, and disappeared after a few seconds. All the pains of the climb to Death Mountain were now only a little bit of a problem. Standing himself up, he smiled a little, crossing his hands at his chest.  
  
"There is a Sprite in your bottle, her name is Tui, and she shall be with you until you need healing." Placing a hand upon his forehead, her other hand came forward where Navi appeared in the palm of it. Nodding, each palm lit up a different colour, the one Link was near shaded green, while Navi's shaded a light-blue appearance. Beginning to speak in a language even Navi couldn't comprehend, the great being asked for the powers to be bestowed upon these two brave souls.  
  
Magically, Link began to fill enlightened with his feet. As it would turn out, his strength, vigil, speed, and other important elements were enhanced beyond the Kokiiri boundaries. Remaining in the same form, when she took her hands off the two, she made them test out each other's power. Navi's blindness technique could affect more than one enemy, her chi was also stronger, but it was Link who received the most power. Along with being enhanced physically and mentally, his sword gave itself a new glow. For the next few hours they honed their powers, trying to reach the peaks, and discovering new things about them.  
  
"This is called the Rhiu-Kiyto. It is an ancient sword-technique passed through the legends. Try it out, hold your sword and concentrate upon it." When Link did give it the ole' try, the blade shimmered a bright blue from before, but about two seconds later the chi around the blade began to waver and turn a monstrous rogue. Asked to spin around, when Link did, the results were astounding. He went around three times, cutting anything in his path. Thanking her profusely, the farie had one last reward for the duo.  
  
"I was going to let you enter Death Mountain and retrieve this, but since you are running short on time, I shall give it too you. I understand you collect heart pieces, is that correct?"  
  
"That is right, Great Farie." Navi spoke. They had only been here practicing for five hours, but Navi now held a deep respect for the farie. She may have been love-hungry for Link, but with all tricks aside, she had deeply affected the odds in their way.  
  
Throwing her hands out in opposite directions, a fourth of a heart container fell down at Link's side. Reacting, he stashed the fourth piece inside of his pocket, bowing to the mistress. "Thank you, Farie-sama."  
  
"You are welcome, young hero. Anytime you come around here, I shall heal you, but for a price." Winking at Navi playfully, she leant down and patted the boy upon the head. "Ah, that reminds me. Since you know the Royal Family, next time you are in Hyrule, I advise you too visit the Fountain that is located right before the palace. There you shall find another one of my kind." Waving to the two, she slid back inside of her pool, gone without a trace, but this time the sprites went with her. After the magic was over, the cave resembled a basic water fountain where one would wash clothes.  
  
--------------------  
  
"She was too love-struck." Navi was muttering too herself, when Link blurted out a yell of surprise. Turning towards her companion, she spotted what had dumbstruck him so much. Resting upon a wooden sign, the one they had seen before entering the cave, was Kaepora Gaebora. Turning towards the attention, the owl burst out in a 'hoot-hoot'. "Hello there young farie, young Kokiiri. I see you have grown stronger since our last encounter."  
  
"Hi, mister Gaebora." Link walked over to the edge of the cliff, sighing a little. This was going to take a long time go get down, but before he could start climbing, his farie was at his ear whispering an idea silently. Eyes widened, and he nodded to her little devilish scheme, walking over to the owl, coughing a little bit.  
  
"What's wrong, young Kokiiri? You seem ill?"  
  
"It was that dreaded Dodongo, I think he had something I caught from him."  
  
"Ha, so you have the Spiritual Stone of Fire, I presume?"  
  
"Yes sir, but I guess I won't be making it down." Slumping to one knee, the owl was at his side in seconds, with concern plastered upon the animal's face.  
  
"Don't worry, young Kokiiri, I will take you down to mountain to the Kakariko village."  
  
"R-really? Oh thank you!" He smiled a little, stroking the owl's feathers, as it flew above Link and dug its claws into his shield, anywhere else would have injured him. Gathering up Navi in his palms, the lad smiled and nodded for them too take off. The plan had actually worked, no he wasn't sick at all, and it had been the idea of getting down the mountain in a few minutes. Plus, a chance too fly was one in a million. Spending the next few minutes with hands spread, Navi stayed under his hat and watched them bound the mountain that had taken long too climb. The record time was forty-five minutes.  
  
Gaebora stopped onto Impa's house, dumping the boy on the roof. This was an area Link couldn't have reached from before, it was inside of the pen where Anjou's Cucco's were, but the roof of the next house was where they sat now. The owl smiled at the two of them, his grin was sort of, nodding quickly.  
  
"No time to doodle, young ones, I must be off. Do not worry, for I will always have my eyes on you. Hoot-hoot-hoot!" Not even a polite goodbye was given, before he was heading down where the sun set its horizon.  
  
"He left us on a roof!" Growling, Navi went down inside the house too look for a proper person with a ladder. Down inside the Cucco pen was a small passageway that led inside of a cage with a barn. She didn't know until she smacked into the cow, though. No one was in the house, except a small heart piece near the cow. Bundling up the piece, she fluttered back and presented it too Link, who completed the half of the piece. Link had managed to skim down the side of the house, past the Cucco pens, and was looking for Anjou when Navi arrived with the heart piece. The Cucco girl wasn't found that night, so he and Navi rested at a local's house for ten rubies for the each of them. It wasn't one of the best stays in the home, but each got a hearty meal for supper and breakfast. Starting out early the next morning, the two would head to the next Farie fountain to get one of the other powers that laid within the Goddesses', what it was? That in it was a mystery.  
  
--------------------  
  
Taking the way to Hyrule Market, the group took three days to reach the mysterious fountain that was deserted in the place before the desert. Link had to bribe to guard ten rubies too slip past the gates before getting unnoticed (the vines had been cut only a few days before.) When he slid past, she spotted an area that was deserted besides for a small rock and a sign that read 'dead end.' It wasn't too hard to figure out that with one of the special plants in place, that the walls imploded to reveal another one of those entrances.  
  
This encounter was a lot quicker than the other one, for there was no training or any formality. The farie, who was Great Farie of Magic, did ask for a simple lip kiss. Not as intense as the last, plus there were no Sprites around too interfere. After the kiss, he was given a small little diamond shaped glass jar, where a jewel was uncrowned in the middle. He had to speak up.  
  
"What is this madam?"  
  
"Spread your legs and slam your fist into the ground, young one." These great ones just loved that he was so young, for some reason, but complying to her wishes.he did slam his fist into the ground (after making sure she wasn't looking up his skirt.) When his interactions were perfects, a ball of fire entombed him, spreading in every direction. The fire was like an aura, as it didn't burn him, Navi of the Farie, but everything else was singed.  
  
"That is the Goddess of Power's own little tool. Din's Fire is the correct name of the term, and the Goddess of Power has entrusted it too you. It will sap at your manna, but now that you have this, some new little tubes shall appear in dungeons, along with heart containers. They are brown and cylinder shaped, but when you drink them they shall return your manna to full power."  
  
Saying quickly thanks to the farie, they rushed from the small cavern and made their way back to the Hyrule Castle Town Market. Reaching the town right before it closed at nightfall, they received a small room at an inn for the night, where they rested. Only residing for twenty rubies, the room was a deal, since people always visited the Market Place for days at a time maybe to see the sights, shop around, or see royalty. Truly the Goddesses for providing a rest for them blessed them.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Where did she say the Zoras were?" Nine days total had been neglected from these Farie requests. They were essential, yes, but the adventure did need to be met on. Link was lying in his bed in only his nightclothes, while Navi rested upon his chest, asking the question.  
  
"Saria said that we were to go to the river, remember that river we passed on our way to Kakariko, across the bridge?" Remembering the bridge, the one they almost fell off of, she gave a nod, nuzzling her face into his chest.  
  
Flushing, he gave her a small pat on the head. "We follow the river, then we get to a place where we must swim the river for a while. She said the current would drag us along, so we needn't worry. Then we go a while until we reach this waterfall and from there we play the Royal Family's tomb and something happens. Probably the entrance opens up."  
  
"Saria is probably right." Crawling up his chest, she laid her head on his shoulder, letting out a small growl. She had been on the top part of his chest, veil off, so it wasn't a hard climb to the top area of him. The growl, playful in all its nature, was a way to express her tired bones from this journey. She wasn't a very young farie, nor an old one, but this journey could work wonders on anyone.  
  
Lifting her small body, he set her in his palm so that their eyes could meet. "So, why do you get mad?"  
  
"Mad? At what, there is a lot of stuff I get mad at."  
  
"Well, whenever a girl.you know, messes with me. Why does it bother you so much?"  
  
That hit the nail right on the head. Her face tightened up in fear, and she looked off to the side, chuckling nervously. "I don't know, Link, I-I guess I am a bit protective of you, that's all."  
  
His eyes veiled over a little, and then they brightened up, him stroking her hair softly. She was dressed in a long silky robe for the night, so his fingers could come over those small features from the robe. Yes, she had attire too, but it was stuffed inside a small pocket of his satchel. "Don't worry, I'm not mad about it, I am sort of glad too have a protector out here. I know Saria would get mad that those women are being so weird with me.especially those Great Faries."  
  
"D-did you enjoy their kisses?"  
  
"'Course I did, it was fun! I mean, it was nice too be kissed, makes me feel loved, and I was happy to do it so those faries would be happy, you know? I just don't understand why me, I am just a boy."  
  
"Faries are attracted too little guys like yourself. Some of them even fall in love with their partners, like forest faries."  
  
"R-really? Wow, like who?"  
  
"Oh, I haven't met any." Unless I look at my reflection in the water, that is. "But they are around, Link."  
  
"I have a question, I have seen faries all around, every type that is known, but are there boy faries? And how do they reproduce?"  
  
He knows about reproduction! Then maybe he will want too with--  
  
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Down girl. Link has read about it in his lessons, but he doesn't do it! The voice was back, not as evil as before, only trying to make her understand the facts: Link didn't reproduce.at least, yet.  
  
"Boy faries? Well, faries reproduce asexually; all are females, though. What I mean by this is that us faries have the parts a female farie would have, but we don't reproduce sexually. In other lands there are other faries that reproduce and have males, but not here. I guess everyone decided that females would be better."  
  
"Why is that? I mean I like you as a girl, your pretty and smell nice, but what's wrong with the guys?"  
  
Flushing a little, Navi shrugged. "Thank you. Urm, I don't know, the Deku Tree wasn't in charge of faries. I guess it was evolution that decided it, that and the Mistress faries are all girls."  
  
"Mm, so do you know anything about these Zoras? Are there any pictures or anything?"  
  
"Sorry, Linky, I don't really have the slightest clue." Her voice drifted off into oblivion. The tiredness was consuming, but she didn't want it too go on. No.stay with him and be with him. Yet it was futile to resist, for within a few seconds she was out like a candle. Link pulled the covers over the two of them, kissing her softly, admiring her scent, and joining her within minutes later. That was the last night they spent in Hyrule, for the next morning as the sun rose at six, they headed out into the lush fields to search for a river. 


	4. Chapter III: Azure Reflections

Chapter III: Azure Reflections.  
Copyright: I do not own Zelda, Nintendo does. Story by Habuki productions.  
How could water been so plentiful? For the past three days the duo had followed the river's trail past endless miles and miles away from civilization. Persuasion from Navi was the only thing that kept the boy following the path, because in his opinion, he thought that the river was a hoax and there were no Zoras. Had he seen one? No, he had seen a Goron in Kakariko, but never a Zora anywhere near the area. Three moons had passed and gone, going on the fourth sunrise when Link spied upon an entrance where the river led inside.  
  
"Would that be it? Seems more like a cave, though." The structure was obviously made by a person, for it was carved into a smooth square. Link walked up to it, the path would have to be swam.  
  
"Yea, Link, I am sure this is it. You can swim, right?"  
  
Sticking out his chest, he laughed a little. "Of course I can! I am a Kokiiri, I was taught to swim when I was only five or six." Leaping into the water, his swimming skills didn't really come in handy this time, for currents immediately drug him screaming into the darkness. Navi was right at his side, lighting the way as the darkness turned back to the sunlight of the morning. No, not a cavern, it was actually just passage that concealed the contents of the new land from outsiders. The current threw him on the grass, out of the water.  
  
Raising up all the way, he studied his surroundings. To his right was the base of Death Mountain poking out into the grass, on his right was a larger part of Death Mountain, for there was no end to the rocks. No where to stand upon the structure. Up ahead was a small gate with some bombing boulders infront of them? Walking through the contents of a bushel of grass just up ahead, Navi piped up.  
  
"Look, Link." Rustling through the underbrush, the farie came back with a wooden cylinder filled with some green liquid. "You should hold onto these, I am pretty sure they recharge your manna."  
  
"Manna? Oh, my chi. Yea, that's what those faries were talking about?" Gripping the cylinder, he stuffed them inside the same bag as his heart containers, and other little assortments. Searching throughout the grass, Link pondered upon three more heart containers (which he drank two, she drinking one.) That search ended when he came to the boulders, blowing them up with only two bombs in the center of the others, and passing over that owl (Navi made him dodge the stupid thing, so the journey would get a move on.) For the next few hours they wandered until about three o'clock, they came upon a chubby man with no shirt on.  
  
Grimacing, Navi studied the Hylian? Yea, it was naked except some blue pants, and worn flabby, pale skin. A bullish-shaped face was planted in a grin, as it snacked upon some beans. Taking a few steps forward, Link tapped the man on the shoulders. He didn't move, so he got down on his knees, crawling infront of the man, staring deep into those beady eyes. They could have left, except a huge gate was guarding their way out. Unless Link could leap thirty feet to the other side of land, that had broken off from Death Mountain, he was stuck.  
  
Finally noticing the two adventurers, the man leapt up against the gate in fear, leaving a rank breath of beans in Link's face. Backing up a few feet from the gate, Link looked over at the man, now noticing he was a lot younger than he was first presumed. Maybe in his early twenties, so still a man.  
  
"Young sir! Young sir, please don't rob me!"  
  
"R-rob you? What's that?"  
  
"He thought we were going to steal from him, Link." Her veil was on, had been since that morning so it appeared to the young man that some sort of weird energy source was speaking, that freaked him out. With a shout of perseverance, the accusing was about to start.  
  
"A warlock! Please don't hurt me, please! Your magic talks, I can see that with me own two eyes!"  
  
Some eyes. "Warlock? Oh, no, I am not one of those. This is my fairie, you see I am a Kokiiri--get down." Leaping forward, the sword turned face-forward, so it didn't cut, he deflected a nasty ball that was launched out of the earth. The ball reflected back into the water and hit the purple monster that had launched the mucus at the young man. Whatever it was, a purple octopus with a metal cap upon its head and green hues, the ball launched into its nozzle-mouth. Screeching out in pain, the monster's lungs were clogged up, so it fell into the water dead, but kept floating down the river into the stream that led out into Hyrule.  
  
Staring around the scenery, he saw no more of the weird octopuses, and looked down at the man who was shivering in fear. Smiling a little, he sat upon a small patch of land a few feet from the man, speaking out clearly. "Hey, don't worry, it's alright. I am not going to hurt you. Navi! What was that?" Keeping his eyes positioned on the man, he didn't dare look over at Navi, fear the man might bolt off in an attempt to escape the evil warlocks.  
  
"They are called Octaroks, Link. They are octopuses that shoot out their own feces at enemies for a defense. It is hardened so that the ball could break a predator's skull, but luckily their own can be deflected back at them, or killed with a long range weapon." Fluttering to his side, she perked upon his shoulder and stared over at the boy with a bit of concern plastered upon her face.  
  
"Oh, thank you sir! Thank you so much, oh how may I repay you? Hrm, I think I have a way." Reaching deep into his pants pocket, the man produced a small bag with the symbol for plant written on the brown bag only a fistful. Grabbing Link's hand, he scooted up and placed it in- between his palms. Smiling, he nodded to himself, getting himself ready, as if too go. "Sir, these are magical plants, if you put them into the ground, years may pass, but when they reach full growth the plants will grow and levitate to magical proportions."  
  
"Wow.really?" Pulling open the small bag, inside were nine beans of multiple variations with the colours red, blue, yellow, and green mixed inside of them. Closing the cloth shut with the strings attached on it, Link placed it down on the pocket where his rubies were. Patting his sides, he turned to the man to thank him, but was short sided when he noticed the man was gone.  
  
"Navi, where did he go?" Staring down at where the boy sat, a small patch of dirt was positioned down with a small leaf growing out of it. From Link's accusation, that was where the seeds needed to go, the man had planted the first one for him. There was nothing to do now, but wait until he ran into a few more of those patches. Not really his concern, since after this place, he was to head home to the Kokiiri Forest, but with a pit stop at Hyrule castle too.  
  
"He ran away, Linky. Right after you opened the bag he slipped away, I would have caught him, but he dove in the water, and the current changed directions to let him out. Seems that my original plan is a bust."  
  
"Original plan?" Leaning up against the wall, he studied the eight- foot tall gate. Yea, maybe he could scale it, but the bars on top were sharp enough to slice him into tiny pieces of Kokiiri. Slamming his foot against the stone wall on the left, he slumped down a little, staring over at Navi.  
  
"I was planning on us using the current to drag us northward, but he changed the tide somehow. Maybe it changed on itself. We can wait until it changes back, or we can leapt across the structure--better yet, find a way over. If only we had something too glide with."  
  
"Yea, if only we had a glider or a--" His ears picked up a distinct sound. The sound of a bawk was entered in his sensitive Hylian ears. Bursting for joy, the boy shushed her and ran back towards the original gate. Navi stayed back and watched him return thirty minutes later; a good distance for the run, bearing a small white Cucco nestled in his arms. Nodding towards her, she gave a smile and fluttered across to the land Link couldn't leap across.  
  
No introduction was needed for Chicken Gliding lessons. Link jumped off the ledge, using the Cucco for a glider across the solemn path, which was inaccessible until now. When across, the boy bounced the Cucco on the head, letting it rest for the night. A few miles up the path, the sun just setting for the night, he came to the end of the ledge. Across the river, was the main path from before, except it opened up for a long distance, there were no more gates to worry about, were there? Leaping this jump, it being smaller than the previous, Link tucked the Cucco on his shoulders, so it wouldn't get away. Something told him he would need it before the night's end.  
  
He noticed she was a little tired, so he cupped her inside of his hands, giggling. "Navi, should we go on? It's only seven o'clock, but if you are tired we can stop."  
  
"No, no. I will just lay on you, if you don't mind." Seems he didn't, for she was lying on his shoulder before he could even respond to it. Nodding a bit, he patted her aura, letting the chi come off for the night, and wrapping her up inside the collar of his shirt. Tucking her in neatly, hoping the wouldn't fall off, Link pulled the chicken under his armpit and kept his pace out into the beautiful lush Zora's fountain.  
  
Several ledges led up to many pillars that were positioned in the air; the bottom pathways were blocked with those strange Octaroks and numerous gates, so Link took the highroad in favor of the lowroad. Climbing up to the one at his west, the structure went up several hundred feet, connected to the wall and broke off with some platforms stretching out several hundreds of feet. Biting his lip, Link glided too the first one, easily landed on the next structure that was connected to the wall. To his far right was a platform with a piece of heart on it! Gasping, he glided across his early position and landed upon the platform with a simple thud. Laying the chicken on the ground, he grabbed the three fourth's part of the heart, placing the formed heart into its original keepsake.  
  
Two other platforms led to some not-so-interesting places, just structures with nothing on them. The huge one, forty feet across and connected to the right side of the place, was the best place to be. That was where he rested for the night. Link was dead tired, as was his chicken, when they reached the huge area above the other platforms. Only a lone circle of rocks rested upon the earth. Slamming his behind in the middle, a thump sounded to his sensitive ears. This could only mean one thing, so he tried it.  
  
Two bombs blasts later, he found a hole that led down into a hole. No ladder was attached, so falling back first; he plummeted inside of the pit. Death would have been near, but this was on the surface level, so no lava was spread for Link. He reappeared in a bright white room. Up ahead was a white gazebo with water spread upon the surface, but in the middle was a small little bed for him. Was it made for him? Right about his size, but why would a mountain set up a bed for him? It didn't make sense, but was reasoning something Link did at midnight? Dropping all his supplies and weapons (along with the sleeping cucco) on the path that led to the bed, Link trotted to the beautiful comfort zone without his socks or shoes on. Falling upon the bed, dampness was released upon him, as if a spring rain had filled up the bed, yet he wasn't wet.  
  
Muffling him with the covers, the room darkened for him too sleep, but something came about. Millions and millions of pink orbs appeared in the night sky, like fireflies in their migration seasons. The 'fireflies' surrounded his bed, stretching all over him so that he was resting upon the little auras of pink. His realization kicked in when he felt the tongue of something on his leg, shivering he looked down too see the auras were gone and it was millions of fairies. Not a Fairie-sama's fountain, this must have been a fairie fountain. Drowsiness soon took over, the kisses making the scene all the sweeter before he sunk down into unconsciousness.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Au puise" The young sprites cooed out in their most sensual tone to the overprotective guardian. Again she shook her head with no ounce of giving in, letting them comfort the boy, but that was it. They had had a sweet taste, and wanted more of the pie. That simply wasn't happening on Navi's guard of the boy, which was forever. Never had this been a problem for Kokiiri, because the sprites helped warriors outside the forest that was their mission.  
  
He is now a warrior outside of the forest, silly. The voice sounded out in a teasing tone; it had gotten better, but was still a jerk in Navi's opinion. They shared the same beliefs about Link, yet she was more of the playful type, something Navi just wasn't.  
  
I know that, but they don't have too be so--  
  
Oh, you know you want too--you have. Oh, she was getting her fill off of this, whoever this was, seemed to enjoy teasing Navi at this game. It certainly wasn't Navi, no she wasn't crazy, and this voice started appearing the day the Deku Tree had summoned her.  
  
Shaking her head to both the voice and the sprites, Navi turned around from the little fairies and let them do their work. The first order of business was bathing him and washing his clothes, so with close observation from Navi, the sprites washed the boy in the farie fountain water, his clothes done later on. Feeding him with some of the magic that the sprites ate (it would energize him for a day), when Link awoke he was inside of his clothes, up on the bed from before.  
  
--------------------  
  
Dreams hadn't come through his rest, only nightmares. When he awoke from the smoke of darkness, the bed was illuminated all around him, little faries were still trailing upon him, but he was washed and refreshed. Leaping from the bed, cries of protest from the sprites, he shyly leapt off of the bed and felt under his shoulder. Navi! Navi had fallen off! Crying out, he searched around the place desperately, oblivious to the fact he was having a joke played on him.  
  
Watching from the shadows was the young girl, admiring his grace and beauty. The cry had made her come from hiding, reclining upon his shoulder, nuzzling her face into his neck. Spinning around, the boy checked his shoulder and found her peeking over the covers at him, smiling somewhat. The veil was gone for the time being, but her clothes remained the same, it was that everlasting effect, or something. He guessed Navi didn't need baths or changes of clothes, she was a fairie, and they were special.  
  
"Where did you go!"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I woke up hours before you and I see you stumbled upon the cavern of fairies, should of warned you about this place. I've never been here, but fairie caverns are usually full of female fairies that are just looking for heroes to take them. Now, since have Tui in your bottle, we can't have one. We should leave before we disappoint them."  
  
Nodding, he waved too the fairies--which was a mistake, they all rushed at the poor boy who had to grabble up his equipment, slap it on, and run out of the cavern with no exit in a matter of seconds. All his stuff was on when they knocked him forward into the center of the hole he had come on. Just like in the graveyards, a small platform was there, that transported him back to the top of the cave. Standing himself up, he brushed the dust of the cavern off his clothes, pulled his Cucco out and stared out at the scenery, it was about ten o'clock.  
  
"They were in a hurry."  
  
"For you, Linky." She peered forward at the place. It was quite an area, all these new places really fascinated the young fairie so much, too think that this place wasn't hardly known to most Hylians, or anyone else for that matter. Navi fluttered forward, nodding for Link too follow, guiding him down the stone hideaway and onto a new platform near the edge of the wall. Not quite what she was aiming for, she was actually aiming up ahead past the blocked canals and steep climbing. Oh well, no one is perfect. Touching down, the wide-awake Cucco wanted away from Link, so he bounced it unconscious again, sliding it into his sack where his supplies were stored.  
  
"That's not very nice, Link."  
  
"O-oh! Hee, I didn't think you noticed." He grinned a little, staring off to the north side, that was when he noticed the logs had some shadows upon them. Not the Octarok shadows, but something else was there, something more peaceful. Walking up too the main log that was connected to the wall (finding out it was some roots), a group of eyes stared up at him in peaceful unison.  
  
"Navi! What are those?"  
  
"Let me check." Submerging underwater with the veil on, she resurfaced a few seconds later, the veil shimmering off. "Some frogs. About six of them, they are just staring at you."  
  
"Frogs, huh?"  
  
"Don't bop them." Returning to his shoulder, she watched him stand in the center of the log and pull out his playing instrument. As soon as the ocarina was revealed, all six frogs popped out of the water and onto six little sub-branches connected to the main one.  
  
"You want to hear a tune, frogs?"  
  
"Yes, good sir, we shall want a tune. If you play some too us, we will reward you with some treasure." The center orange frog regarded. The others were violet, blue, green, red, and yellow, so when Link blew out the tune for the Royal Family, the center frog began to leap around more than the others do. His size went from fitting in the palm of your hand, too an armload. Link gasped a little, almost losing his balance off the branch, Navi repositioning him with her own face amazed.  
  
"Music can sooth our ears and return us to our normal form. Thank you kind sir, here you are." A purple ruby appeared inside of Link's hands, but he smiled sheepishly.  
  
"I can't accept this."  
  
"Why not, kind sir, are you too generous?"  
  
Giggling, he shook his head. "No, it's just my wallet is much too small for this, I can only carry ninety-nine rubies at a time. I only have fifty now, sure, but I will be one ruby short."  
  
"Not a problem, kind sir." The blue one chirped up and whipped back its head throwing a larger wallet in Link's hands. This little bag was twice the size of the first one, and he included his new prize in the bag when he added the rubies in. That brought his total from fifty rubies too one hundred rubies.  
  
"Thank you, frogs. That was quite generous of you." Bowing a bit, he placed the wallet at his side where the other one used to be (the latter in the riverbank now.) The ocarina was still handy, so he played Saria's song too the frogs, followed by Malon's tune that he learned in Lon Lon Ranch. His total went up too the max of two hundred. Bidding a fond farewell, Link made his way past roots and back to land.  
  
--------------------  
  
Over the next eight hours, he spent climbing series and series of steps that led one after another past many waterfalls in the distance. The wallet was nice, but Link had wished the landing from before had been made. If it had then they would have reached this place where the Zoras were already. Six o'clock was on the brink of time, only stopping for lunch for fifteen minutes (only for Navi, Link wasn't hungry), when he reached the last area and into a huge hill with rocks for resting points.  
  
"Navi.this has too be.a fifty foot hill!"  
  
"Come on, sweetie, we are almost there." A pat on the shoulder she gave him, before helping him climb the hills. Her help was sometimes lifting him most of the distance, sure she could have carried him the entire way, but these were exercises to strain his muscles too their maximum.  
  
At nine-thirty that night, a long bridge was met from the paths of no more hills. Hills were the last thing Link ever wanted too see, so the thin bridges were actually a save from the Goddesses. Each wasn't that stubby, so he was across the first in five minutes, running to the next one in the distance. When both were accomplished, the path took a twist of turns, with no accusation to the pun. The path seemed to go in five different directions, but really the grassy earth was looping around itself in five different twists. A giant waterfall was at the base, but his best concern was the corner.  
  
Another one of those cracks of land was on the earth, but what rested upon it was none other than the second heart piece of this land. Grinning, he took no heeding and glided down his Cucco at the heart piece, otherwise not being able to reach it. Letting the chicken go, it flew off in the distance, trying to escape the painful memories of ever traveling again. Blowing out his breath, he turned to Navi. "Fourth piece."  
  
"I thought we were on the third?"  
  
"No, I got one last night using the Cucco, that's why I kept it. I had the feeling we might need it." Some adjustments in his pack and the heart container were absorbed into each of them, giving them a little bit more strength. Navi tested her powers by lifting Link through the loops and setting him in the middle of the waterfall. Down below his feet was a small stone square, with a box having an inscription on it. It looked like it was carved a while ago, and Link read the verse.  
  
Sleepless Waterfall  
  
The flow of this waterfall serves the King of Hyrule.  
  
When the King slumbers, so too do these falls.  
  
"Slumber? I wonder what it means." Navi pondered the thought out loud, as Link sat down on the platform and stared forward, listening to Navi speak aloud. These riddles weren't that hard, but all it took was some thought to solve them. Growling, he laid down upon it and stared forward into the waterfall, it was moving too fast for them too jump, he would make it, but the fall and the current speed would kill him.  
  
"King of Hyrule, maybe they mean the lullaby? Impa-san did call it a Lullaby, maybe this is a riddle, because most people don't know that it is a Lullaby, even if they got a hold to the tune." Link thought out loud towards Navi's direction.  
  
"Yes, if the lullaby puts the king to sleep, maybe it would put the falls too sleep, or cease them to stop moving. That's it, Linky, you are good at this!" She giggled a little, tugging for him to stand up, but he refereed to sit and play. Pulling out his ocarina from his satchel, the boy blew the tune of the Royal Family, watching as the waterfall dried off. The water came from onto Death Mountain, it was weird, but it was all gone all at once. There was no little stopping motion; it was so sudden it scared Link.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
"Sure, we may get caught, Navi, we really aren't supposed to be here." Shrugging a shoulder, he grinned a little. These little escapades were growing upon the boy, his fear still existed, but maybe the courage was finally revealing its true colours. Leaning for her, he blurted out.  
  
"I am starting to like danger, anyway." Gripping her with his hands, the boy jumped the ten feet to the side of the waterfall, surprised too find out that it was made of stone. Darkness embedded the sky as it turned darker and darker, seeming the pathway to get also the midnight flush. Gulping, he trenched forward deep into the hidden city of Zoras.  
  
--------------------  
  
A domain was the only way to explain this place. After they emerged from the long corridor of darkness, the two entered a large place carved straight out of Death Mountain. The entire place was made of stone, not a bit of grass or anything else from the outside riverbanks. A winding road stretching down a few miles, and after following it, they saw that it led down into the city (or what was best described as a city.) Entirely the place consisted of a huge lake stretching across several hundreds of feet, looking as if it were many meters deep. Too deep for Link to dive in, but he could swim, not that swimming was a choice at this point. All that was in the lake was a waterfall that led up and a large boulder in the right- hand corner of the lake, and one more near the waterfall.  
  
Shivering a bit from the cold, Link headed down towards the small shop, opened to the public, but first stood upon the carpet in the front. No, the carpet wasn't the reason to be down there, but a small torch was the reason.  
  
"Should I try my manna?" Backing from the carpet, singing was something he didn't need, he moved towards the torch.  
  
"Yea, give it a try, this place has to be below the temperature of Hyrule." It wasn't a snowy mountain region or anything like that, but pretty cold for a place where civilization existed. Not to be even compared to the dungeons that Link had faced, he was just cold, that was all. Spreading his legs, the boy crossed his hands, slamming his fist into the ground. Out erupted the red flames from the dust, spreading towards the torch, but when it hit, a chiming sound came out of the middle of no where. Navi recognized the sound, speaking.  
  
"Link, the torches, it is another one of those puzzles. Light yourself a torch and find some places to light." Moving towards his pack, she came out with a Deku Stick, lit it, and places it between his palms.  
  
The lad ran forward, water almost making him lose his balance, but realizing that it was only the shallow region of the water. Coldness stopped right above his boots, so he waded to the next torch in the middle of the water. Placing the crimson flames upon it, he noticed another region, hidden behind the waterfall where two torches stood. That was the piece of pie, for when he jumped past the deep in, saving the torch from wetness, his fire went to the other two, making another chime come about. Whisking around his feet, as out of no where, a large chest appeared. Bowing to his knees, the boy pried it open, coming upon a piece of heart.  
  
Sticking it inside his satchel, Link made his way past the water, noticing there were tiny fish in it, but something else caught his attention. The water was swirling back and forth in different directions, not like a whirlpool. It was as if a person was swimming at an incredible speed. Moving to the edge of the shallow, the boy sat on what seemed like a cliff yelling out a call of hello.  
  
Flurrying from the water, something jumped right infront of him, armed with a spread from both of its hands. In the shallow water, he got a full view at the creature, and boy what a view it was. Six feet of slimy scales adorned over Link, the skin wasn't really a reptilian scale, but more of the skin type amphibians had. A muscular male of this race, blue was the colour of the skin, except on the fins at its sides and the fins attached to his arms, those were green with white spots upon them. His basic form was a human with the skin of a fish, fins upon his hips and arms, plus his feet were webbed like a ducks. The most unusual feature were his eyes had no pupils in them, only a strict deep blue stared down at him, a tail attached to the back of his skull, matching the colours of the fins.  
  
His weapon of choice was a pointy blade attached to a wooden pole, and this spear was aimed right at Link in a way of unfriendliness. The spear launched forward, Link jumping backward into a wall, his shield ricocheting him off wall into the spear's direction. Spinning him in the air, the spear connected with the shield, slamming him back against the wall. Rolling to the right, his blade went up when he spun around, hitting the wood of the spread. Farore's blade went into action, cutting the spear in half, making the fish-creature gasp out in a bit of fear. Before Link could go in for the kill, Navi flew infront of the creature, holding her hands out in both his and its direction.  
  
"Wait, wait, wait! Please, sir, we come in piece." Navi unveiled herself to the Zora, he stared at the fairie in fascination, fairies were not something common to whatever this thing was, or so it seemed. Curiosity escaped the thing, which poked the empty pole at the man; the wood was very unknown to Link. Deku wasn't known out here, so maybe they were from some other trees, for he had seen others. "I demand to know why you are here! You have no permission, and you certainly aren't royalty, how did you sneak in!" The wood poked at Link, who slapped it away, whining a little. The thing didn't hurt, but it certainly made him uncomfortable, so he spoke.  
  
"We used the tune of the Royal Family that I learned from Zelda-sama, we are after-" He didn't finished his sentence, before the guard threw down the pole and lifted him upon his shoulders, laughing jovially. Before Link could even finish, the guard raised his hands and yelled out something in another language. Heads of all kinds, mostly with tails upon the backs, appeared at the water, nodded and went back in. Changing direction, the guard headed up past the shop, to the winding path that led upward, turning forward and stopped infront of a long winding path of stairs. Sitting the boy back on the ground, the guard stared down at him.  
  
"Our outside waterfall had stopped so I believe your story. I am truly sorry."  
  
"Oh, it's fine, now could you just give us the st--" the joyful guard, whose expression turned a bit sour, interrupted Navi.  
  
"Now normally we would have a party in the celebration of someone from the Royal Family visiting, but we can't. Alas, our princess gone missing and we are searching desperately for her. This entrance leads up to our Zorian King; you may ask talk to him personally. Again, I apologize for the misinterpretation." Bowing in an apology, the Zora leapt off the stairs to his doom. Gasping, Link jumped towards the edge, watching the man fall gracefully into the water. Blowing a sweet sigh of relief, he pulled himself up, staring up.  
  
"So, those were the Zora? I don't think we maybe able to get our jewel for quite a while." The young fairie stared on ahead, as the Kokiiri slimily climbed the pair of the stairs that winded sideways, turning back up forwards for the hundreds of feet into the air. He guessed they climbed to the path of the waterfall inside the domain, for when they reached the front, he heard the fall of water.  
  
-------------------- This was not well; this was not well at all. Something had happened to her, and all he could blame was that damn man from the desert. He had visited the Zoras a few days ago, somehow entering the place with the tune of the Royal Family. After the waterfall had parted, he greeted them with such a kindly manner, that the king was ready to give up the stone. His daughter was the one who had protested this whole thing, claiming that she felt a bad aura about him, proclaiming that something terrible was going to happen.  
  
After discussing the matter with the bred of his late wife, the king decided that it was a good choice to keep the stones that were assigned to them by Naryu. The agreement was discussed with Ganondorf, whose expression remained pure, that was until the end of the discussion when it was simply put like this: we aren't giving the stone too you. Enraged in a manner not known to the Zoras for years, the man promised revenge on the king, and on his daughter for knocking the king' "foolish mind astray" as he put it.  
  
The Zorian guards had to drag that Dragmire away from the Domain, but they were killed in a matter of seconds. Dragmire raced for the two royalties of the Zoras, but did not touch them; he simply raced out beyond the King and headed towards the Lord Jabu Jabu's home. After moving himself, the king sent his guards to check out the area, and after days of swimming, they found no trace of Ganon.  
  
Lord Jabu Jabu was the same as usual, a bit grumpier than before, but no harm had come to him. It was concluded that the Jabu Jabu had either swallowed up the Gerudo, smashed him or the Gerudo knew magic and preformed a simple warping spell to escape the place. The Zoras, after all, were planning on putting him to death for insulting their king.  
  
That was all a few weeks ago, but now, as he sat weeping the missing of his daughter, the king knew not what to do. Some commotion was found downstairs. Since no one came to warn him, he guessed it did the Zoras find just a misguided clue? Footsteps clad up to his chambers, that not of the Zoras. At first, he feared the Gerudo had killed all the Zora and was here for the stone, except these steps weren't as heavy as the Ganondorf's were. These steps were light on their feet, as if a child was coming. Still, they were shoes, so he knew it wasn't his Ruto.  
  
Bracing himself for the intruder, the man was surprised to see that it was indeed a child! A young child of the Hylian descent, maybe a messenger of the Royal Family was here? After the Gerudo had left, he had sent out his strongest warrior that was promised to his Ruto when she came about age, but no word had come to him. Still, it was strange of the king to send a child; he may have had a sword and--was that a Hylian shield? How could a mere child brace it? Those questions fondled him, along with the little girl upon his shoulder. Not a smaller child, but a miniature adult.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Whoa!" His expression filled a 'o' in his mouth. Up there was a platform in the center of the room, but around the left corner, there was an entrance that had to have led to the top of the waterfall. The main attraction wasn't there, because moving to the top of the four-foot platform, two torches ablating him with heat; the boy grasped reality of above. A fifteen-foot wall was at the top, a path to the right leading up to the wall, where beautiful gates of gold adorned the passage beyond that. In the center of the passage, blocking it, but also stopping most of the water from sliding through, was a Zora. This was no ordinary Zora; however, this thing had to be at least thirty feet tall.  
  
The beast resembled the guardian in some ways, but different in others. His skin was all blue around him, except upon his swollen neck. No fins were found on his thighs, but that robe of royal colours may have hid the ones on his hands. Crimson etched with gold was laced around his body, exposing his stomach and everything below, but adorning his shoulders and back. This ones eyes had actual pupils, and the whites shone through at the new coming boy, where giant fish lips puckered up in an expression of grief. Gills that resembled mustaches exposed to the area, where a tattoo that somewhat resembled Daruina's was right below the lips. Lastly, a crown of gold sat on top of his head, a red jewel sparkled forward, obviously not a sapphire.  
  
"Ho, ho, ho, now who is this?" Hands went to his chin, in though, exposing mounds of flesh, but no fins were attached to his upper appendages.  
  
"I am Link, of the Kokiiri, I come in piece. But I am in search of something."  
  
"Are you a messenger of the Royal Family?"  
  
"Yes, and no. I am not a messenger from the family, but I do know them." Giggling nervously, the boy peered around the room and saw no guards. That was good, for guards may not have known about him and accidentally killed him. The ones in the lake looked like citizens, so where was the army? He had read of the war between the races, and the Zoras were formidable foes.  
  
"Let me explain this, Link," Navi spoke up, floating up to the king, stopping a few feet from his face and speaking. "I am a Fairie from the Kokiiri forest, and my friend here is a Kokiiri."  
  
"An ancient child of the woods, my, my, I thought they had died out. You have all been so isolated for the past years, but I am surprised to see a fairie. Besides the healing, you never see them neither."  
  
"Hee, anyway, we were sent on a mission from the Princess to collect the three Spiritual Stones, we have collected the forest from the late Deku Tree--." The King interrupted, he had personally met the Deku Tree back in the olden days, showing that the King was pretty old, older than most of the other Zoras.  
  
"Late? What do you mean, he has died?"  
  
"Yes sir, the evil Ganondorf had poisoned him with a monster called Gohma. This spider we stopped, and received the jewel as a reward, then asked to travel to the Princess. She taught the tune and told us to collect the other two stones, now we have the ones from the Great Daruina, now we need yours."  
  
Staring down at her face, then down at the boys, he nodded. "I can see your eyes, you are both very courageous, not an ounce of vile is in your aura. I would give it too you, but you see, my little one is gone from me."  
  
"The princess? Oh, the guard told us about that. They were searching for her, is Ganondorf responsible?" Link interrupted, plopping down on the platform, to the surprise of both Navi and the king. She was about to protest, when the king chuckled loudly, his laugh killing the entire domain, letting the guards suspicious down about the mysterious boy.  
  
"Yes.Ganondorf Dragmire is quite responsible. I believe he is, for he swore revenge and now my little Ruto has disappeared. She has her hands on the Spiritual Stone; it was a gift from my late wife, so you need to find her to get hold of the jewel. I am sorry, but I do have something for you, you see that entrance to my right?"  
  
"Yes sir I have seen that, but what about it?"  
  
"There is a female Zora there who will challenge you to dive down and get her rubies, accept the challenge and win. If you succeed, and believe it isn't very hard, you seem to possess skills. Anyway, if you win, then she will give you a scale of our kind. That doubles your length of passage. How far can you dive?"  
  
"Last time I checked, three meters." Navi looked onward at the conversation, letting them converse.  
  
"Then you shall dive six with the scale, your fairie will possess the ability to let her veil let her breath as long as you can. Now, go on, find word of my daughter and I shall reward you with the jewel of the water."  
  
Bidding his farewell, Link bowed to the giant king and leapt off the platform into the shallow water. Waiting for Navi to return the thanks for them both, and join him, the boy groped her with his fingers while heading out into the left entrance they had seen from before. The water waded for a few yards, before he came upon the entrance of the waterfall, where a lone Zora took with her arms crossed about her chest in a resting position. The female Zoras didn't have the tails in their backs, plus, this girl had the mounds that female girls of every other race had. The other naked ones had been all right, nothing was showing, but here, he had to stare away. Moving a few feet up, he tapped her on the shoulder very lightly. Nothing at all, so he hit her arm a little roughly.  
  
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Eyes popped open, again no whites in the eyes, those blue hues darted at him in hatred. That was before she noticed that it wasn't a little adolescent Zora who liked to pull tricks upon the girl with the worst job here. Everyone could dive, and they even got to keep the rubies! Shaking her head in confusion, she rubbed her eyes with her arms, they still had fins and everything, like the males, but they were a bit longer.  
  
"W-what are you?" Kneeling down a bit, she pulled his hat back, stroking those blonde tresses to get a small feel of him. Never had she seen something so mysterious, the Hylian King she had seen, but he was old and creased with wrinkles. This one was pure, about the princesses' age, with the most beautiful hair she had ever seen. Those five digits moved his hair back, smoothing her fingers throughout them once more, before rising she, and smiling a little. "So, what brings you here, young one?"  
  
--------------------  
  
Wow, they were really soft. The surprising thing was that the skins of her fingers were soft. When the embrace was done, she asked him a question, so he stared back at her with a down look expression. Yes, he knew that Navi was right at his side with a boiling temper available for this Zora, it must have been that the creature was paying attention to him, but it was new to her to see hair and tan skin like this. Clearing his throat, he stared forward.  
  
"We are here for the scale of your people, we want to take the test."  
  
"Ha, that is why you are here. I guess the king sent you out on the mission, well all right. I am going to throw down fifty rubies into the water below, now you must dive down and get them--Eh? Don't give me that face, cutie. The water is so soft here that it won't hurt you, I believe you have seen us dive off. I am telling you that the impact won't crush you, as it would other water. You dive and get the rubies--it is only three meter water--then you return them back to me and I give you the Silver Scale."  
  
"How long do I have?"  
  
"Fifty seconds, but not to get back up here. I can see you perfectly and I will call time when you get all of the rubies, plus you can keep the fifty rubies."  
  
"Alright, throw them." He walked to the edge, bearing his arms to dive down, but she pulled him back near him.  
  
"No so fast, young one. The price is twenty rubies for the play, you will earn it back in the jewels, so don't worry." Letting the boy cough out twenty rubies, she threw down the two red ones, and two blue ones. Clapping her hands, she threw him off the edge of the waterfall.  
  
--------------------  
  
Navi was quiet the entire scenario, because that one just didn't need no expression for thought. It was as if she blanked out of the message and ignored the conversation, but her emotions flowed through, the reason that Link had noticed her literally steaming. Now that stage was over from the time, because when she heard Link's screaming, her stillness let through, and she peered at the crying boy. Gasping, she gripped him, but couldn't get a hold before they hit the water before.  
  
It wasn't over, like that woman had said, for the water felt as if he had only fell from three feet, instead of the usual miles up. Her grip let go of Link when he hit, she floating in the air, and watching the boy dive deeply into the three-meter water, searching desperately for something. Oh, wait--the scale appeared to her mind, and she dove under with him, searching for the jewels too. All at thirty seconds, Link and Navi appeared holding all the jewels, when the girl yelled out 'time!' She guesses that initiated the end of the session, for Link was swimming to the shallow mark, herself having trouble keeping up with him.  
  
"Did we win?"  
  
"'Course. We had fifty seconds, I did it in thirty-two. Pulling out of the water, he was drenched from head to toe. It seemed the powder Saria had mixed was long gone, but the effort was worth it. I guess she didn't know it would have taken too long to reach this spot. Sloshing herself off, the girl followed Link up past the winding stairs, bypassing the sleeping king's chambers, and coming to a halt right infront of the lady from seconds before. Overall, he raced up the paths in thirty seconds, sticking twenty of the rubies he gave away, letting her keep the other thirty.  
  
--------------------  
  
"I told you to keep all of them." The Zora woman said, reaching out her hands, making a small scale appear incased inside a small little tube. Sticking the extra rubies back at her side, she smiled a little, presenting him with the scale of her people. It wasn't her own, but looked fresh when it was contained inside that small watery bubble? Maybe, it wasn't a tube that was for sure.  
  
"Couldn't, didn't have enough room. Hee!" He grabbed the scale pressing it up towards his body, but the reaction caused him to gasp a little. The little scale disappeared from his grasped; appearing down on his opposite wrist the bomb flower was on. The insignia of the Zora (that was placed on the King's neck) now appeared on his other wrist. With those two insignias, it was as if he was accepted from both races. Maybe the Deku shield was the one from the Kokiiri tribe, but since his shield was burnt-- he was pressed away from that race. It was true; he was pressed from his own race, except for Saria.  
  
"Alright, I am going to go, but.where do I use this?" He had started heading down the path, past the king, and was now on his way down the stairs, the woman was following him, her shop closed for the night.  
  
"Why, you use it to reach Lake Hylia, but the gate is closed for the night. I am sorry about that, we all sleep underwater, but you can always sleep on that rock outside." She spoke, lifting him up a bit, letting his fairie coil up at his hat for the night. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she pointed forward.  
  
"The one in the water?" Navi intercepted, she was resting on the hat, not in it.  
  
"Yes, Fairie-san. It is very warm on the rock."  
  
"Urm, there are no covers." Link spoke, the Zora had dove in the water, wavering towards the rock. It was quite silent, for the other Zoras had disappeared to their underwater homes for the night.  
  
Setting him upon the rock, she leaned forward, nuzzling him with acknowledgement before disappearing inside of the water. Blinking, the boy took off all his equipment off the large rock, laying down for a few seconds, then nodded to Navi. "She wasn't lying."  
  
"What did she say? I just thought she kissed you." She trailed off a bit, resettling upon hat, peering over the crest of it at him.  
  
"She said it was soft and that I wouldn't need that covers, since they didn't use them. It is soft, so I guess we can sleep here tonight, hee! You trust them, Navi?" Stretching upon his back, the boy used his satchel as a pillow, laying his sword, shield, and side pack off at the edge of the boulders. Not so far as it would fall off, but enough so he couldn't kick it in his sleep.  
  
"I guess we should, Linky-chan. I don't know, I do trust the Zoras very much, but I don't trust her one little bit." The crease was too small now, so she planted herself upon his chest, sitting at the top of it, still a good distance away from her. Hrm, she couldn't help but stare forward at the boy as they talked the next few hours, eventually him falling asleep in the talking. When he finally succumbed to the evil temptress of unconsciousness, Navi coiled in the collar of his shirt, kissing his cheek gently. Giving into her own pleasure, another kiss was planted upon his lips, letting the darkness take her over.  
  
--------------------  
  
By morning he was up again, but this time a bit earlier than usual. When dawn first cracked its wings in the river of the Zoras, he was awakened by the ancient fish people and escorted right too the king. Chatting with the king for a few minutes, his stomach began to growl, for his potion was dissipated from the day before. Promptly asking for a meal, he was given a large fish, and a smaller one for Navi. Thinking it was cannibalism, he asked about it, but was given the answer that they weren't fish at all. Zorians were actually a race of evolved mermaids from the ancient legends; it had to do with a Hylian fisherman.  
  
At a quarter past nine, he was escorted down the halls towards the center of the lake; there the guard from yesterday stared down at the youth, asking questions to him. Such questions were his origins, the Kokiiri tribe, the other tribes he had visited, and other things of that sort. The real deal was the Zoras never traveled out of the regions of Lake Hylia or the River, so the Hylians, Gorons, Gerudos, and Kokiiri were foreign to them. After a recount of his battles, with some of the smaller Zoras, he was asked an important question. Would he find the princess?  
  
"I guess I have too, might as well get started. Urm, where is everyone looking? Surely she isn't in this domain."  
  
"Lake Hylia."  
  
"Lake Hylia! Lake Hylia is past the Kokiiri Forest, how do you get that far?" Navi bewildered in amazement. Link may not have had an overview of Hyrule, but she did. It was a clear fact that the area was hundreds of miles away from the Kokiiri Forest.  
  
"A secret passage," the guard from yesterday answered. Where they were sitting was on the steps, the lake of the domain right below, and grabbing the boy, the guard leapt down into the waters below. Submergence was weird, for as he held his breath, they swam down to the bottom of the river and through a passage that wasn't hidden before.  
  
The intensity of the farie cavern and the graveyard filled him once more, as the warping from the Domain to a Lake hundreds of miles away, occurred. Reappearing in new surrounding, the water much cooler than at the Zoras, the Zora swam to the top, left Link there and disappeared back into the warp-hole from which he came. Grasping for air, Link swam to the top of the water, Navi right at his head, while they stared around the place, amazed. The place was huge; this lake made the size of the domain's lake look like a puddle. It was almost like an ocean, but the water spread out for miles and miles.  
  
Fortunately, the warp point was at the beginning of the lake, so they didn't have to swim but a few miles to reach the shore. When breaching the shore, Navi took a glance around the place, reporting back in a full five minutes. That was quite a while for the ever perusing fairie, the area was just that big. It seems there was more than a lake around here, a whole observatory was available.  
  
"How much, Navi-chan?"  
  
"The back of the lake reaches the ending curl of Death Mountain. I didn't imagine it was so huge, my goodness." Lifting upward, the guardian came a few feet forward and placed him upon the landing arch, that was barely underwater. Raising her hands, Navi explained that this was the only land in the entire region, a small island was at the back of region, but only a lone tombstone and a large tree stood there. Also, it could be reached by a rope bridge that stretched out as far as the eye could see, another island in the center was connected to the bridge, yet another tombstone was on there. Moving onward, there was an observatory behind them, where nothing in particular was there, except a scientist that lived amongst the aquatic creatures, a strange fellow indeed.  
  
"This path stretches outward, as far as I can tell there are some gardens over to our right, and a small house where I think we can rest for tonight, if we get delayed. To our left, past the observatory was a land bridge that led to some grass, but the real feature is there is another waterfall. Nothing's hidden under this one, yet it led into Gerudo Valley." Her eyes lit up a bit, Dragmire's home.  
  
"G-Gerudo! Are you sure? You mean Ganondorf's home!"  
  
"Yes, but he isn't there. Plus, I doubt we could get in, I heard they are a bunch of thieves and you need a pass to get in. Anyway, let's search the lake for something on Princess Ruto, shall we?"  
  
"Mmhm." Diving off the landing mark, his search started out by swimming a few miles north, working his way back and forth for some sort of clues. Navi took the same approach, except they went over towards where the gardens were shown from the ocean, searching there. No clues would turn up for hours at a time, each time he ran into small little things such as jewels, complaining Zoras, or bumped into Navi. Going their separate directions, it would have been better to scout it together, yet they needed to do this fast and get that gem.  
  
Finally scouting out ten miles from land, the two of them met up once more, but decided to stay together. It was 'better this far out' incase they got misguided by the wind. Working together proved more efficient, the more jewels they found, the better and closer they thought that the outcome of the search was coming. Time really passed that day, no one stopped for breaks, unless Link got a cramp or felt he was about to drown, then he stopped for a few minutes. Pure horror was a great way to describe that day at the lake, after that, Link didn't like water too much.  
  
When they started it was about nine o'clock, but when they finished it was around ten o'clock. No, not ten o'clock as in an hour later, but ten o'clock as in thirteen hours later had passed since the time they had left the lake. All the other Zoras had gone in at about around seven for the night, the warp being shut down after ridiculous warnings from guards all around, that monsters came out at night. Link just shrugged a shoulder at them, but now at around ten-thirty, he was back at the place he had dove off of, near the portal.desperately searching. "Link! What's that!" Blowing a bright green, she fluttered underwater at a glass casing entombed under a large rock. Link had to squint a little to catch the flow, and shrugging his shoulder, dove under the water to grab the object. A few minutes later they both emerged with a glass jar in their hands. Another one of those bottles like the one Anju gave him, and like the one he got from Malon.  
  
"A bottle.that's it! We've been searching for hours and that's it!" Crying out, he crawled out of the water, crawling towards one of the patches of grass, taking a gentle rest into it. Navi was right at his side, sighing a little too, examining the jar. Yes it was another jar with a casing, some small paper stuffed inside--paper! Doing a double take, Navi grabbed the bottle and pried it from Link's soft arms, they felt like jelly.  
  
"I think I am going to be wrinkled as a prune the rest of my--Navi? What is it?" Before he even noticed, she had the bottle halfway open. Staring forward, he watched her yank out a small sheet of white paper, hardly visible in the moonlight, let alone water.  
  
"Link, I think we found out clue. A message in a bottle!" Throwing the jar down upon the soft grass, she spread the note before them, reading into it. Written in Hyrulian, at least it wasn't written in Zorian, but before she could read it, Link pondered her with some questions.  
  
"Message in a bottle? What do you mean? What's that?"  
  
".When people are lost at sea they send a message in a bottle for--"  
  
"There is no sea, we are trapped by Death Mountain--" Link was touted by Navi interrupting him.  
  
"If you let me finish! It is a sign of help, now be quiet. All right, here is what is says." But before she could read, the letter seemed to change, the text mixing itself up into a few little different runic, Navi swore to herself silently, pushing the letter back in the bottle and slamming it down into his satchel. Scarlet struck out on her face, as if she had been played a cruel trick upon. Link's face slashed concern, as he picked her up and stared at her.  
  
"What is it? Navi."  
  
"They changed it--damn. They changed it, it must be magic. It was in Hyrulian, but now it is in Zorian. We will have to wait until tomorrow." Flinching as she swore (Navi never swore), Link nodded a little, relaxing his head upon the bushels. Nothing was peeking through the pushes, so he used the thing as a bed, the house up there did look comfortable, but it stretched out for a two-mile swim.  
  
"Sorry." He smiled a little, curling her frustrated body up in his hand, feeling the tenseness, he rubbed her small bit. That made a moan escape her, nuzzling against that large hand, yet keeping some of her sternness up at herself. Yet, she couldn't help but looked over at him, smiling a little for showing his compassion.  
  
"It's not your fault. I have a feeling Ruto-sama didn't write that. I believe the note, but Ganondorf may have written it. How else would her letter have gotten out if something swallowed her, they did say Jabu Jabu was a person. I think Ganondorf has discovered us--he may have been watching us since that day we saw him."  
  
"You are right, we should get out of the open, shouldn't we? Since we are right near the Gerudo Valley, couldn't he send an assassin out too kill us?"  
  
"We should leave, but I highly doubt an assassin could make it out here just yet. Gerudo Valley is a two-day journey from here, not to mention this is Zorian territory and they might kill the treaty they have signed."  
  
"Treaty?" Forcing himself from the soft patch of land, Link began to walk with her over towards the lake, a mile was the distance towards where the shore gave the shortest route, so he took his chances at walking. Sea legs were not something that Link would ever acquire. Not pushing away from the conversation, he paid attention to her as she explained something.  
  
"Saria taught you history, right?" After receiving a nod, she went on. "Well, you know the war between every race that ended about a decade ago, well after the war they all signed a treaty. The Gerudo did it only to be at peace, for they hate every race. Anyway, Death Mountain was for the Gorons, the Kokiiri had the forest (but they didn't participate in the war, so they didn't even earn it), the Hylians got the Market Place, Shiekahs got Kakariko--"  
  
"Aren't Hylians there too?"  
  
"Yes, Impa-san opened it up to the public some time ago, or that's what she told me. Urm, the Zoras got the lake, domain, and the lake. It is open to everyone except the Gerudos, for they were mortal enemies. I wouldn't worry about us running into any of those." Chuckling, her eyes widened a bit, pointing behind her.  
  
Spinning around, slapping Navi on his shoulder, his hand was on the hilt of the sword when he saw it. Just another one of those Tektites from Death Mountain, except this ones armour was blue. Must be tougher, Eh? Smirking, he leapt forward aiming for the red eye, a trick learned from the infamous Gohma. With a slash of the quick blade, Link had the thing into two halves, no screeches able to explain the pain from the sword of Farore. More were staring to appear of the horizon, so Link charged them head-on.  
--------------------  
It was more of a quick battle than a war; Link was the head one pursuit, while three of the Tektites went in three different directions to confuse him. That didn't work, Navi knew it wouldn't. For when they went out towards the closing, and pursued in for the so-called 'kill' Link had his blade held out to the left with concentration pressed upon it. A white chi appeared around his body, spreading out until it only surrounded the blade, there is shined a bright, then turned a dark crimson. Keeping his eyes locked to the ground, he let out a yell.  
  
"Rhiu-Kiyto!" If the call hadn't been initiated then nothing else would have happened, except the chi may have gone down, but that wasn't this case. What happened was when he let go of pressing to the left; he completed a three hundred and sixty-degree spin at ground level. This was right about the time that the Tektites started to close in for their assault. Screeches were the only things that sounded as one after another, they watched themselves slit into three pieces. Yes, his sword did slice through, but before it stopped, it would do a backslash for the effect.  
  
Grabbing his sword, slamming it into the sheath, nine pieces of Tektite appeared around the circle around him. Crossing his arms across his chest, the boy looked over at the startled Navi. Maybe it was a bit surprising, but the boy had been trying to perfect his technique ever since they left Death Mountain with it. He only did it when the night was high, so Navi was asleep, but this really was his first time using the technique in full battle. Grinning a little, his arms went up to the back of his head, stretching a bit. "You surprised?" She now hovered over his head.  
  
"Yes, I am. How did you get so good?"  
  
"Maybe the heart pieces, but I have been practicing my techniques for the past few nights, not since we've been in the Zora territory. Before that, like when we were heading down the river."  
  
"When have you been practicing?" For she also had been practicing, if they were going to train, they should do it together, not apart. Although those words that Impa spoke still rang in her ears. What if she needed to protect him one day, and could only combat separately? So, that was that, she decided to not mention her part on training, they might need to do some togetherness, though.  
  
"Usually around midnight, for a few hours. I move away so the noise doesn't wake you--you mad?"  
  
"Not at all. I think we all need a little training, urm, could we just go in the morning to that house. I am pretty sure it isn't an inn."  
  
"What is it, then, Navi?" Glancing over at the wooden cabin, he was almost sure it was a cabin, but Navi had been the one to search. She had probably looked in the window and mistaken it for something else. Whatever the case, Link found another large bushel to rest in, so he piled in it, slipping his materials off, letting her lay in the grass with him. Keeping on his side, they could see each other now, as the lunar lights flared overhead.  
  
"It's a fishing arena. It's run by some Hyrulian."  
  
"What's the difference in them again?"  
  
"Hylians have long ears like the Kokiiri and have psychic powers, like Zelda-sama's dream. Hyrulians are normal humans, they have round ears." Giggling, she covered herself in a bit of grass, keeping attention focused at him.  
  
"I see. A fishing area? Can we check that out, I've never been fishing? I mean, there are none in the Kokiiri forest, maybe it's sort of fun? What's inside their, part of the lake?"  
  
"Nope, it is a man-made lake. There is a counter where you rent rods and reels, then there is a small lake with some logs, rocks, weeds, and fish in them. Huge fish too, I even read that you get a prize for catching a huge one, something about the heart of the fish."  
  
"Another piece of heart? I am sure we will need those in our quest, they have helped me master that technique." Yanking out his satchel, the scrounged around for some food, some of the fish cooked fish was in there from today, but not any good for a meal. Throwing the bag that it was in out to the side, Link closed his satchel, his stomach growling a bit.  
  
"Hee, you hungry?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am. We should have come back for supper when they called us." Now closer to the house, he could peer it on its tiny ledge, frowning a bit. If they had swum the two miles, they would have been let down, for there were no lights shining through the windows. Stretching his legs a little, he watched Navi wonder through the satchel and come out with the jar from the fairie. Popping open the top, the fairie poured out of the jar and surrounded him. Giggling, his fatigue was automatically gone, Navi's also disappearing, but the fairie left with the fatigue.  
  
"Awe, she left."  
  
"Only one use. You full now?"  
  
"Yea, how long does this last?"  
  
"Probably until lunch tomorrow, so let us rest now." Navi stared down at him, watching him contently with that smile broadening her face, yes, she was going to wait for him to fall asleep, just as she usually did the nights beforehand. It was always him going to sleep first, her admiring him, and then her finally falling down into the darkness. The mornings followed with her up first, then him, so she can admire him for the morning.  
  
"Goodnight.Navi." Those hues rested themselves downward, while his head with the cap sunk down into the grass. Navi meanwhile just glanced upon him, watching him rest himself for the night before. Where would they go, maybe to the fishing arena to gain the piece of heart, but something else was going to happen. Maybe they would head over to Gerudo Valley for the day. If only she could find Gaebora right now, she had seen him perching upon the stones, but that had been so long ago.  
  
Pushing off away from her little one, Navi flew past the mountains to check out for monsters. No fiends were in the area, so she was safe to travel away from Link for the time being. Catching the owl's scent, she headed over to the two little islands, searching for the feathered one. At the gravestone with the arrow inscription and the three, she found nothing at all, but when she flew over towards the nearest isle of the land, the owl was rested on there. Growling, the fairie headed towards the owl, watching it perch upon gravestone and gaze at her coming.  
  
"Hoo, hoo, hoo! What brings you down here, young one?"  
  
"I need a favor." Lowering her eyes, she stared down at the tombstone, reading the insignia of here lie the Zoras of the past, just some memorial. Knocking here attention away from the animal, he had to slap her with his wing to get the young ones attention. Flashing up with anger, she stared up the animal.  
  
"Calm down, young one, what is your favor?"  
  
"We need a ride to Gerudo Valley tomorrow, do you mind?"  
  
"Not at all, but is that really your problem."  
  
"Shut up!" Sparkling up, she fluttered away, watching the owl turn its head upside down, giving out a squawky laughter. When it did that, the thing reminded Navi of those quails, but nevertheless, she heard his voice drowning out her own little screams of frustration. The words that made her want to rip out her own hair, telling the whole word to screw themselves and those words were this: don't fall in love. Why did they all care!  
  
Her own tears were starched across her face when she returned to him ten minutes later, some time was needed to get herself aquatinted with realty, some was needed to let it out, but most of it was to tell the others to let themselves worry about their own problems. Who cared what Gaebora thought! Who cared what the Deku Tree thought Farore rest his soul, but who cared? This wasn't supposed to be a mission that would take almost two months, this was a supposed to be a day mission. The rules had changed, and love was in the air, nothing could stop them.  
  
Unless he doesn't return it. "She" taunted out.  
  
Shut up! Shut up, I say!  
  
He won't return it! He won't return it!  
  
Shut up! Yes, he will! Her mind screamed towards the voice, something had exorcised her out.  
  
That proves it, prove it to me.  
  
Grabbing his face, she pulled him into a kiss, nuzzling her face into his. Growling at the voice, as if snapping at it, the fairie nuzzled her into him, holding him with herself, letting the tears drop down from her body. It was so weird, what if she didn't return his love? No! This isn't the time, it is almost over, and we are almost done. One more jewel, we are almost there, and then we can leave and retain ours lives in the forest with the Kokiiri. Of course she knew the Kokiiri had abandoned them, they would most likely become travelers around this world, but this wasn't the time. Forgetting the voice, she nestled into him, falling asleep.  
  
--------------------  
  
Morning brought a few surprises. Link was up before her, and while up he discovered a few things about the island that she hadn't gone over the day before. Wondering over to the observatory, Navi inside of his hat, the boy had found one of those potted plants like from the Zora's domain. Laying a magic bean on there, a small root grew up as the other one had been formed. Inside the place, he found no one, but a locked door. A sign on the outside said that the scientist was hard at work, so Link left them is whoever this scientist was.  
  
At the garden, he found a few vegetables to munch on; the fairie hadn't been used to her full power, so he was pretty hungry. Link could ponder on the other fairie, but that one might be needed for going inside Jabu Jabu. If his assumptions were right, then Jabu Jabu was really possessed (like the Deku Tree), and may have had evil spirits inside of him. On his dig through the garden, Link just came across two scarecrows; they actually frightened him, for he had never seen crows before, or scarecrows. The weirder thing was that one of them talked to him!  
  
"Well, howdy there, and who might you be?" The topmost scarecrow spoke out loud.  
  
Spinning around, his hand on the sheath of his sword, the boy examined the scarecrow, figuring he was nice, and smiled a little shrugging a shoulder. Leaning across the iron fence that separated the scarecrows, Link stared up at him with eyes wide.  
  
"I can see from your expression that you thought I was inanimate, yea. I get that a lot. My name is Pierre, and I am a scarecrow who adores music. Any type of music is good enough for me." Stopping for a second, the scarecrow sniffed something with a nose that wasn't there. His straw stiffened. "Mm, I smell an instrument, you wouldn't happen to have one on you, would you?"  
  
"Yes sir, I do." Pulling out the ocarina, the scarecrow went ecstatic. He leapt upon the pole he was positioned one, holding his hands into air in a jovial manner.  
  
"My, my! Would you happen to play a tune for me? I am have an excellent memory and would remember any tune you gave me. Come on, don't be shy, and I want one you made up, nothing authentic. If it has ever been played, I will know it, my ears do not deceive me."  
  
Well, playing a tune from his collection was out of the collection, so he reversed the notes on Saria's tune, claiming it as his own. It was technically his own, you know. The scarecrow jumped for joy when he gave it to him, telling him to come back in a few years and visit him, only then would the song become useful. After being unanimated once again, Link wondered away from the garden with an expression of confusion on his face, yet he did write down the tune in his sheet as the Scarecrow's Song.  
  
The fishing arena was the only other place to spend the day, so the at nine o'clock that morning, he spread out his arms and dove into Lake Hylia. Those weird creatures from before were back, the Octaroks, or whatever they were called. Link could only dive under when they came near, for if he took out his sword, he feared that it might get lost it in the one hundred feet deep water. That was right, near the entrance it was shallow, but now the scene just scared the boy to death, as if the octopuses made it any better! For an hour and half he swam at full speed, reaching the small island at about ten thirty that morning. Fully energized from the vegetables, he had no trouble scanning the small hill that led up to the tiny house at the top. In a matter of fifteen minutes, his hands latched open the wooden door, pushing inside.  
  
--------------------  
  
Discoveries were one in the same at some places, so when the boy wandered past the doors of the cabin and into the man-made lake, all saw was all the glory of it. Navi had been right, there was some sort of man-made lake sculpted out of the ground. Infront of him was a path that led to some sandy ground, then inside the circle of that was a small pond extending twenty feet across and thirty feet wide. He didn't even notice the voice, until something hooked him on the back, making him scream with surprise.  
  
Whirled back into the air, the boy levitated for a few seconds, before he uncovered his eyes cowardly. Before him, a man with a hat was chuckling away, holding a fishing pole into his hands. Putting two and two together, the boy spotted the line sinking down towards his clothes, and the bobble hooked under his shirt. Growling, the boy threw himself off the hook, tearing a huge cut in the shirt, but landed on his bottom with an abrupt sound.  
  
Shaking those tresses aside, his long cap having come unraveled from the scene before, the boy scooped up the headgear (his slumbering fairie, also), putting them back into position. Taking a good look at the man, he saw he was about middle aged, tan skin, and some weird shirt with different blue and red patterns sketched upon it. Link couldn't view any pants on the man, because he was sitting at a desk with a register to hold money, and fishing poles held on the back wall. On the desk were a few odds and ends, paperweights, and extra rubies. Attracting the most attention was a huge tank of water that was empty to the core. Taking a few steps forward, the boy put his hands on the counter, staring up at the Hyrulian (yea, he had small ears!), with a hat that was perked through with hooks.  
  
--------------------  
It was a fisherman's hat, or so the man would have said. Taking one quick look at the boy was enough to make him burst out laughing. How did a kid ever get out this far to Lake Hylia and swim the few miles to the cabin? Only the most strongly of men could earn their way out here to the lake, sometimes resting for days when the reached the cabin, but this kid looked as if he had just woken up. By Goddess, he still had sleep in his eyes, was he that fast! Grinning a little, he stared down at the boy, tipping the hat towards him. "What can I do for you, son? You lost or something?" Of course the lad wasn't.  
  
"Oh, well." Seemed sort of nervous, he did. "I want to go fishing, may I have a pole?"  
  
"Fishing? Well, you seemed to come out a long way, so I guess I can give you a deal. This is an adult's fishing hole, yet there aren't many around, so I'll cut you some slack. But I am warning you." Pulling out his finger, the man taunted the boy in the face. "The fish out here are not friendly. Sure there are some that could be around a pound or so, but some of them get as much as twenty-two pounds. If that happens, break the line, son."  
  
"Break the line?"  
  
Oh that was it! He couldn't help himself! Grabbing the edge of the counter, the man guffawed into the sides of his mouth, holding back the laughs as much as possible. No avail was given because for three minutes the boy sat there steamed the man laughing, and a sparkle coming lazily out of the kid's lap. Not even bothering with questions, he handed him his smallest rod, hooked with a lime green bait.  
  
"It's twenty rubies, kid."  
  
Pouring out twenty from his adult wallet bag, the boy stared up at him, the pole over his shoulder like a long sword. "I am ready to fish, any final thoughts?"  
  
"Just don't--- just don't-- just don't--oh Goddess!" The man was still laughing when the boy hit him with the side of the rod, running off out into the lake. Rubbing his head gently, the middle-aged man shook his head one last time, giving them a farewell glance. It seemed like a short distance, but the end of the lake he was at. It had to be a mile out, too far for the man to see. You see, the lake may have been small, but the land was vast and rich all around that area, harboring some sea crabs, other crustaceans, and plants of all sorts. The crabs and all were indoors for the season, so he didn't warn the boy about them.  
  
Eventful dreams soon took over his mind; this was his own business, so he didn't have to worry about anyone taking him for granted. All the Hyrulian got for his troubles were some fish from the Zora, traded with the fish- people and the solitary time by him. It was pure bliss to be out here, the erected tops hanging off themselves, shining the artificial light from the sunroof out into the real scenery, all the woods and reefs for the best fishing, and the dream that one day someone might catch ole' Mody. Yes, ole' Mody was the one he was after, a twenty-five pounder he had meant to keep for himself, spending thousands hours rooting after, but he never came close to bagging him.  
  
Tuckering himself off, the boy watched the child from the distance, only a speck of a real manufacture. The kid caught quite a few fish, more than the man had predicted, but nothing over five pounds. That was chump change, according to the fisherman, nothing over seven was anything special, and nothing under nine could go in his hall of fame (the tank.) Not many people came out here to fish, so he really didn't have anything to put in there, plus the last one had died in a misfortunate night he had been hungry. Lazily resting his head down, he drifted off to sleep at one o'clock that afternoon.  
  
--------------------  
  
"What was that all about?" When Link reached the area as far away from the man as possible, his guardian was fully awake, letting out a cute little yawn. Looking over towards her little one, a small question pondered her inner brain. Why was Link up before him, how was he at the fisherman's house, what exactly had happened last night? Yes, the stuff from last night was blurry (not the part with Gaebora, but when she had returned to Link and the thoughts that passed therein.) Hardly recalling much of anything, the fairie lounged off his hat when the question popped.  
  
Trying to figure the rod out, Link sat upon a rock on the beach-covered surface, studying the oak-made rod. He knew little about fishing, they fished out in the Kokiiri forest (a stream led down there), but he had never been out there. Saria's world was the outdoors, but she detested killing little fish for food, when they had all of these berries and natural supplies to benefit them. Reason is, when he first tasted meat on the outside world it was quite a surprise to him, just on how much he had been missing from the isolated forest. Grabbing the rod by the head, he launched it out into the open.  
  
"Huh? Oh, him. I think he was laughing because I am so small.stupid man."  
  
"Oh, Linky, don't mind him. He is a simple man who thinks you are just another immature Hylian kit, but in reality, you are a fully mature Kokiiri."  
  
"Navi.I am not a mature Kokiiri, I am an immature Kokiiri, I am only a decade old." Letting out a giggle, he held the large pole under his armpit, pressing her flimsy body into his face.  
  
"Mm, you act better than the others, anyway." Letting herself be nuzzled, the girl went back and did the same thing to her as he was doing to her. Not in so many motions, since she was smaller, of course.  
  
Cuddling with her a few seconds, the boy slapped her on his pole as the line began to tug. Grasping, the boy yanked back with all his strength, the small flying through the air. Grasping the line quickly, he examined the fish with the disappointment forming in his face. The fish wasn't a fish at all; it had to have been a fish stick! Only under three pounds, the boy grasped the fish and chunked it back into the fresh underwater.  
  
"What happened, why did you throw it back?"  
  
"Did you see the size of that fish?"  
  
"Looked pretty big to me, maybe it could have won." Two pounds was actually a lot for Navi, so she really couldn't tell if the ten-pounders were in there or not. Floating towards the fish, Navi peered at the fish with her eyes glaring a bit. Taking a glance over at the man, he was watching them with drooping eyes of an old pervert. Automatically her veil reappeared, going back over towards Link, she perched upon his shoulder once more.  
  
"No, ten-pounders win the heart, I am pretty sure."  
  
"Well, let's get to work!"  
  
--------------------  
  
Moving to the center of the pond was Link's idea of the day. At the beginning of the lake was a reef that extended out to the center of the lake, or almost to the center. After measuring the reef for its weight several times, the boy stood upon the reef and began to fish for his luck. The following three hours had been spent catching five pounders at the most, but the first scaly animal he caught was a seven-pound fish! Grasping with excitement, the boy began to fish out for the following three hours, keeping himself out of the trouble from falling in the water.  
  
Ten pounders didn't start appearing until he caught himself an eight-pound fish, instead of throwing it away; the kid used it as bait for the other fish. It was only common in the food chain that bigger animal ate the smaller animals, not plastic little reefs he got for renting a stupid pole. The first time he used and eight-pound fish, he received an eight and a half pound fish. Using that one, he came across the nine pound one, and following the process over, he came upon the ten pounds.  
  
Some amounts of mass seemed easier on the first impression. Ten pounds may have been easy to lift, but it wasn't easy to pull. Especially when the dreaded little 'moby dick' had its head wrapped around the line and pulled back as strong as any of the monsters he had faced. Ever since Link had come out to the reef he had been using the little string attached to the coil that you turned to yank it in. Throwing himself back in the air would land him a quick ease in the deep water, losing any fish he came into contact with. The funny thing was that when he was after the other fish, he had no need to yank the fish in that other manner, except with when multiplied by five.  
  
Jumping upon the edges of the reef, he kept his feet apart and the rode buried between those hands that hung on for dear life, trying to keep those other stupid fish from biting at the line. Navi took the position without warning, throwing her weight against the smaller fish, scaring her off, but the real problem was getting that traumatic thing to calm down. Flaring her aura, the kind she used to blind enemies, she zapped the fish in the eyes, making a squeal erupt from the cry out. Blood splattered all over the water, just from the hook, not from the zapping or anything like that.  
  
Chance was all in it, for when Navi blinded the fish, it gave up in the fight for survival. Pulling back all the way, he made the yank, throwing himself into the water, but held onto the pole as if he was on a cliff and the edges were the only escape. Leaping into the air, a reef to propel him upward, the boy caught the fish in the air. When he landed, halfway in the water, halfway on the coral structure, his hands still held the fish down. Surprise threw him off the coral, making him grip the fish (and the fishing pole, which he picked up before leaving), tracking back the mile in only a few minutes.  
  
The distance didn't seem like anything, only staying on the move, so that they reached the area in under a minute. Staring up at the fisherman with disappointing eyes, the boy let out a smug growl and slammed his fist upon the wood. Nothing, nothing at all. Giving Navi a disgusted look for the man, he reached forward and put the fish before the man's lips, nada, nothing at all. Well, he had one last idea, but it was sort of a dozy Running back a few feet, the boy cupped his hands together letting out an excruciating long screech of excitement towards his direction. Sound waves picked up, and the man jutted awake with profuse intrusion.  
  
--------------------  
  
Jutting awake from the screaming of a young child, the fisherman stared forward to see the child from before. Obviously he was turning in his pole, having given up? No, that wasn't the reason at all, in his hands he held a fish consisting of what seemed more than nine pounds. Gripping the fish quickly, he slammed it upon the weight, surprised to see it far exceeded ten pounds, it went past the area of fifteen miles. How could a young child get something this heavy, how could he catch it? Not even bothering with details, the man fed the fish something from a blue bottle, putting it inside the water, where the hatch closed making the glass turn black.  
  
"How did you c-catch something that big?"  
  
"Used some of the smaller fish for bait, I guess. How much is it?"  
  
"F-fifteen pounds. I can't believe you caught something that huge, that is just unbelievable." Shaking his head, the boy handed him the pole back, which he hung up generously (not even a smirk forming his lips, contradictory of this morning.) Leaning forward, the man patted the boy upon his head, searching through his bag and pulling out a fourth of a heart. He didn't know what exactly the thing was, but from the excitement in his face, it had to be something special. "You certainly earned it, whatever it is. I found it while cleaning out the pool last week and decided to postpone it as a reward, what exactly is it?"  
  
"Well, if you earn four of these in a row, then you grow stronger and stronger." Pulling out the fourth of a piece, he connected the two together, forming a whole half. Showing the pieces off to the amazed man, the boy said his thanks and disappeared out of the door. There was something weird about that boy; he wasn't ordinary, which was for sure. Something told him that one day he would see that child again, a much older man, and he would do great things. Maybe it was his allergies acting up, but something was abyss.  
  
Ignoring the thoughts of tonight, the man opened up the tank and checked upon his new prize. There it was fifteen pounds of fish for all the people who visited his new business to notice and ponder who caught it? His story would come out how a boy dressed in green, guarded by a sparkle of bright blue, braved the odds and captured the fish. Unfortunately, he did not have the boy's name, but he knew of a legend of the green clothed children, those from the ancient tribe. In the following morning a plaque would be placed right above the tank that said "the Kokiiri tribe wander." For now, the man would slip back to sleep at three in the afternoon. The life of a fisherman was patience that was the number one rule: patience.  
  
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Shutting the door quietly, Link cupped his hands together, holding the half of a heart pressed completely together. Throwing the heart into the air, the boy pressed his index and middle finger up together, performing the peace sign. Meanwhile, Navi caught the heart piece launching it down inside of the satchel, snapping it shut. Giggling at the child, she pushed him down off the edge of the island and into the water. When his head emerged from the cerulean pool, the girl fluttered near his face.  
  
"Why'd you do that?!" Shaking those blonde tendrils back and forth, the kid stared up at the fairie.  
  
"Hee!" Landing up on his cheeks, she rubbed them a little bit, glancing down at him. "Come on, little one, let's head back and maybe we'll make it by the end of the afternoon."  
  
"Then we head back to the domain and deliver that letter?" Putting his feet against the edge of the island, he pressed off into the water, quickly breast stroking the entire way, on the fifteen-minute way they spoke at what the next destination was. Navi's idea was not to head back to the domain, at least until later tonight, but to take the advice of Gaebora. Yes, she still remembers the encounter with Gaebora Kaepora, that was clear in her mind, and the favor was still fresh in her young mind.  
  
"No, we don't. I say we head to Gerudo Valley."  
  
"But, I thought you didn't want to waste anymore time? Isn't the Gerudo home over two days away?"  
  
"Yes, but we will be there in two hours." Grinning, her veil flashed off for the time being, then she explained her situation. Well, I shouldn't say she explained it all, there was a bit of fibbing in the story, but then again, what would it hurt? Navi explained that on her way back from the bathroom last night that she stumbled upon the infamous (or at least she thought so) Gaebora. Reminding him what Gaebora was (although he needed no remembrance); the girl went on to speak that the owl had suggested they take a trip to the thieves' valley for a few surprises.  
  
"The owl mentioned something about some rewards at the valley."  
  
"Rewards, like those heart pieces?"  
  
"Maybe, maybe not." It was a fact that Navi knew that there were two pieces stored in the valley, it was just there wasn't really the location she knew. And another factor that stood was they wouldn't be able to get across the Gerudo, so those things needed to be near the area before they reached the guards gates. Hrm, that would be a problem, but if they couldn't get past them, they just couldn't. The Gerudo women were trained to fight from the day they could walk, they would easily dispatch the boy.  
  
A fourth of an hour displayed later before he was sitting upon the grass and drying his clothes out in the afternoon sun. Nothing much else happened for the remainder of the hour, both of them taking a forty-five minute nap, awakening at ten after four. Waking himself up with the automatic alarm clock, the boy and his fairie were surprised to see the wise owl perching upon the gate, where they slept, staring at him with eyes closed. As soon as Link made the first attempt to move, though, the owl stared down at him with those yellow glaring eyes, brown feathers stretching out.  
  
"Hoot, Hoot! Well, good afternoon, young hero. I presume your accomplice has told you about our travel plans?"  
  
"Accomplice?" He giggled a little, nodding his head somewhat. "Yea, she told us we were going over to the Gerudo Valley, but-- you never said how we are going to get there."  
  
"Fly, you dummy!" The 'accomplice' spoke up, shaking her head a little. "Forgive him today, Gaebora, he got too much water in his brai-" Being thrown across the ground, the girl was tackled by the Kokiiri, who began to tickle her all over. Bursting out into a fresh stream of giggles, the girl tried to tickle back, but to no avail. That forest child was just too strong at sometimes, playfully repeating over and over that he wasn't the dummy--she was. Kaepora just watched to two with a chuckling look upon his animal features.  
  
Separating the two apart, the owl shrugged a small feathery shoulder. He tried to separate the two with the slip of his wings, but that didn't really work, for Link threw himself over to another patch of overgrown grass, continuing the tickle torture upon her. What was so strange to the owl was how gentle the boy was with her, being how fierce he could get, how could one be so gentle with a fairie only the size of his middle finger?  
  
Finally deciding to separate the two beings, he pushed his wings between the two. That didn't help, for Link crawled over the wings in an instant, Navi flying in-between the wings, also. Throwing her head back in a squawk, his claw grabbed Link by the shirt collar, clasping the fairie with both wings pushing together. Struggling with the two for a few minutes, the kid's energy finally pushed down, slumping down somewhat, as Kaepora put Navi in Link's hat.  
  
"Hang on, you two."  
  
"You are gonna fly us, Kaepora-san?"  
  
"But of course, little hero." Throwing his wingspan out, the flyer lifted up one hundred feet into the air, staring forward at over the horizon. There wasn't that long left until they would reach Gerudo Valley from this destination, so taking off towards the eastern horizon, Gaebora would stop until they reached the area of the thieves. Looking down at the boy, he had already fallen asleep from the air travel within the first few minutes, his ears popping the higher and higher they rose. He was very careful not to go up too high in the sky, fearing the atmospheric conditions would make him short of breath.  
  
From the lake he would head east, along side the huge range of Death Mountain. Spiraling forward for the next hour and a half, nothing else was in order unless he ran into the occasional Peahat (which he evaded easily.) Since it wasn't nice there were no problem of the Stalchildren, but then again, they could never reach this high up, could they? An hour later went by with no activity; the mountains remained the same until they carved down into a valley. Past the structure of the valley was places were the grass grew no more.  
  
Streaking off the grassy plains was a rooftop that extended out, guarded by a gate, but below that was the bare plains full of dirt and rock. Nothing was around this area except the occasional rocks, even the Peahats weren't in this area, and it seemed the Gerudo had the unstable environment of them all. No grass, no water, although the river was up ahead, but it seemed that it didn't rain out here and all. Gaebora hadn't been out here in a while (the first hundreds of years ago), but back then again in the past it had been beautiful as the center of Hyrule Field.  
  
Pulling away from the breeze, the owl flapped down into the valley, pushing down into the valley that narrowed its length to just fifteen feet across. Maneuvering through the place in fifteen minutes, the owl came up to an area with a long rock bridge that led into the beginning of the Gerudo inner valley, a small little waterfall was at his right (but not the one that led to Hylia.) Flapping up a few more feet, landing just after the stone flab of rock, he pulled the two down on the ground, shaking them with their wings. Not even waiting for them to awaken, the owl flew up into the air and took off away from the valley, it gave him some bad vibes, but Navi wanted to come here for some reason.  
  
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The trip was a blur to Link, it seemed like the owl had some sort of sleeping power in his talons, for he was asleep from the time he took off, until the time he heard the animal give out a screech of farewell. Sitting up, he covered his face with those hands, staring over at the land, surprised with not so much as envy. The entire place was barren; all he saw from all around were barren plains that stretched forward. Looking up, he noticed that it was just a hill, so when he climbed to the top, his discovery was a more barren land, but also a nice-looking rope bridge. It seemed this had been built for good use, the thing was ten feet wide and fifty feet across.  
  
Carved from stone, the beginning of the bridge seemed to be. Above the bridge were two pillars that stood five feet in the air, that was what the ends of the bridge were connected to. On the other side was another pair of pillars with the opposite end of bridge connected to them. Walking ahead, the boy stepped on the footbridge as Navi began to flutter from out of his hat, staring around at him, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Giggling, he kept his hands on the rope that was used as the handrails.  
  
"Mm, where did owl go?" Peeking ahead, there was a shadow up ahead, but it didn't seem threatening, at least from right now. What really was frightening was when he looked down at the ground. There was some way down; it reached down into the Gerudo River that would connect to Lake Hylia. No, that wasn't the scariest part of this adventure, it was the drop down that frightened him past all beyond belief. Wide-eyed, the child glanced down at the ground, feeling his legs begin to wobble a little.  
  
"L-Link, calm down! Heights, you must be afraid of heights! Calm down, little guy, the bridge is wide, you won't fall. Stable yourself!"  
  
Sinking down upon his knees, the boy's vision began to sink back and forward. Gaping forward, the boy grabbed the Rope Bridge, slamming into the bridge and slinging back and forth. Falling upon his back, he curled up a little bit.rocking back and forth upon the bridge, making it not seem so stable. This would have gone on for the entire time, unless Navi hadn't lifted him up and carried him the whole way, until she stopped and dropped him down on his stomach. Her eyes had jolted out in an expression of pure fear, there was no un-mistaking it, it was as if Ganondorf himself had appeared before them.  
  
Crying out in slight pain, the boy looked up at what had scared her so bad, for when he looked at her she was shaking a little and pointing forward. Ganondorf it was not, but there was a beautiful woman just less than six feet with her arms crossed over her chest. A small scarf wrapped around her mouth, so he couldn't view her expression, but the rest of her body gave off a nice sensual glow. Her invisible aura shot off a beautiful feeling, but also a deadly feeling, because the girl was stretched inside what looking like Gypsy clothing. Gypsy clothing was strung about her body, her halter top made of silk, showing off her flat, tanned stomach, and matching violet silk pants upon her slim form. The traditional Arabian shoes lay on her feet, also. Sheathed at her side was a sword, but not like his, it was small at the bottom and curved up into a beautiful wide blade made of stainless steel (bigger than his, that was for sure.)  
  
No armour strung across her form, but that silky red hair, which was tied up into a ponytail, glanced down as she stared down at him with cat-like yellow eyes. Her nose stuck out against the purple cover, but from the imprint, Link could make out that a grin was positioned upon her face. Bending down on her knees, the woman leaned against an Iron Gate that had to have sealed the Gerudo palace form the rest of the world. Without even asking, Link knew it was a Gerudo, and taking a few steps back, his fear of the fall dissipated.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" Her arms uncrossed heading for the sword, but before she could get the thing out of its sheath, Navi slammed into it and watched as it bounced off the ground and flew down into the river.  
  
"Why you--what the hell was that!" Flailing at the dot, it easily evaded her feeble attacks with her hands. From the looks of it, the Gerudo fought like girls, but were mastered in the blade. That was a bad disadvantage for them, but a good one for Link. Flipping backward, his sword was pushed out and ready to fight (his first human opponent), it seemed this would be his first human kill. Readying himself, the child charged up at the woman, aiming for her throat and ready for the kill.  
  
"P-please wait!" Throwing herself upon her knees, the girl burst into tears, crying softly into her hands. Link blinked a little, looking down at her, to Navi, and then back to the girl. Staring down at the sharpened blade.the boy slipped it inside of the sheath and slumped down on his knees right next to her. Grabbing her shoulders, he smiled a little and spoke sweetly.  
  
"Hey, it's okay, I won't hurt you."  
  
"P-promise?"  
  
"Of course." Grinning, he shrugged a shoulder and stood up ready to speak to her, but that was when he was overtaken by a slam to the gut. Gasping, his hands fell upon his stomach, staring up at the grinning woman, eyes widened with pain. She gripped him by the collar, spitting into his face, and reached for his blade. Shaking her head, the woman walked over to the side of the bridge, dangling him over.  
  
"I hate men.I hate boys, and I hate you." Spitting into his face, she dropped him off the edge of the bridge.  
  
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This was it, this was the end. His own stupidity would be his demise, he knew from the start he should of killed her, but she just looked so sweet! He couldn't help, but feel sorry for the beautiful woman who was crying on her knees. Must be one of the attacks against the men, Eh? Seduction was a good term for it, and if he survived (of course I won't), he wouldn't fall for it again. Shaking his head, the boy cried silently as the hundreds of feet sank down from miles to miles, doing the only thing he could, which was hide his shield above him and hope it broke the impact.  
  
Nothing would break the destruction he imagined, nothing could save him, even if Navi would get a hold of him, there was no way she could stop him and float him down the feet this valley reached. Below was a river, but the impact was going to kill him! Another alternative was that it may have been like the water in the Zorian Domain and was soft, although he knew the answer to that, since this was the same water he had spent thirteen hours scrounging in. Great, no one would ever find Ruto; she would just turn into stomach acid after a while, what a wonderful way to die!  
  
He could feel to fluttering of Navi, trying to scream her name for help, but his voice was drowned out by the fall. How long had he been in the air, five, ten hours? He couldn't tell, but he believed it had only been a few seconds, was his life flashing before his eyes? Images of everything that had happened were weighing upon his soldiers, he was be a traitor to the Kokiiri, brother to Goron, loser to Zoras, disappointing Zelda, Ganondorf would rule the world, and Saria would have been disappointed he hadn't come to visit. Hands stretched out and grasped Navi, holding him close to her, he tried to hold it in, but the tears began to splash down his cheeks and into the air (he was falling face-first, so they streamed upward.)  
  
Feeling and watching Navi, he saw she was crying and trying her best to help him survive. She would survive, of course, he hoped that her next master would be better than the other would. Pulling her close to him as much as she could, he whispered into her ear to find a better master next time. That made him receive a hard slap across the face, and her beginning to choke over her sobs, Goddess! He made her cry that was a heavier weight on his heart than anything else did. Holding him close, she mouthed something to him that he couldn't understand, it started with an 'L' that's all he caught.  
  
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This wasn't happening! It couldn't happen this was insane! Goddess, she should have told him to cut the wenches' throat when she had thrown the sword aside, but her honesty rule of not killing something unarmed had kicked in. Vowing never to use that damned thing again, the girl had been quite surprised when she heard the boy yell and saw that nothing was where he had been two seconds ago. Viewing downward, she saw that the girl had knocked him off, spit on him, and said some awful words towards the kid. Flying up at the Gerudo's face, she brightened herself and shot a chi ball right into her forehead. There was a yowl and cursing in the ole' Gerudo language when Navi had thrown herself, spiraling a downward speed to Link.  
  
She reached him a few seconds later, seeing he was trying the trick in the Deku Tree, but this time it wouldn't work, that valley had to be at least five hundred feet deep. He was already halfway there when she reached him and started to cuddle up with him, for she knew she couldn't stop the impact of the fall, it would kill both of them. Here's what would happen: the impact of stopping him would kill her and then he would drop the rest of the way and die. Was it better to live on her own, for she knew she couldn't live on her own? The little fairie had always been alone, but now here she was with Link and he was going to die! No, no, she wouldn't allow him to die, she wouldn't allow it. Cuddling up with him, she began to think as the seconds ticked away.  
  
No, nothing would stop them now; nothing would stop this process, for they were doomed. All the possible choices flowed through her mind; they could land and die. They also could do some more sensible manners and try to find someway to float down, but how? Nothing in his satchel was a parachute, the satchel! Maybe they could use that as a parachute? No, it wasn't big enough; there was nothing else in here that would help them, unless it was the shield, which was the only way to do it. All that ran through Navi's mind was if the Goddesses' wanted their tasks accomplished they would have to thrown out an ole' miracle at the two.  
  
During her thinking process he brought up the part of maybe getting a nicer master. A nicer master! How dare he, she couldn't help but slam her fist into his cheek, and cry out in curse words, cursing him for saying such words. How could he say something like that! How could he be so cruel? Beating upon his chest, the girl was surprise when he pulled her towards him and kissed her cheeks sweetly. Pushing against him, the girl yelled out at the top of her lungs "LINK! I LOVE YOU!' her voice being drowned out by the air of the wind. Cursing herself, she was about to give up when she heard the squawk.  
  
A squawk? A cucco? Her mind rattled on for the questions to the answers, and turning sideways, she saw that to her left was a Cucco. How it got here was a mystery in itself, but a miracle was all that could explain it. Grabbing hold of the Cucco, she threw it at the weeping boy, he fumbled with it for a few seconds, but caught it around the waist. All of a sudden his impact was slowed down, as the chicken began to flap around for some pressure. The pressure stopped slowly, easing down as the falling stopped all at once. There he was, floating down to the rocks, and what was better was that there were two spaces that he could land where there were places to rest!  
  
"Link, we did it! We're saved!" Actually, she was never in any danger, but after this experience, he thought of them two as one in the same. Her decision would have been to probably to stop the fall at only a few feet and die, for she knew she couldn't have bared to watch him splat upon the water, or the cliffs nearby. As luck would have it they were floating southward towards the higher cliff that was only twenty feet above the lower one. Coming to a full stop at the edge of the first cliff, he put the Cucco out inside of she searched around for those rewards, this may have been the place that she had mentioned earlier, but that sure wasn't the initial plan of the day.  
  
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My Goddess, how could a miracle like this happen? Link had presumed himself dead, but out of the blue a Cucco appeared and Navi threw it at him. Relying on past experience, the boy floated down the rest of the way and kept he in one piece when he landed off of a ledge that wasn't quite at the end of the mountain, but a pit stop. Staring around, in utter amazement at the situation, the boy pulled the chicken into his satchel and fell upon the rock ground. Yelling at the top of his lungs, he sighed with satisfaction after the souring of his lungs. Who cared, he was alive! Oh, Goddess how could this happen, did the Gerudo throw a chicken down after them, did she feel sorry for them?  
  
His fairie had gotten up and was already looking around the seven feet long cliff, so he got up and went after her. Curiosity was still pondering his mind on what exactly she said before, he hadn't gotten it out, but it wasn't his name (even though it started with the same letter.) The lip synch was quite different, so moving over to her, the boy sat down right infront of where she was searching and spoke to her. What he didn't notice was that there was a chest right infront of where Navi was perched.  
  
"Navi-chan, what did you say earlier?"  
  
"Say, what do you mean?" Trying to crack the huge lock upon it, she began to perform Ki shots upon it until it finally snapped open.  
  
"When we were falling. You said something that started with an 'L', but it wasn't my name."  
  
"O-oh, that! N-nothing at all, sweetheart I was just saying stuff, I forgot, I was temporary insane." Flushing, she pushed open the chest and came out with a piece of heart, revealing it for the boy. That would wash away his questions, no doubt, because he grabbed the piece and grabbed the half of one, linking them together to form the seventy-five percent of one. Squealing and placing it down inside of his satchel, the boy stared back at her.  
  
"How do we get down?"  
  
"Easy, there is another cliff down there that leads right to the waterfall, you can float down the river until we reach Hylia and then we can head back to the Zoras."  
  
"How long will that take," He scooped her up and placed him on her shoulder, walking over the edge and peering over, grabbing the Cucco, he readied himself to launch off, but waited for Navi to answer his question.  
  
"A few hours, we should be there at nine-thirty. Judging that from the sun it is almost six o'clock, so we should be there at night. I think we should go into Jabu Jabu at night though, something tells me the hear will not be so excellent in the daytime." Pushing him off the ledge, the boy gasped out loud, grabbing onto the Cucco for all his might, and floating down the remaining way of the valley. Shrugging a quick shoulder, the boy actually agreed with her, who knows what sort of stuff was inside this giant fish (or whatever it was), it was best to come at night.  
  
"As long as the king lets us through."  
  
"I think he will when we show him the bottle.he was upset over his daughter's disappearance, Link."  
  
Agreeing silently, he could tell that the king would want them to go get his daughter. He hoped she was as sweet at the king was, he may have been an old fish, but he was one of the nicest people Link had ever met. The King would respect Link for his courage, he thought he was brave for taking one of his own guards down with the sword, and agreed that if they got the stone, then they could keep it. That was best part of it, because he was wearing their symbol, and if he wore their scale, he needed to keep his honor too them. Maybe it was irony, but his Kokiiri tribe symbol was gone, since he was thrown out from the tribe. So, maybe he had to honour himself with the other ones, even though he really wasn't their race, but he was accepted as one of them. It was strange, strange and stupid in a way, yet he would keep his honor towards the Zoras and rescue the princess.  
  
After a few minutes of floating, only six feet from the landing point, the chicken gave out of strength. Maybe he should of let it rest, or maybe he should of checked to see if it was in any bad condition, for when Link looked up the chicken was dead. There was no time to retaliate, all he did was cry out and throw the chicken down into the ground. The chicken smashed into the ground, where a little blood splashed over, but the funny part was when he hit the ground. He landed right onto of the Cucco, which exploded into millions of pieces. Crying out in disgust, the boy jumped up and stared down at the mass of pulp.  
  
That wasn't even a chicken anymore, it was some sort of monster. Bones and entire skeleton had been ruptured into nothing, there were guts and brains scattered all around, surrounded by feathers. Those feathers were covered with red liquid, the blood obviously, and Link couldn't control it. Running over away from the waterfall (this one was about forty feet long), he hit the ground and threw up over the edge of the water. Bile had begun to form in his throat when he heard the cracks of the bones, but seeing it was so different. Watching the puke flow down the river, the boy drowned himself in the fresh water and gulped it down. Rolling away, he grabbed his stomach as the cramp form, crying out in pain. He would have rolled into the cliff, but a large foot stopped him.  
  
"Well, what do we have hear?" A voice, feminine in speaking, rolled out from the tip of a tongue. Moving his head past the foot, he saw another Gerudo, but this one wore no weapon of choice, and was dressed in a silken suit of white that showed no parts, aside her appendages. That, however, didn't mean she wasn't dangerous. Navi was about to pounce with a blinding attack, but something told the boy to stop, so he calmed her down and cupped her inside of hands.  
  
She must have noticed him doing something with his hands, maybe a magic spell, perhaps, so she reached in for a hit to the throat. Pushing himself backward, the boy caught his feet guard, and threw himself backwards a few more feet. Reaching for his sword, the boy stopped and watched the unarmed woman, he had some honor. No, he wouldn't attack the woman without a weapon, but holding the sword steadily in his hands, he backed away from her. Meanwhile the commotion was around, Navi slipped back behind Link and drifted off towards the waterfall.  
  
With a gasp, he realized his fairie had deserted him. Turning around to call out her name, he was greeted with a swift kick to the back, surely would have knocked him out, had it not been for the shield. Luckily, he just pushed him to the ground, which he greeted with pushing his hands back and flipping him upwards. Landing upon his feet, the blade aimed steadily behind her, the boy nodded a quick few steps and watched her. No, she didn't seem to be going a where now, seems she underestimated a warrior, and you were to never do that (even if it was a child.)  
  
A few minutes of yelling for Navi, his front form never leaving the Gerudo's nasty eyes, and keeping her at bay with some of the few rumbles, had really tuckered the boy out. Crying out once more, Navi returned to his side with something concealed behind her back, so he didn't see when she slipped it inside of his pocket and a clinking sound chimed. Immediately he knew what the sound was, that was the sound of a fourth of a container clicking together. That meant that the whole heart was completed, and when that happened, well, we will just see.  
  
Ki-ing a deep blue, the boy sheathed down his sword and ran right at the Gerudo. It seemed these surges not only increased his stamina, speed, and strength, but also gave him the capabilities of something far past his normal extents, when it was charging up. That poor thief tried to throw a punch at him, which he parried by flying back against a wall, and bottle rocketing into her chin with his fist. Not aiming to break, he nicked it, causing her to break down in pain. While the girl was tending to her face, Link hit her in the side of the head with his hilt. Reclaiming the sword into the scabbard, he saw nothing else of interest and did the only normal thing to do: dive in.  
  
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Navi resumed her position at his head while he fought the Gerudo, you see, she had heard the hollow trinkets of the waterfall on their way down, which only had to meant there was some hole carved in there. Taking her natural instincts for granted, she flew behind the waterfall and landed right upon a ladder that led up to the human-carved hole. Certainly not made by erosion, the block concealed a hidden brown chest that hid upon the fourth heart piece they would discover. Fluttering back to the one she protected, she handed him the piece and viewed the battle with astounded ability. The view upon his face made her beam with her own little ambition, yea, the journey out here was not just a waste of time, it was relaxation and collection four extra heart pieces sure helped the boy and her in their quest to defeat Ganondorf. From her guess, Link was nine times as strong as when he arrived, not that he was nine Kokiiri boys put together, more like he was strong as a nineteen-year-old Hylian would was.  
  
Not even bothering to test out her own ability, she guarded the enemy, but gave no tips on how to beat the Gerudo. I mean, it wasn't hard to be an undefended woman, who was deadly nevertheless, but had to be taken care of so not to report down to her comrades. How she got down here and how she got back up was still a mystery to Navi, maybe she was an outsider? If she had been an outsider, she would have greeted them pleasantly, but no, she just had to attack them with the ferociousness. From Navi's guess, she was the Gerudo farmed of some sort, that would explain the huge cow right where she stood, a crate, and a small soaked patch of where seeds would go.  
  
When she went to plant the seeds down inside of the patch, without Link's understanding, she heard a splash and feared the worst. The guard must have jumped in for help! Retracting around, she heard Link call her name out in a boyish laughter, pointing for her to follow him. Clutching the newly tied bag of seeds together, the fairie went after the boy. Yes, she almost caught up with him, before the water seemed to disappear, or was it dip down? A scream erupted, then a splash as Link sailed down a miniature waterfall. He was spluttering when Navi caught up with him, nestling upon his shoulder, chuckling silently.  
  
When he finally returned back to breathing in oxygen, instead of the usual aquatic features, the boy looked over to his fairie and gave her a quiet slap on the face. She cried out loud, staring at him, holding her sore mouth with a bit of hurt in her face. Pulling a finger forward, he stroked the cheek softly, not really patting her so hard, it was just a punishment of payback for not telling him of those 'little' adventures on the rapids. Almost reading his mind, the fairie nodded and slunk down inside of his hat, which was the driest place for all. Storing those seeds with her, so not to fall out since he couldn't reach his side belt in these conditions, the fairie drifted down the sleep as Link dealt with the rapids.  
  
And what a dealing it was! Link spent the next three hours dodging rocks, not that there were many, closing his eyes for the impact of the waterfalls, and drifting along in the loneliness of the world. It really gave him a good chance to think of some things, gave him the chances to study his options when the quest was over. Gotta get the third stone first, dummy. His mind pointed out to him in a matter-of-fact tone. Shrugging sheepishly, the boy dodged one more rock for what seemed the thousandth time.  
  
How was he going to end this, were they going back the Kokiiri Forest to live? Man, why do I think like that, I am already banned from there, I would be living in the Lost Woods for my life. There were other options, he could stay with the Gorons, but those beasts had hugged too much. Ever since Link had been named the 'Dodongo Buster.' (Which they said with so much prides, it was gloating) the child got hugs from every type of Gorons. A Goron hug was not a very nice hug to compensate with in the matter of his already weakened bones.  
  
Maybe stay with the Princess? Not that was a nice thought, he could stay with the Princess (even though he didn't particularly find her as his favorite person, she seemed to know too much), but the chance to train with Impa-sama was a great honour. When it came right down to it, she was his first and only sensei (unless you count the fairies, which he didn't, they just gave him the technique coordinates, anyone could do that.) He would deal with Zelda-sama, it wasn't that he didn't like her, she was pretty and all, it was just that he decided the King wouldn't want a boy a junior to his daughter living in his castle.  
  
If I go ahead and rescue this princess, maybe here? He did enjoy fish a lot, and the fishing arena was a fun place to be. With the new scale he would have no problem staying here, and catching his own food. That was a mistake for staying with the Gorons, they made him food from the Dodongo's, but after those were gone they went back to eating rocks. His pearly whites just couldn't suffer that sort of damage from eating those hard rambles of dirt. Zoras were as good as any place as this, unless the Kokiiri could be reasoned with and understood he didn't do anything to harm them or the Deku Tree.  
  
Maybe the Gerudos? That one gave a short laugh, he hadn't even told the Gerudos what he was and he was already dealing with their antics. Not to mention their king was the enemy of his, maybe if he killed Ganondorf then he would become the King of the Gerudos? Not a fancy title, there would be no one to mess with him, though Link didn't think he was King-material. Most likely, he would be a visitor to the forest and a drifter from town to town, maybe a mercenary of some sort? It was a sad destiny, but at least he would have his companion at his side, he would be with her forever. That was a reassurance that made him consider himself very lucky for her.  
  
Then that other question pondered his mind, the one he had been trying to knock back for all eternity. Why was Navi so different? It is like she had changed over the time they met from the present day today, looking back on the days, he couldn't count how many. Maybe he should have brought a journal to record his history for some tales that would be told hundreds of years from the present day. Link just couldn't understand her behavior, she was different, but not in a bad way, she just seemed to get overzealous of him. The lad didn't understand why women thought he was cute; maybe it was a gift or maybe a curse, and all he understood was Navi.  
  
Communication was different from them, sometimes it was like they could read each other's minds, and known what the other one was thinking. Yet, in this case she had some sort of mind block upon him, and just claimed that she didn't want to lose him to any of those other pretty girls. Did that mean that she thought that he-- nah, she wouldn't think of that, Navi was pretty, but she was just a fairie. They didn't--or did they have feelings like that? Staring up from his nostalgia, he noticed he was not drifting down the Gerudo River anymore, how he was sitting at the base of Lake Hylia with his waist pressed against the edge.  
  
Four hours had actually passed by the time he found the entrance that led back to the Zora's domain, the reason that he had delayed somewhat for the heart pieces, and the fact that later on he discovered himself. When he had found himself lying on the beach, he would later discover that he had been lying on the side of the Lake Hylia for thirty minutes. Another factor was finding the entrance, without the slumbering fairies help, was going to be hard work. Link doubted they would start the dungeon today, he was just too tired to even consider venturing inside the belly of a beast.  
  
Ruto would just have to wait another day that was the answer when Link swam inside of the door to the Zorians, pounded upon it with a message for the King, and was promptly let inside. After making his way from the curious squeals of some Zoras (including the guard, plus the sultry one), the boy was let through to the Zorian King. Now, he would have been down there too in a heartbeat, except the fact that he couldn't move. When Link went up to the platform and yanked out a letter made in the paper of the Zoras, the king was ecstatic.  
  
"W-who is that from, young warrior?" Balling the letter up, Link chunked it up at the King, who caught it with a slick flipper. Even though the Kokiiri and his fairie couldn't decipher the message runic very well, the king was done in three minutes and proudly announced it to Link and Navi (whom had just been pushed from her early slumber by the tiring Link, whose lids needed the rest even more.)  
  
"It says this "Please help me, I am trapped inside of Jabu Jabu's belly. Please hurry, and don't tell my father.' Her signature are there, which looks authentic, but the strange thing is that she can't conduct these sort of runic in her schooling lessons yet. It is either the opposition of Ganondorf, or he wrote the note to tease us, for we might never find it and that is where the princess has gone."  
  
"Was her time to feed Jabu when she disappeared?" Navi blurted sleepily, wiping her eyes a bit, reclining upon Link as support from her nearly unconscious body, yet she heard the whole conversation in whole. Thank the Goddess' for the long elven ears, Eh?  
  
"Why, when you mention it, it was her time! Oh dear me, Jabu Jabu must have been poisoned like your poor guardian and now instead of the contents being evil, he is evil instead." He was shifting his weight back and forth, when suddenly his eyes fixated upon Link. "You will go and rescue her tomorrow, or tonight? Please, let it be as soon as possible, I am ready for my daughter's safe return and I know you are ready for your present."  
  
"Tomorrow, dear king, my partner here has been to the Gerudo Valley today looking for clues your daughter's disappearance, I think he deserves a nights rest and a full meal tomorrow, what do you say?"  
  
"Well, of course, and when you bring her back we shall have a feast in your honour. Now, go on and eat your meal for tonight, I will have you some freshly cooked fish in the morning. Also, I want you to keep that bottle forever, it is sort of a reward. Be sure before you visit the domain of Jabu Jabu that you put a fish and water in there. The Lord would never let you into his bowels without an offering, at least for the past few weeks he hasn't.  
  
"You actually travel inside him, how big is this guy!" -Leaning against one of the unlit torches, Link was trying to brave the conscious world, yet trying to listen to his next mission objectives, too.  
  
"You'll see. Ah, look at you, poor thing." Clapping his fins together, two guards suddenly appeared out of no where and bowed for him to serve. When he pointed towards the tired child and his guardians, they nodded and helped him down the stairs to a hidden room in the caves, this is where a small bed was positioned, only one for him and her. There he was promptly tucked into the bed by some female Zora, stripped of his tunic and left in the bed in his undergarments for the time being.  
  
A few minutes later, the fairie and the boy were fed a hearty meal of Octopus, probably the kind he saw a few days ago, but nevertheless he gulped it down in three portions (followed by the cleanest water he ever laid eyes upon.) While the things put him to sleep and Navi also, the crew of women came in and stripped him down to nothing. Sinking him from the bed, he was promptly given a bath and washed from all his dirty scars upon the young body. Returned to his bed in a pair of new undergarments, his tunic was replaced with sheen on it. The sheen was that sort of like the one Saria had put on for waterproof action, yet this one would be permanent and actually work in all situations.  
  
Having replaced all his nuts and sticks with new ones, the side pack and satchel were emptied (not searched), and replaced with identical ones that were just as dry. Shield was washed and polished, along with the beautiful sword they revoked over. The Faroeians got the sword, while they got the water, why would the children have the dagger anyway? The Zorians had a magical triton that was sealed up, but who knew what the Gorons had. Finally when all the action died down, all his clothes and materials were aligned along his bedside (a fish in water in the new bottle), while the second empty one was poured with some elixir.  
  
Commotion had finally ceased once and for all, that night he slept as sound as a baby did. He would never sleep like that again, maybe there were some weird weeds in the water, or the fish was toxin for his sleeping ordains. Whatever the case, he loved the sleep, for the nightmares were not there that night, all he dreamt of were things he used to dream of as a kid: fighting monsters, being a winner, and winning the girls, as in the story books. Except instead of Mido being the monster this time and Saria being the beautiful princess, there were two new characters in the plot. Ganondorf was the monster, and not Zelda, but Navi took the position as the beautiful damsel.  
  
His dreams were sound and soft, as were hers. Though they never spoke of them, they both could be heard during most nights screaming and crying in their sleeps. It was torture, but relief when her own nightmares were gone from her. It had to be some special potion from the Zorians, which they wished they could thank with all the rubies in the world. Her dreams differed from hers, it wasn't a hero play, but that of a romantic, and the two together were as you guessed it: Link and Navi. The whole world was blown up, except them two, and they had to restart the population of the world. With the two slumbering beauties down, they had no idea what awaited them.  
  
During the middle of the night, the Zorians returned and put the dried clothes upon the boy. Also, since the veil was off, Navi's clothes were washed and redone. Her body even washed, although they knew it didn't need it, when she would awake she would be as refreshed as the boy was the next day. As the Zorians left for the night, there are another slumber awakening, yet this one wasn't met with such a potion. This one was met with nightmares, belonging to a beautiful princess, her guardian holding her through the tears of pain. Elixirs like this weren't offered to the Hylians, for no one knew they had such dreams (psychic dreams, they did have, but never discussed them.)  
  
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No repentance came about the fallen night, only a few hours passed. Abruptly they both awoke refitted, relaxed, and nurtured as if they were royalties. Being fed breakfast in bed didn't really seem to help the situation of being spoiled, either. After finishing his meal of fish eggs (a bland taste to them) some broiled fish, and fresh spring water; he was led to the King's chamber for one last talk with him. The talk didn't last long; the king basically explained what was going to be going on in Jabu's mouth, or his hypothesis.  
  
He said he expected it to be a long and cruel journey, that he might spend as much as a day inside the creature, yet there was no worry, for a specific room was located inside of Jabu Jabu where they could rest the night. When Link questioned where this room was, the king flustered and began to dig through out his royal garments for something. Questioningly, Navi asked what he was looking for, yet the man ignored her and spoke something in his Zora language. After two calls to guards, they located a firm brown piece of paper, which one of them handed to the boy.  
  
"A map?" Navi spoke up, while Link sat on the ground, spreading the small map on his lap.  
  
"Yes, that is a map of Jabu Jabu."  
  
"We've usually found these in the main area we were searching, before, I mean."  
  
"Well, consider yourselves lucky, there might be a chest in there with a map, but I am helping you out so you can find the room. The room isn't located on that map, because it is so old and updated."  
  
"Jabu created this room, then? How long ago, right before he changed." Link blurted out, clasping the map. He had seen a room that quite a while away, marked by some red ink, taking that for the room.  
  
"No, three years ago he created if for when we would journey in him and get lost, we could always sleep there. There are some of our own supplies, so you don't have to sleep on his skin. Anyway, the venture will be tough, but I am sure you will get through it."  
  
"Are there any enemies we should be worried about."  
  
"There are no Youma around." The King clasped his fins together, nodding with himself. "At least, that is the last time we were in there."  
  
"Youma, what are you--"  
  
"Monsters, Link, it's the Zorian language, I know that much." Navi inquired, she couldn't speak the language, but knew a few odds and ends from the Deku library that Deku Tree had for the children, or fairies to study.  
  
"You are correct, little fairie. Youma are monsters, but the last time we went in there it was empty. Now, you received a fish last night when you slept, did you not?" Not waiting for a response, because he had seen that it was put in there, the fish went on. "I want you to offer it to Jabu Jabu-sama. You see, there is a large ceremonial platform where people stand and talk to him, or offer him meals as thanks. Offer him a fish and his mouth shall open, not matter how cursed he maybe, he still eats."  
  
"Yes, sir. I shall do it, now where is this Jabu?" He clasped the map and slipped it into his belt. The past maps were now thrown away, the compasses also (or compass), since they no longer worked whenever they left the dungeon. He had tried one on the outside area towards Death Mountain, but the stupid thing malfunctioned with all cost together. Maybe they were paired with magic that kept them there, maybe they returned? All he knew, was that his was sitting on Death Mountain trail, probably being pummeled by ten of hundreds nasty rocks. No compass was offered to them, so he figured that either the fish didn't have one, didn't want to give one, or didn't know there was a compass in there. Not taking it at rudeness, they looked onto the king who began to shift.  
  
First time he had moved in the days they had met, the huge fish shifted from the right over to the left. He only moved an inch at a time (after each shift the gates he was behind showed a clear path open.) Finally, ten minutes later, after Link was sitting on the floor and waiting, Zora got over as far as he could and contended himself back, by rubbing his robes. Sitting up, the boy dashed up the long case that led up to where the King was. To Link's surprise, the man wasn't holding back a waterfall, but it was just an area with so much few water, he thought the place where Jabu was must have been drained completely. Turning his head towards the boy, the Zora royalty smiled a fishy smile.  
  
"Now be careful. I seem to like you, young man, and don't want you getting yourself killed on account of my daughter. I would normally send one of my guards, but they seem to be weaker than you!" Bellowing out in a guffaw of laughter, he beat upon his chest with a precedence never to do that again. Clearing that gilled throat, he looked down at the boy with a sense of seriousness. "You are a skilled warrior, train yourself well, and succeed. Then you shall receive the my jewel."  
  
Nodding an approval of thanks, the boy took off down into the darkness that led to a lighter edge. The Zora's words rang true in his mind, for he had never gotten such pleasure from going on one of these missions, what I mean was he usually was pushed into it. In the Kokiiri's case, he was pushed to be a true hero, in Daruina's matter, it was a survival bet, but this one was different in so many ways. This case gave him a feeling of content, that if he failed and found Ruto-sama dead, that the man would not kill him. Although, if he failed, he would want the king to kill him, he'd fell as if he betrayed himself to get so mad over a stupid stone.  
  
When the light escaped from the darkness, Link was astounded to find that the rocks had disappeared. Hell, even the domain structure had disappeared, and what took its place was nothing short of a fountain. No, nothing was spewing about, or like the fairy's fountains, but the place stretched out about tens miles (not that Link had to swim that far. Wading through shallow water, he found the holy ceremonial platform that the king had spoken of, but he hadn't thought have been how big Jabu was.  
  
Four pillars stretched out on each corner of the square-shaped ceremony, and the whole thing seamed to be made of rocked, yet runic of the Zorian language outstretched the entire full. At the end of the platform, near was a small barrier, Link walked up towards it and stared down at the runics. Yes, just like the letter, they were, for they changed in the form of the language he could read, his home language, Kokiirish. Kneeling before the platform, he reached inside of his weapon pack and pulled out a bottle, reading the inscription to Navi aloud.  
  
Those who want to enter the sacred fish;  
  
Give what a fish blessed by the holy king.  
  
Only then shouldst thee receive an opening;  
  
To the great beyond of an open sea.  
  
"Open the bottle, Link, and I guess he'll open his mouth." Navi retorted, glaring around at the barrier. It was actually nothing there, no fish, nothing at all. Stretching across the left for a few miles, he caught the sight of a cave that lifted up eleven feet in the air. At his near right was a huge slab of rock that was at least a mile far, with trees extending off the horizon up to the rocky exterior. Link thought it was yet again a part of the Death Mountain trail, those mountains seemed to dominant the entire structure of Hyrule. Far off to the left, only a distance in the being, was a short island, but that was all he could see. It had to be right near the end of the fountain, for he couldn't view the full extent of it, only a gargantuan tree in the far-reach.  
  
"Is he under the water, Navi?"  
  
"Yea, I imagine so." It may have been shallow until they reached the platform, but when they reached after it, the water took a sudden dunk in depth. Staring over the edge of his ground, he considered he couldn't see the bottom of the fountain, it was not as deep as Lake Hylia, (he couldn't go some places in Hylia, because they were under six meters), but it gave the domain quite a challenge. Smiling a bit, he reached out for the bottle and popped the cork upon the bottle.  
  
With a flip of the wrist, the fish fell upon the ground in a splash of water. Since the bottle wasn't that deep, the water soon evaporated in the hot sun, while the fish began to wiggle on the ground. Quite a sad sight, but with in two minutes the un-evolved Zora was dead as a doornail. Ten minutes flew by in a flash, the boy growling as he kicked the fish to the edge of the platform. It almost went in, which would have been bad, for no fish resided down in here (except the slumbering Jabu.) Crossing his arms about his waist, the boy sat down upon the ground and got into a waiting stance.  
  
Fluttering near his shoulder, she listened in silence with him, because she knew what he was doing: he was searching for something, trying to hear a tremble, or a rumble in the oceanic floor. Nothing at all came about this, but more grumbling from the boy. Ten sixty seconds passed by their eyes, before the last wisp of power came out, it seemed it took quite a while for the scent to come to the bottom of ocean. Good enough for him, for soon he was back on his feet, grinning a little bit. Rumbling went on for the next three minutes, obviously the ascent to the floor, and then a shadow appeared right above the surface. Seeing it from his feet away, he gasped at the momentous size of it, that made anything he had ever seen disappear from his head.  
  
Great Deku Tree-sama rivaled the beast, rising above it in height in length, yet that was a few eons old tree, and this was a fish. Finally when the monstrous beast jumped out of the ocean, landing its head upon the end of the platform, it breathed in the scent of the fish and searched around it with pupated eyes. The beast had to at least be one hundred and sixty feet tall, its total weight was so astronomical he couldn't begin to guess at it. Flushing, the face was right near him, so he could study the monster in its full view. This had to have been the God of the Zoras, but he thought that they worshipped the Goddesses, yet maybe it was like Daruina and Deku Tree, a symbol.  
  
Pale skin of the other Zoras did show that it was atlas half the Zora, maybe a full one, since he saw not a bit of Hylian in it. The pale skin stopped until it reached near the head, where hundred of rows of aquamarine scales aligned its his right down to the top of the tail that flapped tidal waves about. To see the view, the boy jumped back a few feet, catching Navi even further back than him. Giving a cute smile, he nodded and motioned for her to come over by his side, and finally when she did, he looked back to the beast to study it.  
  
Right on the bridge of his nose was a golden chastise of some kind. What it meant was a grown endowed inside of his head, so that it could never be taken off, but it was known that the thing wasn't naturally made. This crown was aligned with hundreds of jewels in front, diamonds at the very most, then near the sides were rubies and emeralds. The 'crown' stopped right about where his neck was, and then that was it for its royalty. No pupils were in his eyes, just bulbous orbs that rocked inches from their sockets.  
  
A fish backed from the platform and peered at the smaller fish, but it was strange, since the creature had never laid eyes upon a Hylian before. When the King came out to visit, they never called Jabu to rest, for he was always too busy slumbering and eating (his hibernation time was seven months a year.) Sniffing the food with great interest, instead of sucking the small fish up and opening its mouth, he raised his mouth as much as it could go, inhaling deep with great pleasure. What it thought, since the thing had fish scent on it, was that this was some sort of new breed of fish for him to taste. Sliding down his throat, the fish did, but it didn't stop there, for it began to breathe deeper and deeper for the bigger object to slither in.  
  
"It's gonna eat me!" Squealing, Link jumped up and began to run back towards the domain. No, he would get the Zorian King to open up, but there was no way he was going to be chewed up by some smelly old fish. Crying out when his legs stopped moving, he was lifted up in the air and sucked backwards, peering Navi off to the side, her wings begging her useless. Gripping the tiny fairie, he stuck her between her paws so if they did survive those teeth, they wouldn't be separated. Yea, a stupid little thought, but it was better than succumbing to the inevitable, he knew he was going to be sucked in.  
  
No chi magic would work upon this beast, so Link just curled himself up into a ball and gave into the darkness. The air pressure made his ears pop, as what had happened on the owl, only difference was that in the air he had been asleep, not he was in pain and crying out. Clawing upon his ears, he entered near the mouth, yet he noticed that Jabu's mouth wasn't descending shut. Maybe it was a twist a fate, irony, or just pure dumb luck, but as Link was sucked in, his face broke out into a grin, yes, he was not going to be eaten. Saying that same verse as the boy and his fairie were suckled inside, the mouth clasping shut after it.  
  
In actuality, the fish was more of a whale. Not that it was mammal, but it ate like a whale, for it didn't chew up anything that was knocked into its system, the antibodies were for that, but instead swallowed it whole. The fish, if being normal, would have caught the scent of the Hylian and stopped its actions, also the scent of the fairie, but something was very wrong with this Jabu. It's expression was different, a emotionless aura came about it, as if it was being killed from the inside, maybe it was, or being ready to be killed. This was the punishment of Dragmire, or so it seemed, nothing could escape it, and nothing was going to let the food out.  
  
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Fish of the Zorians was sucked all the way down to the stomach, where acid poured upon it, knocking it down into proteins; the same would have been for Link, if he hadn't grabbed the piece of skin right before the mouth closed. Hanging upon the gums, the boy waited until all the passageways of Jabu's body closed, before letting go and falling in some sort of liquid. Liquid? That couldn't be good. Leaping up, he brushed the liquid off his tunic (the special power kicking in and drying instantly.) Giving a satisfactory nod, the boy crossed his arms across his chest, opening a palm to let Navi out, and looked about.  
  
Pink was an understatement of the room. This chamber in what Link guessed to be his mouth consisted of gums all around the entire room, all pink, red near the top, and purple at the roof. Wading about the water, the boy looked back to his fairie questionably, there were no enemies about, which had quite frightened Link. Maybe they were smarter this time, had more stealth skills, and were just waiting for him to come about? Halting all movement, he gave a quick warrior's signal, and continued to explore his situation.  
  
There was some sort of door up ahead, looked like it was made of a thick flab of skin, but no door or recognition that they were even going to get inside the room. Near the door were a few harmless bubbles, so he ignored them for now, but also near the door was dry land, as he was in the wetlands for now. Staring up at the violet ceiling, a piece of a tooth was hanging about, rotten with plaque and yellow crust upon it. Shivering, he was interrupted from his thoughts by Navi's screams.  
  
She couldn't remember their names, but when the Octaroks appeared out of the deep end of the water, she had nothing more to do than scream. Yelling out his name with passion, she knew he wasn't going to make it, for that nasty ball of phlegm was already headed for Link's sweet young face. Firing out a chi ball, it flew through the ball, making it explode into hundreds of pieces, but it didn't stop there. No, not at all, the straight lance of energy went through the mucus and into the head of the evil octopus. Squealing in pure pain, it soon fell over dead, as its face was slowly disintegrated into ashes. The corpse slumped over to the ground, as its brother saw the action, firing a mucus ball at them.  
  
However, Link was ready, bouncing the ball upon his sword with direct accuracy. Navi noting mentally that before this journey, he probably couldn't balance a rock upon his sword, now throwing balls off with the dull end of a sword. When it clicked with ball, it reflected back and smashed back into the face of the octopus. Not like last time, so it gave Link the distraction he needed, and while it fumed at that he moved in for a vertical strike. Throwing himself off the ground, he trusted fate and landed down with the strike right at the base of its head and slid down to the end of its groin.  
  
Rolling forward, past the damage, and upon the dry land, the boy gave out a laugh, while behind him the thing brushed air of submission, blood pouring down its crown, glowing eyes, and through its mouth. Sinking into the only deep end in the saliva--yes, saliva, the thing sunk down towards the underworld with its sibling. Navi brushed past him, noticing the bubbles had turned from innocent floating, towards a mad rush at him, gasping, she was about to call out his name, but Link saw the bubbles and charged at them in a light rage.  
  
Striking the first one, it popped on impact, but threw Link up against the side of Jabu's mouth when he came in close contact. Gasping in the pain of the impact, the boy sheathed his sword and tried to go for a different impact of choice. Five other bubbles were in a line, hurling towards of them; originally there were eight, though. Looking over, she saw that Navi had cleaned two bubbles off in a quick chi ball. Grinning, he flipped back, right near the door while the slingshot pulled out for battle.  
  
Firing off a shot at the center of the bubble, it imploded inside of itself, no scream of pain, or even realization that it was alive. If he had to guess, the bubbles were inanimate before, but had been possessed by Ganondorf's evil magic. Seeing them directly behind each other, there were only two shots fired next, for each shot took two of them down at once with the right pressure applied to the seed. Finally, when the creatures had deceased their presence, he looked over towards the wall, calling out for Navi.  
  
"What were those?"  
  
"Shaboms, they are normal bubbles that have been corrupted. Feel no pain at all, like marionettes."  
  
"You.you pity them?"  
  
"But of course, having no soul at all." Smiling briefly, her aura reappeared around herself, and she flew up to the tooth with a bit of fascination.  
  
"Hey! Is that a tonsil, or something!"  
  
"No! Looks like a lymph node, but I sense no activity in it. Shoot it with a sling!" Flaring back to him, she landed upon his shoulder, watching with that eager presentation. If her accusation was correct, this may have been some sort switch that would open the pathway to the rooms. It seemed right, since there would be none of those switches you stepped on down here, as in the previous dungeons. Dungeons, that was a nice name for these places, they certainly weren't any utopias. Her mind sank back to the scene as Link fired a seed upon the lymph with bad accuracy, missing the node.  
  
"Missed, dang it! One more time." Pulling back, aiming right below with the band of the slingshot, he fired forward and sliced the shot with perfect accuracy. Grinning, he slipped the sling into the side of his belt (he thought he might need it later), and while doing that heard a sloshing sound. Spinning around, hand upon the hilt, he saw that the skin upon the passageway had split into four pieces and spread out into nothing, leaving an open path for the boy. Unsheathing his sword, the boy walked forward the few feet and stepped through the deep dark corridor. It seemed that the further he got in these missions, every door was usually dark.  
  
Fortunately, this one was only a few seconds, since the skin wasn't that thick around the ridges. It opened up to a large piece of land connected to the fleshy underbrush of its insides. No, not land maybe a piece of dried crust? Oh, this place was making Link nauseous, so walking to the small section, off to his write was nothing at all; it was as if the land to the right had been stripped off to a lower level. Peering over the edge, all he saw was darkness, maybe the stomach acids were down there? Whatever it was, he didn't want to be in the shadowy abyss. Clearing his throat softly, he turned around the study the cross-shaped room that seemed to have been ill tempered with, finally giving out the judgement that all was well here. Boxes were situated around the room, obviously things Jabu had swallowed, but nothing else resided in the air except particles of blue forming together.  
  
"Link, what're those?" Pattering about the area of the tiny water particles forming, Navi stared at them with a deep interest in her stern gaze. Not only blue, but also violet, other cool colours were surrounded in the underneath. Giving a slight shrug to the boy, not waiting for an awnser to his question, she turned back, crossing her arms about her chest in a frustrating manner. Not knowing whether to run, attack, or leave it be, the study of evolution had baffled her this morning. Just as she was about to turn back to Link and fly over, a popping sound approached, as if the space and time warp had been vexed.  
  
Solvating in spinning, the fairie turned a three hundred and sixty-degree angle, dashing back towards Link's side with a screech of fear. What had appeared was only a tiny little creature (soft and gooey), with a few tentacles stretching out in eight different directions. No eyes or any inanimate objects on the other sea creatures, this one didn't seem to acknowledge its own existence that was until it noticed Link. Fluttering through the air, the jellyfish's watery exterior seemed at a slow pace, picking it up whenever a current out small air would wish through the body. It would have made it too, but the child was faster, smarter, and more refluxed with fighting, so the thing never stood a chance.  
  
Plunging in quite rage, the hilt of the sword was the only part visible when it sank into the creature that could have fit in the palm of both of Link's hands. Now, that should have been the end of it, the jellyfish was supposed to have split in up different directions, dying of blood loss, but one thing noticed is that Hyrule had no beaches. As a rule of the beach, the jellyfish was a stinging invertebrate, so what did that mean? It meant that the retracted metal was really going to give the poor boy the shock of his life into the animal kingdom, where he was ready for it or not. Navi hadn't even thought of scanning the creature, so it was to both their surprises when Link collapsed on the wet exterior of the body.  
  
It wasn't even known how many volts of electricity burst through the boy, certainly not enough to kill him, or even that much of a electric eel. These little jellyfish were small, so they couldn't hold that much electricity at one that, which was to Link's quick advantage, when he collapsed on the ground with a scream echoing through the second section of the legendary Zorian God. Slinging the sword off to the right (slicing into the wall, making vile green blood slosh about and the room violently shake), his hands curled around his chest, throwing some bile up. Rolling away from the stink, the boy was on his knees, trying to sit himself up as Navi flew back and forth across his body checking him over.  
  
"What happened, Link!" No answer was given, so she slapped his face, making only quick few mumbles escape. Growling, a fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him out of the misery trip. Shaking his head a little, he tried to stand up a little, failing in the process, only to wet his waterproof tunic a little more. What's worse was the creature (which after checking was called Biris) wasn't like a honeybee when it strung, that monster was only a few feet from him.  
  
"Get away from him!" Shooting off a few manna shots, they bounced off the Biris electrical barrier that surrounded it, it seemed after each shock it grew a little and little more stronger. Standing her ground behind the boy, she began to fire off blind spells (which was pointless, the thing had no eyes!) All that resulted in was sudden stopping movements of the jellyfish, a quick glance around the room, and coming back. This only drained her own manna, but nevertheless she continued to launch the missiles at the creature. Coming just two feet before the fairie, she squealed and dived against Link's chest, hearing the heaving beatings of his rapid heard. This is it, one more shock like that and he's dead! He'll die and then I'll be ne-- Her thoughts cut off when the Biris gave out a squeal of pain.  
  
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"Stupid creature." Bending over to the ground, he hawked out another load of bile, losing the beautiful breakfast he had given in for this morning, splintering his foot supplies. Backing away from the mess of bile, a triumphant smirk formed around his lips, watching the slithering Biris struggle to get up off the Deku stick that was impaled inside of it. Onto of the stick was a bomb, so as he gathered a few feet away, holding Navi to his chest, the explosion inquired leaving only charred remains, when the spoke cleared. As Navi had been despairing over death, Link had gotten to thinking about the simple fact of science. The metal made the friction occur, so he got it in his head to use the Deku Stick instead of the sword, sure it was now in nothing, but they had escaped the perils of the jellyfish. Moving up on his feet, the boy reached into his satchel and took out three heart containers, consuming them one after another. Gasping in the refreshes, he grabbed one of those magic tubes and threw it at Navi.  
  
She caught it with some ease, drinking half of the liter bottle and launching it back at him. When he had secured the bottle safely into his satchel, the boy looked over at her with a grin painted upon his face. Quick thinking is what had saved him, the barrier had been obvious, for when the electricity had formed, it seemed that thing hadn't shot anything off in quite a while, why wouldn't it conduct a small magic barrier? What no one accounted on was a Goron's special crop in its face. Watching her expression of amazement, he recounted on how he had figured out the simple problem in the thirty seconds they had to react to the situation.  
  
Embarrassment caught the fairie, usually thinking she was the one that was hardened in the fast situations, happy, but disappointed that she was outlasted by her guarded. Did he need guarding anymore, was he capable on his own, now? That answer was given when he threw up once more, whining out like a small infant, so quickly returning to his side, she forced him to drink another heart container to relieve the sickness from his body. Resting only thirty minutes, the boy was up again, and on his way by the time forty five-minutes had passed (getting up was hard, his legs had been numb, so he had to walk them off.)  
  
Across the corner, they ran into another Biris, but with a simple stab of the Deku Stick, and smashing its brains (or whatever was up there) in, he found out his shoes didn't conduct electric currents too, luckily, they had rested in a dry spot, or he would've been shocked. While taking his energy to come back, they had discovered another fleshy door to the right, where the land was cut off, but no way to reach it without plummeting to their doom. Deciding to take the chance of another door, their luck ran in, when another fleshy door was right in the room of this one. Grinning, he gave another look about the room for any signs of Princess Ruto, frowning with a start and slipped through the thin semi-darkened room.  
  
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H-how dare he, how dare he do this, the only punishment was death! The young female cried out at another one of those weird jellyfish appeared before her, shocking her wet body with the something of a grin of sodomy placed on it. It was stupid to think that, but she couldn't help it, when it came in contact with her pale, naturally wet skin. It was a much stronger current than what of the boy in the back room wood of felt was. Ruto would have gone searching for someone, she needed help, she needed it bad, but she was just too afraid to leave this room, but there were jellyfish here! Plus, the fact that the rooms were locked around her, as if concealing her from the rest of the world.  
  
Occasionally a huge Jellyfish would appear out of nowhere, but she would hide under the many layers of fat to escape most of the Jelly fish, that's why this room was so good, there were layers of room to hide from them, the jellies couldn't sniff you out. As luck would have it, though, this one had seen one of her arms lying out from the last night of famished starvation. Sure, the fish could survive for weeks at a time, but how long had she been in this once-playground? A week, maybe a week in a half, there was no way to get out a message for help, so maybe they would notice the lord's strange behavior and investigate.  
  
All she could think of was how that Dragmire was going to pay with his life, when she got out of here, she was the only who convinced her father to keep the stone (she'd have to marry him one day!) Shivering at the thought of marrying out of her race, she had always found Hylians, Gerudos, and the other race with the small ears to be a bit of a drag, most were too stupid in their honour to actually show bravery. All were usually stupid, running to fight a dragon with only a metal sword and shield, I mean, really! The possibility she was just looking over the stereotypical Hylian, but then why would they write those stories if they weren't true, those were history lessons, after all, or she regard them as it.  
  
Hylians she could stand to be around, Gerudos were different on the other hand. She had seen only one other Gerudo in her life, a few weeks before Ganondorf came around, some Gerudo tried to attack the palace, it was really sad because the ratio of people were 1 thief to 10 Zoras. The Zorians may not have had an army like the Hylians, but they sure as well had their guards in such respectful duties. The King didn't believe in knighting guards (for they were all equally important in his eyes), so a guard was trained just as well as a Hylian knight would have been, receiving the extensive spear training.  
  
Now here she was, curled under a layer of fat, her arms wrapped around herself in a quick ball, while this damned jellyfish kept pulling its tentacle under the small hole. A hole that had formed when he crawled in, poking her little fanny with it, making each shock more unbeatable than the next, sure she had only had a few of them, but they hurt so much. Squealing in pain from one that just occurred, she wished she had her stone, then she could bash its brains in with the flip of a wrist, but she just had have gone to lose it! Why couldn't she have worn something with pockets, well, it was known the Zoras were always known, since they could hide their genitalia, yet she wished she had had a bag or something.  
  
Unbeknownst to her, the same feeding situation with Link had happened to her; she had been playing around with the Zora God, feeding it a fish, which is usually lapped up sweetly. Yet this new Jabu had gulped her up in quick second, her jewel swirling through the air-flowing holes and falling down to where the stomach acids were. Sure, there were nothing in the world that could burn or melt her stone, but it was the thought that counted, she hated that her stone was gone! Disappeared in the blink of an eye, and now she was sitting her crying over some stupid tentacle. Crying out again, the cry drowned out the fleshy pop that only happened when a door was being opened. Her Hylian ears perked up a bit, hearing the squeals of five Biris, almost not containing herself when she jumped out of the hole, her face deadening with terror.  
  
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"Oh, no, not again." Slapping her forehead, the third they came upon was empty upon first vial, just a huge room with some swirling holes on the bottom, actually reminding Navi of those quicksand pits mentioned in the old stories of the desert, since she had never been out there. She had decided to leave Link alone while flying out to the scan the area, coming upon some Biris, which resulted in her yell towards the boy. Yet, that wasn't the worst of it, the worst was something she didn't even know what it was. At the right end of the box-shaped room was a green tentacle of some sort poking up against the end, hiding a hole. Whatever was there, seemed to be where they needed to be, and after a few manna shots, she saw that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.  
  
"What's up?" Jogging past the sticky holes, almost getting drained down one, Link appeared by her side and looked up at the hole with a bit of disinterest. It didn't seem like a monster, for from close view, he saw it wasn't really entrenched in them. A curvy green tentacle that stretched from the ceiling down inside the swirl hole it was pervading inside. Looking around, he caught a few Biris, making short work of them in a matter of thirty seconds. After each one, it left a soft squeal, not the kind that could be heard by anyone at all. It was as if they were decoys, so he kept his eyes out for anything strange.  
  
"Link, don't touch that one, we'll figure it out later. Right now we have a door and four holes we can venture into, my guess is that this will take us deeper into the Jabu.  
  
"It looked one level to me."  
  
"Probably was hiding some of its body under the water, I dunno. I say we check out the door first, then if we find nothing, we come back here and pick a hole, I'll go to check for stomach acid, and you can follow me if its safe enough."  
  
Safe enough. Glaring at her roughly, she giggled a patted his head a little. Letting the subject drop, he evaded the holes until he came to the center of the doorway, staring forward at it with little ease. Mm, when were they going to find this princess of the Zoras, was she dead or something? Just then his ears picked up some sort of muffled scream, and looked to the left, he didn't even have time to formulate a plan. Being thrown up against the squishy underfoot, Navi pushed him against the ground as a huge mass of jelly fell down where he stood. Picking himself up, he looked over at the huge mass, that could have been lifted in his hands, peering at it a little.  
  
"There seems to be no electricity coursing through its veins. The Biris had a special aura about them, this one doesn't"  
  
"My best guess is this is a home of Biris, maybe they live inside, try to strike it open, Link, but not with your sword. I think the things might still be active and would try and shock you if you so much as touch them with that metal blade, now is the time for the sticks, I guess."  
  
Of course he knew that, but the sticks weren't quite on his mind, the Gorons special crop were, so unsheathing his sword, he dashed at the monster with infuriating anger. Navi shouted out a warning, which he waved away, grabbing a bomb from the bag and starting the fuse. Coming in close contact, he slid the end of top of the jelly that led the Biris in and out, shoving a bomb right in the entranceway of where they tried to escape. Running back with all his might, he knew that not even seconds would count now, not because of the fuse, but because of the shocking that they would do to move the bombs. Those stupid creatures followed his plan perfectly, for when they shocked the bomb, it automatically exploded leaving no remains this time, but a black stain upon the fish's body. Chuckling a little, he had to cover his precious ears with his hands for the five screams that came out of it. Whatever they were, they were long dead, the screams echoing inside of his mind. Sheathing his sword, Link turned back towards Navi, grinning, but saw she was with a strange. Walking a few ways, he looked over at the stranger curiously.  
  
"Y-you! Who are you!" The female stranger announced, from the looks of it she was definitely a female Zora, about a year older than he was. Developing breast had already seemed to form upon her petite figures (making the boy stare away in shame), but before he looked down there, he got a good look of the rest of her body, quite surprised of the aftermath. She didn't really resemble the Zora in some ways, staring with the bulb that was sitting upon her head, stained a deep blue, with pairs of eyes on the left and right side. Upon her face were a pair of violet eyes, a cute little face, but a nose and ears that seemed to protruded from the Hylian descent, that was right, she had pointy ears like his. The only difference was she had some shelled skin around the ears (probably to stop ultra sonic waves, or piercing screams.) The rest of her body was as a Zora, even the flipper feet.  
  
"Who am I? Why, I am Link, was sent by your father to come rescue you."  
  
"And, I am Navi, his guardian. We are form the Kokiiri forest." "You lie, there is no way!" Her voice wasn't too bad; she just seemed to be in a very bad mood. Link groaned softly, looking up to her with a bit of a smile, confirming that they were indeed from the forest. It was strange how you can say you're a Gerudo, they believe you, a Goron, Zora, or Hylian, and they believe you. But a Kokiiri? Oh, Goddess forbid if you were one of those, maybe it was the way they were supposed to be extinct, and only a distinct few knew about them. Obviously they weren't going anywhere for the next few minutes, so he leaned against the wall and watched her.  
  
"Believe us or no, you are Princess Ruto, correct?" Navi chimed on, leaving her descent from Ruto back to Link was. The fish-girl followed them with a bit of a stomp in her step, Goddess forbid if she walked a few centimeters. This was exactly why she liked the system of government where they were from, no monarchs or any of these people with supposed 'high blood.' Zelda wasn't as worse as this girl wasn't; this one was just stuck up by her nose.  
  
"Fine, I will believe you--in time." She remarked with an evil grin, it seemed that he might have been from the forest. I mean, healing fairies didn't exactly turn blue over-night, plus the fact of his attire, the blade he bore, but the shield had her mystified, it was a Hylian shield, wasn't it? How could a boy so small carry such a large shield? Crossing her arms over her chest, she stomped her feet a bit cutely, trying to give on that tough girl appearance and began to walk away from him. "I don't need help!"  
  
Link jumped off the wall, running after her, grabbing her by the shoulder to stop her. Receiving a slap in the face, he blinked a few times and looked to her a bit confused. When he didn't seem to get it, she slapped him again and cried out in frustration. Mumbling something about having to deal with idiots like these around the castle, but a so-called hero had to be one too. Rolling his eyes, he watched her walk a few feet, until he noticed where she was. "Hey, watch out, it's a suck hole!"  
  
"I know what I'm doing--aiiiee!!!" A slurping sound occurred when she fell through the hole, Link was already in the air to catch her, missing her hand by such an inch, landing upon the hole. Grasping, he grabbed the speeding Navi and fell through the hole himself, wherever he would land was probably on top of her, so if they did fall in acid he would be saved the scars from it, anyway. Holding Navi tight, the boys looked down to see that there was solid ground, the princess just below him. Flipping his shield on his behind, he evaded her and slammed down into the ground with a clanging sound.  
  
Before even getting a look around the room, she had appeared before his sitting form, shadowing off a dark and sinister mood. Crying out again in frustration, she tried to slap him again, yet he caught her hand with his own. With the other hand she tried the same act, which he caught again, looking her deep into the eyes, giving her the talk of her own place. There was no way he was going to endure this torture, he wasn't some stupid wimp that she could push around. "I am not one of your cronies, princess, you slap me again and I'll slap you back."  
  
She was taken aback with fear. Never had someone actually threatened her with more than a punishment (he father, but she could tease him into stopping it.) How dare this lowly coward try to tell him on what she could do or couldn't do. Leaping up in the air, she put her feet into his chest and pushed herself off, flipping out of his grasp and landing upon he feet. She could of gone for the lower approach, but she wasn't that mean, she knew what boys had down there, Hylian or not. Sticking out her tongue in a childish manner, she giggled a little. Catching herself in the giggle, she looked down to the ground speaking something in her language.  
  
"Watch your tongue, princess!" Navi protested, letting out a furious growl for her size. It was actually small and cute, which Link looked down at her smiling. Nodding at the comment of "watch her tongue" he took it literally and jumped near her, grabbing her blue tongue out stretching it out a few inches. Struggling with him, she did, of course, it was only natural when someone was pulling her tongue, but she did need to learn her place with him. Finally letting her tongue go, after a punch to the chest (she was strong for a girl), he fell upon the ground in a series of giggles, watching as her expressions changed from anger, a little bit of joy, sadness, and back to that infuriating rage. "How dare you, peasant! I shall teach you your place!" Leaping upon his chest, she began to bang her fist into his chest roughly, making she boy shiver and tingle all over, before she could continue anymore, the fairie slung her off of the boy and turned him over onto his back. Where they landed was a small rock upon several others that stretched across a small landscape ten feet before. Throwing his head over the edge of the rock, he vomited for the fourth time in a while, but still, the excitement had caught him off guard. Gasping out, she approached him after he had cleaned himself up.  
  
"A-are you okay, Link?" Finally using his first name, he gave a smile and nodded a little.  
  
"I'm sick, I dunno, I feel bad because I got electrocuted by one of those Biris with my sword."  
  
"Oh, my goodness, metallic objects can intensify the electrical currents up to ten times. And here I was mentally complaining about one tentacle shocking me." Damn, there she went again expressing her fingers, with a small smirk, she told him to go ahead and handle it like a man, which to her surprise he returned the smirk and nodded off. Yes, there was something between them, she didn't know yet, but maybe a rivalry could ensue, they seemed to enjoy each others company, at least she did, in her case. He was fun, yet he was a Hylian, which was weird. Ruto wasn't a jerk really, she was just raised for high-blood, so it was hard to make friends with the other Zoras, and maybe what she needed was someone that could be as cocky as she was? If that was true, she had stopped her search, for Link's enchantment of cockiness was growing as he developed in his journeys.  
  
"So, are you gonna go with me, or not?" What was Link's general opinion of this Ruto character? Personally, he liked her a little bit more than Malon and Zelda. Malon was sweet and all, she just wasn't really a person he could be with, she was too girly, but the princess was just the opposite, she could be boyish. She even started in some of the training sessions that had ensued, getting him pinned several times, but she just had this weird thing about her, maybe it was royalty. It couldn't be, since he was with royalty now and it didn't seem to bother him. Ruto was all right in his book, yet nothing compared to Saria, Saria was girlish and boyish, she could be rough as a rogue, and gentle as a mother.  
  
"We really need to be going, princess." Navi had remained quiet through out the whole escapade. She actually enjoyed Ruto's company too, which was the opposite of Ruto, she thought that Navi was being a little meant to end their fun. Nevertheless, Navi did like her for the reason that she didn't seem to like Link in that way at all. From the first time they met, a gaze Link didn't seem, she saw that Ruto didn't really like Hylians or Kokiiris in this case. At least she noticed that it would be too weird for a breed already in Hylian in it, to bring another into the company, but another reason was that she helped Link in growing. He was a boy, and loved to get dirty and such, she loved playing with Link, yet she was so small. This way he could get out all his energy, and yet have no worries of hurting his playmate.  
  
"Alright, alright. Let's go." Sitting down upon the ground, she looked up at Link with an appropriate gaze of seriousness. He, on the other hand, extended an arm to lift her arm, but she didn't to seem to want to budge. Grabbing her and sitting her up, she sat back down upon the ground and looked up at him, arms crossed about her chest in anger. What did he do, he was quite confused at this moment, and scratched his head a little. Looking to Navi for some encouragement, she just shrugged a small shoulder, the veil off for the time being.  
  
"What do you want, Ruto-sama?"  
  
"Pick me up, Link."  
  
"But you can walk."  
  
"But I am royalty."  
  
"Do I look like I care?" Another argument, just great, Navi just went to his hat and watched silently. It was like those plays, the comedy was on, yet there was seriousness to it.  
  
".Well, no, but please?"  
  
Feeling a little weakened; he was about to, but straightened himself up and shook his head back and forth furiously. "Why should I?"  
  
"Because I said so?"  
  
"Not good enough."  
  
"Well, it's because me, I am naturally wet and can be shocked much easier than you. Please? Oh, please, Link?" She let out a squeal of joy when he reluctantly gave into her demands by sitting her upon his head, well, actually he sat her so that her legs were wrapped about his shoulders and she used his head as a stool. Groaning, he would rather drag her, but was surprised to find she wasn't that heavy at all and not much of a burden, plus the fact he discovered she didn't smell like a nasty fish. A flavor scent was about his nose, intoxicating him for a few minutes, which he pushed aside and gaped in the basement floor of Jabu. The tremendous room he had expected, was only the lather of it, only the size of the previous room above him. All around him tiny islands trenched around, some too far in the distance to reach, and some he might be able to propel himself off, if with the right blade maneuver. However, those all disinterested him, turning around, to catch glimpse of a flesh hole behind him.  
  
Giving a silent nod, the boy secured Ruto's legs around his shoulders, which she grumbled a bit, but stopped when he threatened to throw her off of him. Looking up towards his friend, the fairie gave a nod to proceed on, and gently kept her away from his had and upon his shoulder (Ruto was sitting on his hat.) Taking a few steps forward, pushing his hand against the hole, it opened up and light poured out into the entranced doorway. Moving in ten steps, a new room opened up, yet only a blind path was ahead for him, the path running over a corner, so Link couldn't view what was up ahead. Keeping his sword ready for any action, the boy walked the next few feet, rounding the corner, seeing the entrance to the new room up ahead, but blocked by a seemingly endless number of Shaboms.  
  
Reaching for a Deku Stick was next to impossible, and with the sword improbable, he had no choice but to rely upon Navi's manna skills, not that they were bad. Some fast shooting of the eight bubbles and she was back by his side with a grin plastered upon his face? Smiling brightly, the trio walked past watery remains of the bubbles, opening up into the room he had plundered for since going through the flesh. To his north was nothing but land, then a deep pit that went out a few yards, extending up to the other side was a matching path. Looking over the edge, he saw that the place had a tooth placed incidentally into the ground. There were vines around (or was that snot.) Oh, the corn silken lad was getting nauseous at these thoughts. Brushing them aside, he jumped down in the five feet deep pit, trudging across.  
  
Coming upon the switch, he was about to push upon it when the princess upon his head gave out a startled cry of help. Looking up at her, immediately in his general directions, he saw no danger, but she was crying out so he went through the water checking for any surprises. The shallow water was only less than a foot deep, so nothing aside bugs could hide in there. Sighing, he was sitting her down in the water, when again she cried out, so he sat her upon the tooth, staring at her. "What is it?"  
  
"W-water, I hate it." Wrapping her arms about her chest, she gave a shiver.  
  
"But you're part fish!" Throwing his hands up in frustration, he leaned against the side of the land (or flesh) peering back at her with diverted eyes.  
  
"I-I know, but this isn't water, Link, it's saliva and when I think about being soaked in it." Again she grabbed herself, shivering deeply. The reason the water had arisen was she may have been smaller, but the simple fact was she weighed a less than he did. The pounds upon her simply not enough to eradicate the surface of the switch. A solution popped up in his head; he could throw the five feet, couldn't he? Of course he could! Picking her up, standing upon the switch, he pressed back and launched her upon on the platform that led up. With a squeal she landed upon the ground, rubbing her fishy behind, and looking down at him with a bit of anger, yet thanks. Shrugging his slender shoulder, the boy jumped on the switch, resetting it deep into the ground.  
  
"I don't want to be covered in saliva, either!" He jumped from the depressed tooth and grabbed the vines of dried snot that were attached to the wall, and yanking himself up, peered over at the jump that lay before him. Yes, the vines had been to his right, so a quick throw to the northeast and he was home free, yet there proposed a new problem, one he'd never been aware of, just until now. That was the cry Ruto had given out a few minutes earlier. She may have been crying about the water, but when Link looked down, he saw four of five pairs of silted violet eyes staring up at him in orgasmic rage. Leaping to the northeast, his jump connected perfectly, leaving no time to celebrate, because soon the first of the group of monsters leapt up after him.  
  
Spinning around with the sword unsheathed, he looked over to Navi. "What is it?" She shrugged a shoulder, beginning to scan the enemy for any statistics. Meanwhile, he gave it a little look down, surprised it had been so menacing inside the water. It was true the thing was under a foot tall, just a discus of deep violet skin with an akin of crimson eyes staring him down. The ability of flight seemed present in it, somehow, so when it sped-dove at the boy, he struck his blade out in a menacing frontal strike. A screech of pain escaped the monsters as it was impaled between the eyes, the mashes of goo from its cranial areas seeping out between the sword. With disgust, he threw the monster back upon the ground, setting his sight back to Navi.  
  
"Stingers. As the name gives, they have electric based stingers on their bottoms, but don't worry about it. They are very weak. Since you took that one on alone, it quite a simple battle, but these next ones might not be." Did these Stingers read minds? After the second Navi finished her sentence, four of the Stringers burst from the salvia, pouring out of the water and closed in upon him. Disaster was spelt, as Ruto ran to the fleshy door, looking up to Link for some recognition. Nothing mattered at this time, anything was going to save him, and watching as they wretched in four behind position, electricity crackling through the end of each tail, he fell to his knees and buried himself with the shield.  
  
"Nai Sui Fo!" From out of nowhere, a whirlpool tormented out of the arisen saliva. As if claiming its young, the whirlpool broke into four tiny nozzles, gathering up the four little tyrants and pushing down deep into the surface of the water. Blinking with confusion, the boy had watched the entire episode from the comfort of his own shield. Not recognizing the words as a skill or chant of fairish, he looked to Navi, who was pointing behind her with her hands clasped to her cheeks, they exposing red. The princess had her hands extended forward, curving into a circle, the fresh memory of incantations fresh upon her lips. Giving a little smile, she walked over to him, patting him upon the head. "It's alright, I know you can't fight."  
  
"C-Can't fight! What are you talking about, and just what was that!"  
  
"The Nai Sui Fo, or better translated as whirlpool. I am a Zora, so I can conduct aquatic activities, not like a god or anything, but I can control some water substances. And, yes you are a wimp." Poking his nose with her finger, he snapped at her, making her jump back and sit down back upon her behind. An urge to throw her off of his arms and into the ground probed his mind, the good conscious pushing the nasty thought away. Best to leave it alone for now, his mind spoke to him, and yet he couldn't help but he infuriated at being called a wimp. How could she get off saying that he was a wimp? He wasn't the one who ran to the corner and who cries over water, but this only encouraged him to show off some heretics to prove himself to her.  
  
Without further hesitation, Link gathered her up and carried the blue-bulb girl through the door that stood only a few feet behind him. As soon as exiting from the tranquility of the room, checking the map for some explanations of the hidden room, he found something he least expected: an elevator. Yes, an elevator was positioned in the small room that contained only that and a pool of water below, something he compensated with stomach acid. He wasn't going to try his luck out, so he leapt the three feet to the elevator, when landing upon it, the thing sped up towards its destination, but where was? His answers were silently answered when he stepped back into a land of vagueness. Yes, he was back in the room they had fallen out of; the Biris still dead from before.  
  
Resting his assurance, no more of those stupid levels below anymore, he did not even bother to view the room over; there wasn't a danger around anyway. The room was led through in a matter of minutes, dodging some of the reforming Biris he hadn't noticed by first glance, but the big pod of a Biris wasn't hanging around anymore, he figured that one was dead as a doornail. Doornails didn't matter when he passed the path that the thing had preyed upon earlier, checking up for reassurance. No telling what could reform in the half an hour they had been wondering, his guess was just as good as anyone else's. Looking up at Ruto, he noticed for the first time she had sunk asleep. Silently looking over to Navi, she also was curled up in the collar of his shirt, slumbering for the battles to come. Oh, great, all the women sleep, while the 'wimp' has to stay awake and deal with the puzzles! Nah, he didn't really mind at all, it was better for Navi to recharge herself for some harsher battles, and Ruto was a princess, so she was used to pampering. Leaning against the crack of flesh right before the door, he rested his aching body from the small weight of Ruto. If they ever ran into the damned hidden room, he was going to put her in there and leave her until they ran into her stone, then they could leave this junk pile. She had explained she always used to play around in Jabu, but new areas had been completed.who plays inside of a huge fish, that was the million-ruby question that baffled Link. Repressing his leisure, he unleaded from the wall and walked infront of the door, taping it with the reverse side of his sword. A small squeal and the door opened up.  
  
In the blink of an eye, he had run into the center of the new room, since nothing was at the beginning, shaking his head in a sort of sad pity. Surrounding him north were three different pathways that led north, northeast, and northwest. To his west and east were two other paths, totaling in five different paths in one room. What's worse, was each was filled with the strangest skin he had ever seen, the skin seemed to be revolving back and forth, so if he didn't move quick, he was dragged back to the center, and each room had these! Actually, some of the rooms were blocked by various reasons, some needing more weight than he had, some with thinner tentacles like the one in the main room, and some just wouldn't open for films of snot were placed across the top. After checking them all, his choices limited down to only two or so. Then he chose the closest entrance, the east.  
  
As he was headed out to the eastern direction, something latching upon his ankle in a painful manner. Falling back, Ruto slammed into the soft call, coming awake in an instant, and gasping in fear. Shrieking, she sat down, pulling herself away from the helpless boy and back a few feet away. Turning around, he caught wind of some sort of parasitic insect latched upon his leg with its jaw seeping down into his ankle. Blood must have scared her, probably because they don't have red blood? His guess was blue, if any, but then again the Kokiiris didn't have peach blood. Reaching for his sword, finding it misplaced it saw that the floors had really been against him this time, for it was stuck in-between a hedge at least ten feet away.  
  
"Help me!"  
  
"I-I-I can't." She blubbered out miserably.  
  
"Help me or I die, please. You don't have to fight, grab my sword--!" Crying out, the grip upon his legs tightened a fresh stream of crimson pouring down in his boots. Ruto shrieked again, shaking his head and curling up into a small ball, shivering as best she could, crying her eyes out in pain. Cursing silently, the boy looked up to where his fairie was, yet she wasn't there. Gasping, he was about to call her name when the grip around his leg was gone, and something was kissing upon it. Down there was Navi, freshly charged from manna shot, but yet held up a small potion.  
  
"Wait, don't let it go.we need it." The cork was gone before he could even finish the second part of the sentence the potion was applied to the wound. It was so great that it needed to be or infection was a great risk, plus his running abilities would be hurt until then. Wrapping it up in a slick bandage, the boy tightened it enough and pulled his boots up enough so it would hardly be seen. They were saving the healing sprite for if Link went unconscious; it wouldn't completely heal him, but revive him and give him a good advantage point. Sure the wounds would leave a few scars, but those were expected. Besides that, it was all right, but his attention wasn't with Navi of the sprite, he turned towards the hidden Ruto, whom had since some out of her depressed manner, staring at the ground sulking. Now, Link's temper wasn't that great, so he calmed down when he saw a few tears pouring from those big eyes, looking off to the side and whispering her sorry. Nodding silently, he picked himself up, testing the leg out (which was good as new), and walked over to comfort her, only stopped by a fuming Navi.  
  
"Show some backbone! You should have gone and gotten his sword, if it wasn't for me that thing would have cut his leg off and killed him, then coming after you!" Her anger burst more than it had for Anju did, and the simple fact was that this girl had endangered Link in some serious trouble. Panting up and down, she noticed the cries, but only scoffed a little. "Grow up" was her only response to the tears, telling her if she really wanted to be a good princess, then she needed to not be afraid of a small centipede that could fit in the palm in her hand. Navi wouldn't even let the girl weight her evidence in, it just wasn't any good with Navi, and she had to have Link hold her, to calm her down, shushing her silently.  
  
While she was being shushed, Ruto collapsed on the ground, sobbing her heart's content out with every breath she could. Not holding anything back, she buried her face into the skin, crying out deeper and deeper for his forgiveness, that she hadn't meant any harm by it, it was just she was going to get it, but something had stopped her, something on his leg. Being picked off the ground, Link (after escorting Navi in his hat) wrapped his arms around the trembling Zora, letting her cry all she want, while he quietly whispered that the differences between the Kokiiri and the Zora blood. After a few minutes she was a little better, the sobs having turned into little sniffles, still curled up in his arms.  
  
Sitting in the center of the room, the only room without a moving floor, he reached over the grabbed his sword, re-sheathing it back down. Staring down at her, he saw she was about to burst into tears again, but put a finger up to her lips and shook his head silently. Another few ramblings of how much it hurt, if he wanted to hurt her, and about Navi rolled through her tongue, Navi having heard the things, of course. She asked how she could be so cruel to her, if she was mean to other people and stuff like that. Link found it hard to explain Navi to her, and he came out with "she's a very complex person", she has initiate, doesn't like other people sometimes, but she isn't bad."  
  
"You think she hates me?"  
  
"Of course not. Listen, when I first met Navi she didn't like me very well, either, she thought I was sort of spoiled by Saria."  
  
"W-whose that?" She asked curiously, now that he was sitting down, she was sitting in his lap, staring up at him with those eyes wide with curiosity. Link couldn't help, but smile and tell her all about himself.  
  
"Oh, Saria is like my foster mother, my friend, and my sister. She raised me, but isn't a real mother, she acts like one sometimes, and did spoil me a lot by keeping me inside most of the time and away from the others." "They didn't like you?"  
  
"Nah, I didn't have Navi at the time, I was known as "the boy without a fairie" until she came to visit me about, oh, going on two months or so now. " Smiling, he told her the entire story of their journey, how the monsters they battled, who they fought, about Zelda, Ganondorf, the adventures in Hylia, Daruina, and some of the Deku Tree. Time had really flied, for when Navi came out, she announced that the two had been at it for two hours. Gasping with surprise, he looked up at her with surprise, she giving a comforting nod. Her eyes were a bit red, as if she had been asleep, but the anger seemed to swell down. Looking over at Ruto, she smiled apologetically, which Ruto nodded and smiled back at her, extending out a hand. "Friends?"  
  
"Friends." Ruto answered back, taking the small hand inside of her fin one. So different between the races, yet so common that they would get along for the common bond to appease Link. Clasping both of their hands together, he smiled sweetly and picked Ruto back up, sitting her back on his head, first grabbing his hat and stuffing it down in his belt. Picking Navi up gently, she was sat back on his collar, where she could slip back to sleep. Looking forward, he noticed the two weren't going to go back to sleep for quite some while, which was all right with him, he rather enjoyed the company of them both. Picking his hat from his belt, he handed it up to Ruto, who put it on the top of her head and gave off a slight giggle, making the boy smile somehow in the dungeon of doom. He hoped another light would transport them out of here, the other way out he didn't want to think about. Shivering mentally, he turned towards the east and left the creatures behind, whatever they were, walking to the door to the east and stepping inside. On the way to the doorway a tooth was directed infront of him, when stepping on it with both of their weight it didn't even budge, yet with the strength of two people the smash swabbed open and mucus vines disappeared, letting the vines cling freely. Brushing the contents of the remains aside, he stepped inside the fleshy exterior, sword readying.  
  
As soon as they were inside the room, the door shut and another impenetrable mucus web surrounded their only exit out of this room. Sitting Ruto by the door way (telling her to remain there so he could check out the room), the duo was surprised only to find a bit of the room available, not very big in size, and consisting of only the wet surface ground. No chests, no monsters, no nothing was in here, but why was there a trap like before? Suddenly, his eyes widened and he jumped out of the way as something zipped past him, slicing his shoulder a bit. Sucking in a breath from the pain, fresh blood oozed down his tunic, not a very deep wound from the feel, but quite a little crimson tint. Catching himself in a roll, he spun around, intersecting with the Stinger that slammed into the hilt of his sword. Link's luck was in order; the monster had gotten his left hand, not his right.  
  
"Link, are you okay!" Ruto screamed from behind, her eager whispers in the language were futile in this room, it seemed the room had to be flooded like before.  
  
"Aye, I am alright, Ruto-sama. Just go back and--" His eyes widened as something propelled into his stomach, sending him slamming into the sickly tissue of the Jabu. A roar of pain surrounded the room, acting almost like an earthquake, which sank Link down, but also made the rest of the Stingers come out of the room. Ten were up and at battle, reading themselves for the preparations of a meal. Slumping up, the boy looked over to his fairie, who was trying to shoot meaningless chi shots at them, the futile of it making him bite his lips in frustration. Why didn't the magic work! "Link, they have some sort of barrier upon them, damn! My manna isn't affecting them in the least." Slinking down against him, her ears perked up. "How about the fire, Din's."  
  
"But, the surface is cold."  
  
"It's better than being shredded to pieces, isn't it?" Yes, that was true. Whatever these Stringers had upon them was obviously bladed sharp, and would mince him up in a matter of seconds. Fortunately for them, the butt to the wall had been used with the Stringer's head, only causing a small bruise to later appear upon Link's tender chest. Skidding down in the wet water, moving towards the end of the room, so the marks wouldn't affect Ruto, the boy waited until they closed in for the kill, before initiating it. Whatever happened would happen, he had come to accept that fact from now on, he might die in this journey, but he would give it his all, that was what he was: a hero.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Link!" Screeching out, her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. What was that idiot thinking! He was just luring them in, with a smirk upon his face, but she wouldn't let that happen, for in the next few seconds she began to glide upon the wet surface (using her flippers) to reach him. Only a few seconds it would take, but as soon as she landed next to Link, he threw her back across the landscape, so she sunk inside of the wall near the entrance. Fighting with all her strength, she just couldn't seem to get out of the accursed entombment of skin. No, it wasn't going to eat her or anything, but allowed her not to help her friend. Does he need help; he had a smirk on his face and was preparing for some sort of an attack? No, that was silly, he had no such powers, he couldn't attack.  
  
Angst threw out of her heart when the ten Stingers surrounded to boy in a miniature circle so all she could get from the view were his legs sticking out. Biting her lip in frustration, she cried out his name as loud as possible, the grip upon her seeming to intensify so to shut her up. Quieting down, her form remaining sunk inside of the flesh, she began to whisper upon the prayer, again nothing happened with her. Damn them, damn them, how was she supposed to watch her new friend die? Well, peasant, not friend-- no, not really. A yell of some sort ignited through the air, Link's voice, but not a yell a pain, something in another language. In another instant the entire Stinger collapsed to the ground.  
  
The silken hero was in the air as the Stingers fell some all at once and many of the others on the other spin. Submerged in the air, the blade of his sword was turning a bright crimson, while the base lit off a deep blue. Covering her eyes from the bright appearances, yes they reached over here, her eyes remained shut until the tenth scream ringed out through her Hylian ears. Hands clamped over her face, she peeked through them shyly to see that the boy's sword had obviously calmed down, but his hair was sticking up, swirling with the electricity of it all. Some had managed to sting them, that was apparent in him, yet no pain was reflected upon his face, only the static energy in his hair.  
  
Brushing back his hair with the dull end of his sword, the colours of the blade swirled down to the iron steel, as he laid it upon his side and stared back at her, but before heading back, something began to appear around them. Looking down with eyes wide, she saw that a yellow light came out of the flesh, not burning it, but hiding the flesh under it. Concealing from the light was a huge brown box that Link seemed oh-so-eager to look at. It didn't really impress her, but maybe he thought it was some sort of reward. Anyway, the light went away as he yanked open the box and took out some weird tool.  
  
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"Din's Fire won't work, Navi! I am gonna try the Rhiu-Kiyto, it doesn't drain as much, and will be more effective." Link was staring dead at the enemies, them just a few feet above the air, and descending upon them. He still thought that the fire technique would not work for them, but would only dissipate in the water surface, no matter how small it was. The appearance of Ruto had actually shocked him, almost glad the dreaded Jabu had imprisoned her inside the cage of flesh, the farther she was away from here, the better. Yes, he accompanied that stings would come before the blade would spin around, he did have to go 360 degrees before the blade actually shot out the manna in a circle, but then the technique went into a full rage of fury.  
  
"But Link, they have to surround you, it's dangerous! You know I don't have any special type of barriers for you." The barrier she could extend upon him, but it was only a mass of veil, not a barrier, and wouldn't stop the shocks of their tails as they shot through their skin. Seeing the determination sketched across his face made her give a quick nod, wanting to get it over as fast as they could. The mad fish were descending upon him and fast, there was no telling how fast they would counter in and strike both of them down; their only chance was the Rhiu-Kiyto. The last time she had seen Link practice it, he was pretty good, she so hoped he had been practicing a technique of the style that took out ten enemies in a row, there was no way they were going to get all ten, maybe five at the most.  
  
As if reading her mind, he gave a slight smirk. "I've added a slight reproach to my Kiyto technique, I call this one the Rhiu-Buijitsu!" Now the enemies had collapse in, only a mere five feet away from them with the tails just a brutalizing with electricity. Gripping around him, she didn't hide, no she wasn't going to do that, but merely stood right beside him, landing upon his shoulder so if he got shocked so would she. Link grabbed the blade of the sword and instead of holding it to the left, he placed it right infront of him, an aura of blue surrounding his body. A clear blue aura of innocence kept around him, circling her too, while the tails slashed in for battle.  
  
One by one they went in, each one connected with her and him, making her scream in pain, the boy not letting out so much as a peep, for that would break his concentration. Tears were moistened in his eyes when the second round of strings arose, his hair rising up all the way (since his hat was gone) the static waves showing their existence in high colours. As much as she wanted to get up and rub his cheeks, smooth his brow, or to speak to him, she knew she just couldn't. The shocks had actually pinned her up to his clothes, reassuring that she would not escape this espionage alive. After the third (and final) wave of stings hit both of them, she crying out again in pain, the boys opened his eyes, the aura spreading about them and surrounding each of the Stingers in it.  
  
"Now they die. Rhiu-Buijitsu, I call upon Naryu for the winds of the Goddess!" Screeching upon the last speech, he actually lifted in the air, his body becoming one with the air, leaving that old rule of gravity right behind with all the other physics laws. Spreading his sword out to the left, he didn't even have to charge the Rhiu-Kiyto. It automatically turned crimson; the edge of the blade, while the dull end blew out a mystical blew sound. Crying out in fury, the hero's sword spun around in a three hundred and sixty-degree circle, slashing half of the Stingers. Some of them tried to escape their destiny, but he just pointed at the sword, and shot out a quick energy ring from the side of the blade, by slashing their way.  
  
Turning around, the boy crossed his arms and gave out a triumphant laugh, a laugh that would make him suffer, for as soon as his back was turned something leapt upon it and drove the tail deep inside of the wound from before. Crying in pain, electrical shocks guttered through his body, the sword slinging to the side of the ground, moving out of his range of reach. Not that it would matter anyway, he was back on his knees with his sense becoming weakened, his own little mind thrashing for hope to calm himself down. No, I won't die! Ears didn't hear anything, the cry of Navi, the cry of anyone, all he heard was himself praying for his own health, and that death wouldn't succumb over his body.  
  
Only one of the Stingers remained, wanting to avenge its siblings for their destruction, this one quite damaged from the attack, but one of the smartest to duck of the aftershock that door out the most. Only half of its body was remained, some of it slicing down with the stinger strung across an open wound that had remained from the previous tortures. Crying out in fury and pain, it would avenge its siblings, it would make this little bastard pay for its crimes, and sending it deeper into the wound, the elf-child's cries were echoed through the valley, a barrier of electricity surrounding the two.  
  
Navi had to come noticed, for Link peered at her beating upon the glass, tears streaming down her eyes in pain. Wha?.why is she crying, Navi, it's alright.Then the second shot hit him, but gripping the side of flesh, it took it with full force, looking up to see a decimated little thing with its invisible eyes sensing him. Only one chance, this will hurt, but I have no choice, thinking the last thought, he leapt upon the creature stabbing his fingers inside of the creatures face. Ripping out the guts of the creature furiously, the shocking making him whimper softer than ever, the incredible pain was so unbearable, but he let it go. Dropping all the pain, the lad found the part of the jellyfish that contained the brain, smashing it within his fingers.  
  
A crackle of electricity bared out, spreading in an invisible manner before disappearing entirely. Without the source in place, the main power would die, so he was free. Stupid creatures.I hate them. Resting a hand forward, he groped for his Fairie, the skin upon him was still the same colour, parts of his body ached all over with reflecting. Gripping her, the boy saw her lips moving, but never caught the words that came out of them. Nodding his head incoherently, the drone looked up at her lips, trying to read them, but utterly failing in the attempt. Finally, the ignoramus ended up laying his head upon the wet surface, closing those eyes and passing out from unconsciousness, letting his dreams let through.  
  
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"Where are we?" It looked familiar, like a place he had already visited before in another life.or another dream. Painted garden walls were all around, the roses blooming out from the fresh spring, the area he was, but next to him was a separate layer of molten lava, no barrier between the two. Yet the smoke didn't touch the beautifully grassed lands, and next to the lava laid an ocean of organic colours, pouring out as far as the eye can see. Finally, he saw he wasn't in the forest at all, but on top of a small platform that reached up to the sky. Staring down at the three platforms, the images of three being appeared, them speaking in a tongue he couldn't recognize. Nearly falling off the platform, he stumbled over a little when a larger structure landed over him, a hundred feet taller, a castle matching that of Hyrule.  
  
Except there was no royal beauty with this piece of architecture, there was only energy of pure evil. The castle from second glance grew much taller than the Hylian castle, additional towers moving over and crisps- crossing in directions that seemed endless, the place pained (or stained) an ashen black. At the top of entrance stood a being with a flowing cape, arms crossed over his chest and smirking deeply with all concern, a deep chuckle left his throat and the scream is what awoken him.  
  
Link had been muddled together after the initial attack, Navi not being able to free the reluctant Ruto, went on the search for some sort of healing items. There were none, so she relied upon the 1st Aid Kit that Saria had posted for them when they were on the earlier quests. Thrashing through the aid kit like a wild man, she found some part of a potion, not that it would kill the pain forever, but for the time being, so she applied the part all over his skin and tarred tunic. Waterproof is may have been, but not thunder-proof at all. Applying some of the ointments to the boy, she let him rest for the following hours, until he finally awoken from the deep turmoil of sleep.  
  
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I ache all over, why? Stretching his arms out, the boy gave a small sigh, being bombarded a few seconds later with kisses of a reluctant fairie. Smiling, the boy bundled her up in his arms, awakening only to find himself surrounded in some bandages around the prick holes that the Stingers had damaged. Whatever was in this room, he thought he had earned it to say the latest. Sitting Navi on his shoulder, he slunk up his form silently and stared around to room, so find that a few of the Stingers were about, the ones without stingers, obviously, so they were harmless, yet he didn't feel that way. The turmoil he felt was to punish these creatures, make them pay for their crimes, assign himself as the reaper. Grinning softly, he scrounged around for his sword, raising it up and prepared himself.  
  
Wherever he learned these, was beyond her control. The power, the fury, the being was all inspired within that little heard. With one last slash to the left, he went around dissecting and finishing off all what was left of those dreaded stringers. The blade fell from his hands, as he collapsed in the cool water, grasping it before it hit the water (with just a little bit of shock than needed.) Maybe it was because the chi waves would have spread out and hit Ruto? That could be a possibility and a good one while he was at it. Feeling it was metaphorically was too heated to be put away, the boy stuck the blade under his arm, staring to walk back towards the princess he was guarding, when something began to appear before him. Grabbing the sword, he readied himself, while she began to form a line of manna.  
  
The "enemy" was actually one of those appearing chests, as in the previous dungeons. Quickly dispersing her hidden manna, she stared over at the boy, seeing the fatigue and worry in her face. Must have used most of his manna on that attack, I guess his first technique was weak, but borrowing the powers of the Goddess' probably took more than three-quarters of his power done. As he opened up the chest and dug through its contents, she grabbed one of the magic slots from his satchel (the one she had drank on before) feeding it through him slightly. Slurping up it, she also grabbed out the last of the ten heart containers, feeding him six and herself four. It wasn't like they were back at full strength, but at least they could survive some more fights (as long as it wasn't another ten Stringers.)  
  
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Was Lady Luck in his favor, or just some little toy was there? As he pulled out the unique tool, his face was that of curiosity, it was definitely not something he had ever lied eyes upon before. Shaped like the moon was sometimes--oh, what was it called-- a crescent? Yes, shaped like one of those, and pained upon an orange colour, the weapon was. A deep red jewel was fixed in the center of the crescent, surrounded by a line of gold. That was all for the jewelry, except the matching jewel on the back, but upon the left and right handles were two small green marks. Scoffing a little, he held up to Navi, just staring at it.  
  
"What is this, Navi-chan?" Looking to his left, he saw she wasn't there. H-had she been crushed! Gasping, he spun around, looking desperately for her, but finding no sign of her. Whimpering sadly, he was about to go out to the bushes to scrounge, but a voice broke his concentration.  
  
"Urm, hello? Let me out? Link!" Flipping his head to the south region, he broke out in a grin, staring up at the pale-skinned fish encased inside of the barriers of the flesh. The flash of the smile caused the scar that would be left upon his left shoulder to ache somewhat. Shrugging his capable shoulder, as if to test it out, he threw the weapon up at Ruto or towards to skin, to loosen the skin up. To unexpected surprise, the tool not only hit the surface, causing Ruto to land upon the flat surface, but actually spun around in the shape it was, returning to his hand only raised up to catch it. Staring down at the tool, Navi had finally caught up with him, and looked down at the tool, her arms covered with supplies.  
  
"Navi-chan!" Grabbing her into a tight embrace, the supplies from her hands bounced upon the soft ground, preserving them from shattering. Letting out a small giggle, he cuddled her inside of his arms. "Awe, you had me so worried, Navi, I thought maybe I had cut you up, or one of the bodies had gotten you!" Nuzzling her face gently, it was Ruto who broke up the sweet reunion with a simple question of her own, and what that was pondered on both hers and Link's minds: what in Hyrule was that thing in Link's hands. If he had to guess, it was some sort of weird pix-axe, that didn't use the blade, but that was he.  
  
"Ah, Link-kun, I missed you too. Mm, what you are holding is called a boomerang. I haven't seen one in quite a while, but if you throw it in the right direction, then it shall return to you. Those jewels seem to help direct the focus upon the persons chi, obviously, so I am just guessing, but that means it shall always come back to you, even if you don't try to catch it." Slumping upon her shoulder, they really needed to find that room desperately, she was tired desperate for some rest, and sick of these battles. It was fine and might that these were going to be the last ones she would see for the rest of her life, those thoughts really excited her. Her life with Link, oh what would they do, how would they repor-  
  
Focus! Focus, now, and worry about that later. Reproduction? Ha! The voice inside of her head carried on, stupidly, the fairie rolling her eyes to no one in particular. Ruto, however, was talking about something and caught the roll in the general direction. Gasping, she looked away with a bit of her hurt in her eyes, speaking out in a calm and malicious tone. Not really an evil tone, but one that had been seriously hurt. True she didn't like Navi more than Link, but really, she could have at least been respected in some general direction.  
  
"If you don't want to hear, just say so."  
  
"Huh? Princess, what do you mean?"  
  
"You rolled your eyes at me!"  
  
"I-I did? Oh, I-I'm sorry, Princess, I didn't even notice." Giving a snort, Ruto turned towards Link to comment, but all what was there was a distant shadow of the past. Peeking around, she ran towards the door when she saw him hacking away at the mucus that had somehow concealed them before. Now that the monsters were dead, nothing was keeping the snot hard, so it was quite easy to slice through it within a few minutes. As Ruto (trailed by Navi) arrived at the scene, Link had gotten the last good gunk off, pealing it off with the back of his sword (that was also smeared with guts, and blood.) He couldn't help himself, as he slunk to his knees and wiped it clean from the past battles inside of this hellhole, no he was strong, so he wouldn't break. The only person he could do that infront of was Ruto, but as he descended for her to climb upon his shoulders, she barely heard him.  
  
It was only halfway past the area, heading in the western direction this time, for tentacles like the other room blocked the others that he ran into some previous trouble. Out of the blue popped another one of those ugly creatures, his sword sheathed for now, the boomerang held at his side (something telling him it would aid better in this battlement.) Flipping backwards, he readied the rang as Navi shot out the name of his attacker.  
  
"A Tailpasaran, the centipede type, nothing unusual about it--wait. It said that electrical type so now sword types, use your new weapon Link!"  
  
"Mmhm, way ahead of you." As soon as it lunged at him, the hideous red furry body with insect-legs teetering in the air, he let loose the boomerang of jewels. As soon as the boomerang clashed against the end of the Tailpasaran's neck, it locked it up against the side of the wall, instead of returning back to its master. Link stared at it curiously as it ferociously tried to battle away at it, desperately trying to keep alive, yet squeeze through the hole at the same time. The blade held up, he couldn't see anymore-electrical spots upon the centipede, so he curiously watched her scan the enemy once more.  
  
"Confirmed, the boomerang knocked the electricity away. You can go in for the kill now, Link." And indeed he did that, without hesitation, he slammed the tip of the blade down the skull of the Tailpasaran, tearing its exoskeleton into shreds of remains. Not even a screech was rewarded with any final last words, only the thump of the corpse as it slid up off the boomerang and down on the swirling ground. Suddenly a small hole appeared and disposed of the body, maybe used for food. His emotions stayed roughly hatred, watching the wretched thing drift away, with a drift of good riddance. Staring up at Ruto, he saw her expression was soft and pitied, pouting of the young creature, then to Navi who nodded with her arms crossed around her chest. Yes, nothing could have stopped it; it was just a stupid creature anyway. Reaching up, he fiddled with Ruto a little, grabbing his hat and readjusting it upon his head. Grabbing her, he put her so her legs were around his neck and she rested right before his head, instead of on it.  
  
"You alright like that? You are kinda heavy on my head, don't want to pass out or anything." Chuckling, he patted her thigh tenderly.  
  
"Mmhm, I am fine. I-I'm sorry." Eyes moistened a bit, Ruto said.  
  
"About what, Ruto?"  
  
"About that thing, how I couldn't save you. I-I promise I'll do better next time-- I swear!" Giving a quick nod to the girl, he shushed her softly, telling her tenderly that it was all right. Matter of a fact, it was alright, sure he could have almost been killed, but the fact was that he hadn't been despised from this world, he was with his guardian and the princess whom he was guarding. Listening to the silence of the conversation, he figured it over, heading over towards the doors where the western edge was. Stepping upon the switch with both of them, it slid down and the magic-based mucus gave away, yet when he jumped off it was sliding back together. Frowning, he stepped upon it with both of them again, and the same thing happened again! Stomping his left foot on the switch, it popped down with only the slightest bit of weight upon it.  
  
"It's not weight, Link, it's mass. One of us has to stay back here and stay on the switch so it doesn't go down. Ruto, would you mind staying while me and Link check it out?" At first Navi thought she was going to go on a rampage of how she was princess and she deserved just as much right out with the rest of them, than anyone else, but she didn't. Barely even acknowledging them, she sat upon the tooth as he sat her down, the door staying open when they backed towards it slowly, Link's eyes resting upon Ruto with concern.  
  
"Are you going to be okay, Ruto-sama? If you are upset over the bloodshed, I am sorry for it, but it's necessary. Besides, these creatures aren't real; they are the reincarnations of evil into the goodness of beings. The spirits are long dead, so there is no way to save them, I know it hurts to see death, but I do not kill people, for that I have sworn my life by. It's all right to be sad, Ruto, really it is. Just don't let it get you down too much, 'kay?" Smiling, he turned around and ran for the door, popping on reach, and ran through the door that closed when they were inside.  
  
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"Is she going to be okay, Navi?" Link whispered as they walked into the new room, similar to the Stinger's room, yet no water was there for them to hide. This room was completely empty, not a soul in sight, and since it was so small, and he could make an accurate guess it was all right for the time being. Moving over towards the center, the boy looked to his fairie, with compassion glancing through those brushed features.  
  
"She's tough, I think she'll be all right. Well, why all of a sudden worried about others? You have a crush upon her, or something?"  
  
"Not really, I am just worried about her, that's all." The trick had been a test to see what would happen, and since he didn't flush and look away stupidly like he did with Saria, it was really love. Ruto didn't seem to show that for the boy, either, so it seemed that this particular meeting was in her own favor. It was probably the species that didn't attract them together, at least for Ruto, she knew she couldn't fall in love with a Kokiiri, for one day she would grow wise beyond his senior, dominating over him, in the weirdest fashion."  
  
"Is she not pretty?"  
  
"Oh, no, she is pretty, one of the prettiest Zoras, I just don't feel that sort of love for her. I love her, of course, as a friend, but I also love Zelda-sama and Malon as a friend, also."  
  
"Well, what about Saria and I?" The question rose upon her lips, what did he really feel for her.  
  
"Saria? I love her more than anything, she was my mother, my protector, and my friend, I love her more than anyone I have ever met in my life, you equally." Breaking out in a small grin, he felt the pressure that she pressed upon him, but didn't give into it, he just shrugged a shoulder at the second part of the question. "Maybe I'll tell you anoth--" Suddenly he was cut off as something slammed him across the ground, unlike anything that was like the impact of the Stringers. Whatever did it couldn't reach him from that far away, so the boy tucked softly to the ground, crying out in pain. The moistened land fells upon his wounds, making the ones from before even intensify from before. Staring up at the ground, he saw what was a fifty feet tentacle staring at him with a face-less body, it was brown and slimy, from the feel of it all over his body. Wincing, he raised himself up weakly, backing against the wall to secure himself from further damage.  
  
"Link! Oh, Goddess, Link" Flying to his side, the fairie stared up at the tentacle with her eyes widening. She had thought the tentacle not a threat, but now they were dealing with it. Or a cousin of one, for this one was a mahogany colour, while the other one was a dark green. Detecting no marks upon it, seeing as it went up towards twenty-five feet up, so a projectile weapon was out of the question. "Link, I don't see a weakness upon this Parasitic Tentacle. I don't think there is a way, except magic." Her eyes sort of curiously warned him when she shook his head, reaching for the boomerang with a grin.  
  
"I saw a weak spot, right when it smacked me."  
  
"Projectiles won't work, Link, it'll slap it away."  
  
"Nuh-uh, it's got a tender spot about thirty feet up the road, that's why he is holding it in, so I can't access to it."  
  
"How do you plan on getting it?" There was nearly no way to reach it, surely he wasn't insane enough too-- he questions were answered when he grinned a huge smirk and shrugged a shoulder as If to say it was nothing. Nothing was certainly was an understatement for this; it was suicide, basic suicide. She shook her head, blocking his path, only to be pushed out of the way softly. No, no, no! She wasn't going to let himself get killed to get to a stupid part down there, it just wasn't worth it, and there was no way she'd risk it.  
  
"You won't make it in time."  
  
"I will, I'll dodge it after I throw the rang, besides, I need you now." I've always needed you, nothing can stop me now, I feel the fear of this place, but with you at my side, I can do this.  
  
"Need me, but how?"  
  
"I need you to go to the spot and light up with its aligned with my boomerang, then I'll throw it and duck, as you said the boomerang will come back to my chi level, so we have nothing to worry about, and I need your own soul with mine." Interjection of the souls may have increased the power of the throw, the momentum of the holding, and the breaking of however this creature would die.  
  
"But, Link!"  
  
"No, buts. I don't plan on dying, Navi; I plan on surviving this. As my correct guess there are two or more of these creepy crawlers about, we are gonna need to knew how to mess with them. I am almost out of magic, even though you filled me up, and my fire won't work on them, they are too oily. If this doesn't work you can kill me yourself, okay?" At least I hope so. Sealing the deal off with a sweet smile, the girl gritted her teeth, trying to steady herself for the answer, but it was no use. She had swept him off his feet and now they were going to head out for that simple place and die an untimely death, all on the account of her weakness and his adventure sense was more developed. She had noticed his he changed so much, it was quite ironic, but in the distant past he would have never attempted something so stupid or foolish. Not that he was getting dumber; his courage was rising, though.  
  
"A-alright. But, you'd better not get hurt!" With a quick nod, the boy let her levitate up right above him, but thirty feet in the air. The accurate guess on where the weak spot was, Link knew what it was, because the colours were a lighter mahogany, that implicated a weakness, or a colour where it slept. If his guess was wrong, then he was dead anyway, it was better than sitting here and waiting to become foot, Eh? Running up toward the center of the room, staring up at the slithering hole, he watched eagerly as it slid down the fifty feet and closed in the distance between them with only a pushpin of a difference in location. Even as he stared it up in the eyes, boomerang positioned in his left hand, the pain in his right and bruises on his chest crying out, he couldn't help, but laugh.  
  
The laugh was like the pistol-shot at a horse race; it was the time to move on with the prize in his mind. Quickly dodging to the left, he waited for his signal, the yellow light, that the signal had been found, it was weak indeed, and when to throw. For now, however, he had an angry tentacle that was even more pissed overtime he dodged six foot thick matching appendage. Throwing him to the right, the arm slammed down into the ground, causing Jabu to scream; yet it didn't seem to affect either of them in the least. Keeping his eyes on the beginning of the tail, noticing when it moved he, he reacted, and when searching for Navi to light up in the dark, so it was easy to dodge. Within the fourth dodge, the light lit up for him to throw him boomerang, so reaching forward he threw it around in the crescent shot, maneuvering under the tentacle, watching for the moment of truth.  
  
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Sniffling silently, the child had watched him enter the door, watching as the flap of tissue ceased back into a door, only seconds later. Sure, she was depressed, but what was she saddened by? From everything, to put it bluntly. The cowdarance she felt when faced up with a tiny centipede, the courage the boy showed, the insides of her fellow fish God, and even this environment itself. No, this was not the Jabu that she loved, not the fish she spent many times wandering in alone, this was some defect, some sort of monster. How could this be the same creature that used to let her wander his endowments with no fear of being attacked? The simple answer was that this wasn't it, or if it were, then it would soon be destroyed and/or cured.  
  
Flaps of Jabu's "doors" may have been thin on the first glance, but Ruto couldn't even seem to hear through the walls. Jumping off of the switch, she made her way over towards the wall and pressed her ear up against it firmly. Even with the incredible Hylian breech of her ears, the sounds through the thin wall weren't bouncing in her direction. Taking a braver approach, her ear pressed up against the wall, where in turn was greeted with the duplicate effect. Throwing her hands back in frustration, she sat back upon the tooth, the one that didn't even open, even when she was on it. Folding her hands about her chest, her mind began to melt down to some minor thoughts.  
  
What was going to happen when the two got out of here? Obviously, the boy was some sort of hero, she hadn't gotten around to asking him any personal questions, they hadn't known each other that long, why be nosy? No, she was nosy at this point, she wanted to know everything about him, what the Kokiiri tribe did, had they ever interacted with each other, that sort of stuff. She had never heard of the Kokiiri except through some history lessons with her professors, and even then the teachers were quite skeptics, saying no one could have eternal youth just because some "magical" tree kept them up and about. These were the same mentors that taught her how to summon her spells, really, how can one not believe in a mystic tree, yet teach the ancient art of magic? The situations made no sense to her.  
  
Was he going to leave after they got out of here? Well, sure he was, he was an adventurer at sorts, or that's what she recommended, how could he not be with that deviance smile, those moves from fighting, and that power! That mystical attack from which was from the Goddess that they worshipped, how could he learn such a technique. Having heard the name of the technique was different, it was some other language she couldn't understand, but had Zorian words in it. So confusing, so little time to compensate for it. Maybe a guard, or his father had taught him the technique, it seemed to be a real drain on his manna, hence the reason for his skin becoming light. His manna wouldn't last much longer, unless he had himself a green potion, but she hadn't seen those in forever.  
  
"Oh, Naryu, help me. Give me strength to fight enemies when we come in close contact again. But, why do I want to do this, I had never ever wanted to do anything this weird before, especially with a peasant. Why am I treating a peasant with such expertise, he may deserve it, but he isn't of our royal blood--nor out species, for that matter. Ohh, tell me why, great Goddess of wind and water, the procreator of physics." Nothing answered her sweet prayers, only the incubated breathing of the outer world. If Ruto had one thing on her mind when that scream came out, it was that she would never lay a foot back here again-- a scream? Yes, a scream so loud broke the sound barrier of the once proofed room, but it wasn't the scream of the boy she knew, it was the scream of something else, something in terrible pain.  
  
Maybe the monster that he is fighting. Oh, yes, there was such a monster behind the door, maybe it was its scent he caught, or maybe she could decipher aura, the latter seeming more ridiculous than its predecessor could. Laying eyes on the door, a great sigh of relief died through the winds of the great fish, as if a gargantuan burden had been lifted from its shoulders. Something happened then, something that she couldn't explain; some of the skin upon Jabu began to change. When she had been first sucked in, it was the most abnormal shade of pink that the skin had ever been, the roof a violent violet. Now, however, the skin upon the roof was a paler pink, while the matching skin had moved up a shade of two. Must mean he's healing, yes that was it, nothing else could explain it? Suckling of the walls also stopped, some of the creatures may have died, she really didn't know.  
  
Suddenly she knew in her mind that they were going to get out. From the beginning she had been skeptic, always thinking that this idiot would turn upon her, turn tail and run, or simply put her out of her misery, however now she held a certain trust towards him. Who cared if he was a peasant, a Kokiiri, or a boy, not she, she didn't give a damn in the least. All that mattered was that he was risking his life for her, and the best she could do was ride on his head. No more, no more at all, for when he got out of there she was going to hold his hand and walk by his side the rest of the way. Yes, yes, she was going too--ohh, a slight yawn entered her train of thought, circling her thoughts in a swirl of emotions. Just a bit of rest, yes, just a little bit, then I'll be good as knew. Curling up in a ball on the flat tooth, she tenderly rubbed her sides and gazed herself into unconsciousness.  
  
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"A perfect hit, Link!" Navi cheered on as the boomerang swung upside to the monster, slashing right across the more tender area, swerving around and re- landing in his hands. Grinning over to Navi, he gave a light shrug and stared up at the monster, the blow hadn't killed it, that for sure, but now it was seriously pissed, the tail began to swerve back and forth in hectic motions. Dodging each one with the right amount of accuracy, he later would grant himself the beauty in his evasion, for the thing was swinging so hard, it might have taken his head off in one clean snap. Shuddering down the sickening feeling, the boy back-flipped away from the tail's point of attack, watching it rise the extra thirty feet once again, holding itself at bay.  
  
Slightly chuckling, he leaned against the side of the walls, noticing a slight colour change, but nothing so immediate. Pulling out the boomerang, he noticed the guts upon the jewel, where it hit to the side, but a direct hit hadn't happened. From his guess, if a direct hit would happen, the might beast would succumb with a loud scream, either snapping off or dying, or shriveling up into an old weed. Pushing back his hat, the boy looked over to his fairie, trying to hold back the laughs. "Told you."  
  
"Mm, yes, you did. He is a bit slow compared to you, isn't he? But be warned, one hit with that may kill you."  
  
"Yea, I guessed that much. Round two coming up!" The second time around was much quicker, much more intense than the time before. Time seemed to slow down as each little throw it threw was dodged with perfect accession, sometimes slipping down, rolling to the side in the next moment, but hey, nobody's perfect. Rolling upon his back, the boy dodged backward, throwing the boomerang straight at the sparkled area where his fairie had returned, a scream of impact illuminating both of them in pain.  
  
Covering his ears caused the boomerang to stay up there, the jewel upon the rang was reacting seriously, responding to the contact of flesh it came out to touch. As it seemed, the weapon of its choices could hurt this little monster, maybe the reason it was so well guarded. Finally the scream faded off, Link reaching a hand out and the boomerang returned to its master, but by that time the monster was already dead. As soon as the boomerang let out of its skin, the tail slumped to the ground, turning a disfigured brown colour, then disappearing inside a swirl hole that appeared out of nowhere. Clean-up duty seemed to be on their side for a change, yet a strange feeling in the back of his mind told him it would clean up his body just as fast, if he had been the one punishable.  
  
As soon as the tail disappeared, a louder scream echoed through the walls, this one loud, but not so hearing-impaired. Link's guess was that they destroyed the center of the larger tails that were covering some of the entrances to the nearby doors. That might mean if they headed to those doors after disposing of them, then it was a good chance they would find an empty path to the room. Tucking the boomerang in his belt, instead the empty space in his side pack, the boy looked over to Navi with his eyes falling upon her with compassion, she had soon come down while he watched the incarnate of this creatures cruel fate.  
  
"Sad, isn't it?" Her words echoed like distant shadows.  
  
"Mmhm, it is sad. Shall we go, I have a hunch there are more of these, besides the green one, and we should clear them out as soon as possible." When he turned to leave, his eyes brightened up--no, the room brightened up. The entire room began to shrivel and form a new colour, a lighter shade of inner muscle surrounding the contents they were concealed inside. "Think that means he is healed somewhat?" Receive a small reply of approval, the boy walked over the nasty tail, stomping the small squiggling edge into the ground, before stepping before the layer of flesh, that led back to the old room.  
  
"Awe, she's asleep." Navi floated across her face, watching the little Zora slumber upon her guarding point, so defenseless it was cute. Picking her up with the power that Navi possessed, she put the girl up on Link's shoulder, which he took as if some sort of relief. Thanking his partner with a nod, he continued down the path, staring down at the tree exits. Whichever way they would go out to be quick and easy, but the hard part was to decide which way to go. Those paths were so slippery it was harder to get upon, plus sometimes a deadly electrocuting tentacle was awaiting them. Well, he guessed that they were lightning-based.  
  
"So, which direction?"  
  
"Northwest, it had the brownish tail."  
  
"You sure, Navi?"  
  
"Positive, Link, now let's go." Smiling brightly at him, the boy couldn't help, but shrug a delirious hand and give into her pleasures. Yes, sometimes she had the upper hand in his battles, sometimes she usually one, but there was the occasional night when he would win, the arguments usually tedious and childish (but wasn't that what they were?) leading to nothing real interesting. Maybe it was interesting, but served no purpose to the point in their adventures, usually a debate on the future, what happens next, talking to each other, and describing each other to one another in their own words.  
  
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A boring room waited them in the direction they headed. Though the northwest wasn't blocked from dangers, inside they found a chest with a compass awaiting them, but there was a sidetrack Shaboms were the sidetrack, for they had to defeat all twenty of them within a ticking distance, or the stupid chest would disappear. It appeared that after several times, the seconds were in the forties, that didn't give them much time for the exploding monsters, especially with bullets, but Link had himself a good idea. Sitting his passenger on the ground, away from the Shaboms, the boy flexed his muscles and prepared for the primitive attack. Not bothering to waste anymore magic, or a good percentage, on the Goddess attack, he would propel himself off the wall and help out.  
  
Running towards the wall, the lad leapt upon it, the rubbery substance using as a polar cap and retracting him away from his initial position. Flying in the center of the room (and the Shaboms), the boy threw his hands in the position of Din's fire, letting loose a volcanic blast of flavor that would stain all the bubbles with the crimson for the time being. With heat applied to their simple bodies, the stupid creatures easily gave into popping at the intense heat, each one popping before ten seconds were over. With the chest now free, the boy jumped at the chance to gather what would be next, pushing his left with the only element of the dungeon he didn't have: a compass. Gathering up Ruto, he gave the room one last glance, before walking out of it in a little unfit manner.  
  
Leaving the room with a tiny bit of disgust, he headed for the room to the northeast. In the distance, the boy and his companion saw a larger red tentacle blocked the path, so they headed up to the west, where the path was as clear as day. No holes to indicate that something were even here. Maybe he should have come here before the room with the boomerang? Yet as he came into the room, and saw the consequences, the boy was contented he had decided to leave himself outside without so much as the live-saver he had stuck inside of his belt.  
  
Un-tucking his lucky crescent, the boy entered the room where a larger tail stood upright out of the ground, guarding nothing in particular. Automatically he knew that was the tentacle, so he went in for the high- pitched kill, which was to his shock, not that much of a deal. The earlier version of the tails had been smaller, more agile, capable of better blows, but this one had to make the boy chuckle out in happiness, it was just too fat to be of any threat. It was true if that one knocked him once he'd be crushed, but that was problem, the thing just couldn't seem to hit its mark. Each time it came even close to preventing damage, the boy leapt to another direction to avoid the close combat quarts.  
  
Another one of its disadvantages was that the spot was even larger than ever, the boy trying the same trick of not holding his hand out to try and get an instant kill, that was where the downside laid in. A large figure also meant a huge neck, which led Link to be able working upon his body for fifteen minutes, usually with maddening swings, and drilling holes within the neck. Finally, the thing collapsed ion the ground as his fifteen turned into twenty-five. Staring around, nothing appeared, so he quickly took up his Zora with him, slipping out of the room before something else could be in its place for trouble. Another scream echoed through the halls, the boy covering Ruto's ears so she wouldn't awaken, and with that problem solved, he made his way out to the last entrance, the north. A hypothesis was that the green one would be there, which he diverse with the fairie on their way over there. When finally reaching the area where the red tail had been, he saw a huge imprint hole there. Staring down in the hole, all that was there was darkness, but he knew damned well that the thing had twisted and turned through the nerves to reach the room directly across from it.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Navi, t-there are."  
  
"I see them, take them out first, before you deal with the tail, just stay to the sides and you can avoid it." As he kept his distance to the sides, she stared up at the last one of the bunch: the dreaded green tail. It was quite the leader of the pack, for a group of twenty Biris surrounded them, not the big ones, but the more annoying small ones. Going with them with bombs was simply out of the questions, because seeing the green tentacle actions worried her even more, the thing was huge and agile. They found that out entering the room, the tail nearly slamming the door shut, if they hadn't been blocked, it would have been them getting the slam. Now in a direct corner, he targeted his boomerang at the first Biris and fired, if this didn't work, he'd try to escape for a new plan.  
  
The Goddesses loved Link! As soon as they came in contact with the boomerang, the jewel responded and shot out some light at the Biris, burning it into a mass of bubbles. This one happened to swerve around five of them, crushing them into nothing within a matter of seconds. Leaping up and catching the boomerang, he squealed with a bit of joy, launching it out again at the enemies. Only getting them in-groups of two, he managed to eliminate all the Biris in eight turns (the last Biris left was all alone and making a crying sound), but he showed no mercy to them, taking it out in just a few seconds. All the bubbles weren't like the Shaboms, they actually turned into purple bubbles, which popped on their own and disappeared in the oxygen, what happened to their bodies was beyond his knowledge.  
  
"Navi, it's working, it's working!" His cheers exploded as soon as they were all gone, running up towards the enemy with full force. This one had extended out the same fifty feet as the others, its thick hide protecting it in all places, yet the agility of it would benefit it in for a quick kill. Link liked the sound of it, the odds weren't in his favor, but were they usually? Throwing the area at the tender spot, the thing screamed out in pain, but sent a its tail right at him anyway. Hitting the ground, it scraped across his back, making him bite his lip to endure the pain of the slimy scales against it. No blood was drawn, but a huge scratch in his tunic appeared, some marks upon his back. Flipping back to the safe regions, he looked to Navi.  
  
"Now what, he doesn't stop with the pain."  
  
"I.well, we should, let's see." Sitting upon his shoulder, she gave out a loose shrug, before her mind widened up mentally. That was it, reaching behind his belt, she produced a bag and headed towards her enemy. Patting his shoulder, she floated up to the little thing, huge mark that was unexposed, closing the distance between it, which wasn't all that much to begin with. From past experiences, the monsters either didn't acknowledge Navi, or simply ignored her; the same was with this one. When Link came out and started to dodge the swift attacks of the monster, its most tender spot were left out for the girls' liking. Pulling out the bag she had drawn, she yanked out something big and black, pushing a button on it. The fuse of the bomb gave into the pressure; the pressure causing a chain reaction inside of the monster that mutilated it to pieces.  
  
Flowing shrapnel was repelled, by his shield that contained the two behind it, yet more and more guts began to splatter off in all directions, soaking the shield in a green mass of blood, possibly not the guts had stained it, they had leaked out at first. As the bomb blew up, Link saw the bag being thrown to him, caught it and got the shield ready, Ruto already under it, and later Navi zipped in. Pressed against the wall, it concealed the three from any kind of guts that would have given through, but also no scream was given. It was their guess, but maybe the bomb destroyed it all at one time no need for any stupid scream.  
  
Five minutes after the carnage settled down, he peeked the guard up, only to be hit with the small of the rotting dead. Wiping his shield off against the wall, he slipped it back around his face, the smell worsening. Must decompose pretty quickly, his voice told him, gathering up the Zora and continuing past the gut-drenched rivers that stretched out. They could have talked, but talk seemed so unimportant for now, the only thing that seemed to matter was living. No carcass was available for him to see; only the outpour of tissue, the skeleton (if there was one) destroyed into tiny shreds of pieces. Turning towards the door, he dodged the few droplets of the gunk that spread in big puddles. Finally moving past the pain of the room, he of course had no more rooms left, with only one more target in his grasp: to get past that barrier now, since the green tail was gone.  
  
Slinking past the door, checking his map for the part where the green part was marked down, he nodded a quick hand at the little mark where there had been something was now empty. Quickly grabbing onto Navi, the fairie silently dragged them down through the muck-hole, into a new room that opened up to the folks. No, not a new room, it was actually the same level they had been upon before, the level he had a conversation with Ruto the second time. Not at the same place though, this time they were onto one of the highest places that couldn't be climbed up without special equipment, and what's more is a door stood their way.  
  
"Should we wake her?"  
  
"No, Link, but I wish we could--" Groping the map before--she had seen this place--, and yes she cheered out as Link grabbed the map studying the out figures of where they were and where the map was marked red. Of course, he shouldn't have missed it, upon a huge structure and leading forwards into a room marked with the letter "J." Running forwards, towards the door, he stopped there and turned towards the smaller corridor that led to the door, pressing his hand against the skin of the wall. The thing was transparent, as it could be seen, so he simply slipped past it with Ruto in his arms since the entrance was so small.  
  
His eyes illuminated with brightness, the room seeming to transform from a glossy wet pile of mass, to a significantly filed room, the room mattered on with the flesh from the rest of the place. This meant it also had two large beds to sleep in, them made of the same materials the Zorians let Link use that night. All of a Link's wounds began to ache as soon as he saw the bed, laying Ruto on the blue silken covers of the right bed, limping to the left one on his side, sinking down into the covers. Sleep would have overtaken him, but it was too uncomfortable, and letting out a small groan of pain, the boy stared up at his fairie.  
  
"It's uncomfortable in her-."  
  
"Take off your shield, dummy." She had already unsnapped his satchel, laying it upon some of the flesh-made cabinets that were in the room. Dodging the shield that flew overhead, followed by the sword, she came to lay upon the top pillow of the bed, looking down at him on the same pillow, Hrm, no she wasn't sleepy either. Ruto was out for the night, or so it seemed for the time being, so she might take this opportunity to get to know the child, they had talked over the two months. Talking had gone on over the last two months, but Link went to sleep so early they never got into deep conversations, but now that he was asleep it was a personal favorite time for Navi.  
  
"So, tell me about yourself."  
  
Giving her a double take, he blinked. "Navi, you know me."  
  
"No, I don't, sweetheart. We talk and all, but I want to know about you-- your past memories and your future. I already know your present, hee."  
  
"You really want to know?" Laying his head upon the pillow a little further up, they were facing each other. Her laying backwards, and him in the frontward position, the eyes never seeming to lend each others sockets to contain each other in the moment. Lifting a hand up, she patted his cheek in approval, where he saw up and heaved a deep sigh, as if he were about to release something big, something so big that she might not be ready. Had she wished she had gone back on her words, or was he happy she had finally asked the question?  
  
"I knew you'd ask eventually, we've known each other for you to know the truth, so what do you want to know?"  
  
"I want to know about Mido, I used to live deeper inside the forest, so I never saw anything that went on in the forest, I really want to know about your grudge about him."  
  
Man, she really hit the nail! Seemed she didn't like to waste time and go over the most important element of the future. Shaking his head in disbelief, how was he supposed to word this, for he never had worded it to Saria, who had been there, but usually through the tears. Biting his lip for compassion, he was sitting in the bed, her held right above her face, inside his palms, where he stared down and recollected the story of how the evil Mido had extracted his revenge. The stupid little story that had haunted him since it had happened, never being locked out, but staying out in the open for any mind-readers to read. Reaching inside his satchel he grabbed the canteen full of water, chugging some down, handing it to the refusing Navi. Gulping down another swallow, he began.  
  
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"Goddess, why is she with him again!" Mido bellowed out, slamming his fist into the ground. That stupid little prick was with Saria again, no damnit, why? It didn't make no sense at all, why would she be with a pipsqueak like him when she could have a man like him, why love some under- experienced, under-aged Kokiiri. Gripping the Deku stick between his fingers, be began to draw upon the pavement that figures of them three, some stupid little triangle this was. How could she do this? How could she disappoint the leader of the Kokiiri?  
  
Sitting upon the top of his house, he was peeking over the top when he had caught wind of the beautiful Saria and the brat (only five years old) headed towards their house. The kid was so young that no one else would take him, and he couldn't live on his own, that was for sure, but Mido thought he needed to be drowned like the dog he was. In stealthy steps, the leader trailed the two underlings for the few miles at the house, waiting until they came out, and followed them on their way past into the Lost Woods. Those woods were so confusing around this time year, especially near the spring with all those stupid scrubs coming out from their hibernation.  
  
"Link-chan.you coming." The goddess sang out to the younger kid.  
  
"Yup!" Embracing the older child, a giggled escaped both of them before she lifted Link in her arms and continued through the maze, cold blood draining from Mido's face. Squeezing his hands shut, he needed some sort of plan to get back at Link for this, but what was there to do? If it was the winter he could dunk him in the snow, the fall in the leaves, the summer in the lake, but what about spring? Spring was more difficult for there were nothing around except Deku--which is it, pure genius!" his voice ringed out. Rubbing his hands about, the boy followed them until they reached the meadow, trailing a quick rock trail through the forest back to the village.  
  
Re-arriving at the village in less time than before, his first stop was right to the Know-It-All Brothers who accepted the privilege within their own triplet voices, then he visited a few of his other friends until the ground had expended from the beginning Mido to seven strong. Lucky seven, that was the number they needed to do this need, not that the child was very big, but temper tantrums were in order. Folding infront of the group, he began to walk towards the Lost Woods trailing over his thoughts out loud to them. "How shall we do this? Anyone have any ideas?" Several of them raised their hands, but most were idiots, so he called on from the smartest of the Know-It-All Brothers, baffling the child that they couldn't speak in threes.  
  
"I say we knock him out--first, and then do it."  
  
"Too easy, stupid!" Hitting the child on the head, he cowered under Mido, giving out a small bow of sadness. "I want him to suffer for his deeds, I want him to suffer for taking her away from me!"  
  
Lots of "hear, hears" rang out in the whistles, the group of boys banding together to take out their known enemy: Link. No girls were present because most of the girls still liked Link, he was such a cute little child, plus Mido doubted they could be as rough as the boys were going to be. Passing out weapons, each was armed with a Deku stick so resistance would be futile. Marching quietly through the spring sun, they searched the Lost Woods until they came upon the most ingenious spot, the hole was just right for him, the right size so he would slip in, but climbing out was impossible. The first task was to take out the little harem inside the tree, and that was when Mido went in alone with only a Deku stick at his disposable. "How brave" some of the boys cheered on, while others were trying to decide who would be the next Kokiiri leader?  
  
Unknown to the rest of the children, Mido had possession of the legendary Kokiiri sword, something he had discovered a few months back without anyone else's knowledge. Holding only the sword inside his back, the child shivered when the small scuffling of steps was headed his way, while he fumbled around for something to fight with. A pair of orange eyes stared deep into his eyes, causing the boy to let out a silent scream, falling against the wall with disgust. As the Deku Scrub turned around to fire a bullet at it, a shaky hand shafted the blade inside of it.  
  
Pure luck saved the boy from destruction; the snap of the sack had been done, so he had gotten a hold of the blade pretty quickly, dispatching the criminal. How ironic, he himself was a criminal invading ones homes, but sacrifices needed to be made for love. Black liquid poured down the blade, which he went throughout the room searching for more Deku scrubs (he wanted to scare him, not kill him; at least not yet.) No other scrubs were around the room, so after some quick rope-climbing Mido was back out of the room where a fresh change of clothes was made for him.  
  
The next plan of action was following the rocks, which happened pretty quickly, not a difficult task to deflect the monster's deku nuts to the stupider-looking scrubs, the one he killed was a long-nozzle, these the short weakened kinds that ran away when hurt. Only using the sword, not to give the sword's location away, they reached the Sacred Forest Meadow within fifteen minutes, to their luck with the boy all alone, no one was on the stump, but him holding her Ocarina in her palms, cradling it as if it was a child. Pulling his Deku stick forward, he nodded for them to march on his mark. Counting down silently, he cupped his empty palm together when they ran at him.  
  
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"How do you know all these details?" Navi wondered out of her mouth, looking over at him. It was nice to be here, the time passing within an hour or so, the information given by Link mystified her. How could he get this information, he wasn't there at all, he was back somewhere else, unless someone else snickered? That was highly possible, since some of the Kokiiri boys were known to be jerks. Not jerks, more like snoops, but which ones would dare tattle upon their great leader, the man that Navi had come to hate after the few confrontations with him.  
  
"I made one to squeal, and the sword is my guess, found the corpse later on."  
  
"W-what did they do?"  
  
"Well, hold your horses. Saria had told me to wait there while she went to do some stuff, water the gardens in the deeper part of the meadow, so far she didn't hear my cries as they dragged me away." Clenching his fist and gritting his teeth hard, he looked down to the ground with sigh of sadness stinging his eyes. No, not a sting just tears of pain that reflected the past memories. Shaking them away, trying to forget it and grow up, he knew that Navi was waiting for the story, so he went on with his recollections of the place. Giving in every detail, so no more stops would be given for the fairie, this was his story and he intended to finish it.  
  
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"Get him! Get that punk!" They yelled over, tackling the young boy to the ground. That ocarina sprung from his hands, rolling over to the side of the ground, hovering like an unprotected animal in the grasp of a snake's mouth, dripping venom of fangs ready to pounce. Little Link struggled, yes he did struggle at all cost, but that futile because Mido was sitting on his chest, the three brothers out with their arms crossed, and some of the other grunts holding down his arms and legs with both put together. Shrieking out in pain, calling out the pain and grasping for the name of his foster-mother, the child was clasped with a hand over his mouth, Mido breathing down into his face.  
  
"Don't you dare call her!" Backslapping him across the face, he burst out in a stream of chuckles, slapping him over and over again. The sadistic touches each time making more and more tears stream from his cheeks, all the way being muzzled by another hand when he took both hands and smashed them into the tender cheeks. Blood began to stream down from his mouth, where he hit him in the jaw with some punches; his eyes already blackened from the punches of only Mido, when he nodded for the others to join in. They threw him over to the side pummeling him with kicks to the ribs, curses, and chants overbearing his cries.  
  
Not that Link could cry anymore, his sobs were silently when they started whispering before themselves, Link being lifted up by the shaggy-haired Kokirii, throwing him over his shoulder. Either the crushed or tender ribs ached out loud a moan when he was rustled from the meadow and over outside of the maze, being gagged with a Deku nut when his screams started back up again. By the time he reached the special hole Mido had awaiting him, Link was convinced she wasn't going to turn out pretty, especially when he was thrown to the ground, only to be picked up by a vicious Mido.  
  
"This will teach you, little bitch, not to mess with my woman."  
  
"W-who?" He cried out in a choking gasp.  
  
"Saria, you dumb ass, my woman! You need to be punished." Before Link could say that Saria was raising him, he was shoved down a hole that led down into the deep darkness of the night. The tunnel slid on for what seemed like hours, wet water, and something else staining his smaller tunic at the time. Finally coming to a sloshing stop in the tunnel, he fell into a goop of goo, staring around in to darkness for some source of light, and since none was found, there he started to call up for help. Laughs were his only response to the eagerness in his voice, a creaking metal moving over the last place of light, shutting him off in complete darkness.  
  
Wrapping his arms about his neck, all the boy's thoughts focused onto the once lighted place. Nothing was here; he was going to die here alone with something he was slipping in. Jumping out of the goop, he landed upon some solid ground, feeling down with his fingers that it was a grass-patch of some sort. Link still had no idea where he was, he had never laid eyes upon a Deku Scrub before, Saria always able to dodge them or take a higher path up across the ledges when they came to the Sacred meadow. Saria.what would she think of me now, acting a wimp! Gritting his teeth together, gnashing the marrow back and forth across himself, he cupped his hands together, to echo it, and yelled out in a fierce voice that still matched his feminine one. "Let me out! Let me out, Mido! Let me out I am telling Saria!"  
  
Bustles of laughter exploded from their mouths, yelling down some words Link didn't think too highly of. What's worse been that somehow it was getting hot in here. Leaning up against a wall, he began to sweat profusely thought his skin. Whimpering, he curled his knees up to his chest, shivering through the tunic at the coldness, and hot weather in here, like some sort of winder and summer in here, his mind reflected. That would calmed down, but the bristle of brushes through the woods caused him to stare over at the ground and look around.no, there was no one at all, I'm just being silly. Another bristle made him squeal and leap for the tunnel dragging himself up there with his hands gasping the muddy tunnel. The brushes were getting louder and louder as it tunneled up the pathway to him. Sometimes slipping a little, he made his best way to the top, the thing gaining.  
  
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"What happened next?" Ruto piped up, looking over through the covers of her bed, the eyes glazed with sleepiness.  
  
"Huh, well, that was when Mido got what he--Ruto?!" Shaking his head, he looked over to the grinning fish-girl, she jumped up from her bed and landed on Link's looking him over before slipping under the covers at where he sunk, resting his head on the pillow next to Navi and her partner. The sleepiness in her eyes faded fast, maybe she hadn't been asleep this whole time, or maybe these people were fast sleepers, all they knew is that she was the one who had interrupted the story.  
  
"How long have you been up?"  
  
"Since I woke up."  
  
Rolling his eyes a little, he tried again. "How long since I started the story." Switching the position, he pushed Navi over so she was right next to their heads, so he could face both of them. Patting the energetic Ruto upon the head, she claimed that she had been awake before they entered the door, that the muck hole ride had awoken her. Now she liked the story so far, but wanted to know what happened next, since his voice was lowering under those covers she could no longer conceal her identity. Grinning up at him, she rested her head next to his, listening as he went on-  
  
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"That was good, Mido. Oh, man, that was the best!" Slapping Mido upon the back, one of the grunts watched his reaction, sometimes the boss got mad, but this time got a slap back on his back and grinned back at the grunt. Yes, this was his own idea, he'd thought it up entirely, why should anyone else take credit for his creative genius. Sitting upon the hole was a huge boulder, so he wouldn't be out for a few days. He can always live off the Deku feces; this caused the boy to crack up in a burst of giggles, echoing throughout the entire forest.  
  
Combined the throwing of Link's voices, the cackles of the antagonist, someone or something had to have noticed the trouble going on and warned someone to help. If it had been one of girls or remaining men (hussies), they would have reported it back to the Deku Tree without any report, but then again we weren't talking about normal women, now were we? No, because Saria was the one who caught the giggles from the boys, wondering how they had gotten out to the meadow without permission and why they were laughing. Laughter was quite contagious, so when she emerged from the bushes near Link, her grin turned down into a dreadful downcast.  
  
Rushing through the trees around the area of the forest, she opened the path where they would usually sit and practice the Ocarina, only to find her beautiful tool up against a wall, and blood sprayed across the green grass. Not just any blood, from the scent of it, it was Link's blood. Folding her tool into her pockets, she ran throughout the forest yelling out Link's name, hoping it was just a mistake, hoping that he had run into a tree and wandered home, but her hope disappearing when she was through the entire minutes later. Coming back into the forest and hearing the laughter road on and on down the road.  
  
Shall I check there? No, it couldn't hurt, couldn't hurt at all. Skidding into the bushes before Mido and his gooneys, she caught the conversation about how it was so good. Puzzled, she was about to go back to her spot when her name echoed through the ears of the eleven, that child looking up, peeking around until she was sure it was coming from the underground region. A squeak in the atmosphere made her start back at Mido, who was now sitting upon a Deku dung-hole with a rock upon it, then suddenly, it appeared upon Saria. Cracking her knuckles, she leapt from the bushes and upon Mido, slamming her fist down into his face.  
  
To say that Mido was caught off-guard was to say the least, but soon as she had the upper hand upon him, the boy had snapped his fingers while the goons grabbed her arms and held her down for the time being. The evil laugh returned as he knocked upon the boulder and began to mock Link in a singsong voice on how much trouble he was in, being up a 'shit hole' without a paddle. Saria had ignored the comment, taking the time to break free as he explained his situation, grabbing hold of one of her captors, and slamming it into the other. They fell to the ground, the rest of the group staring around at what the girl had just done.  
  
Diving for the rock, she was caught by Mido, who tried to hole her down, but ended up looking stupid when she slammed him down into the ground, while the others ran away like the chickens they were. Now alone with Mido, Saria preceded to beat the living life out of him, asking over and over where Link was, each time deserved with that he would die down there. Saria really knew where he was, just playing the boy on for the time being, giving him his punishment for the punch. The only thing that stopped her seemed to he the rustle of bushes underground, which she cried out in surprise, jumping upon the rock and beginning to yank upon it.  
  
"Don't just sit there, you idiot, help me! What are you--" Slapping herself mentally. Of course, the others had just ran away, and looking back at the Kokiiri boss he was out of commission for the time being. That wasn't what got her moving, it was a terrible shriek of pain that came from the underground: Link's cry. Shaking with the fear of losing him, her feet spread out, pushing up against the rock with all her might, but it just wouldn't budge an inch. No, no. I am not losing him! Spinning around, she desperately searched for some sort of device, something to help her in her pursuit. Deku sticks were spilt all over the ground, but they wouldn't work, if only she had some sort of-- a gleam in the corner of her eye made her turn around to the source.  
  
Oh my.Sucking in her breath, the bag that Mido had had was now on the ground with the contents spread for her own enjoyment, the glint having been caused by the lone sword. Leaping at her chance, she grabbed the hilt of the sword and spun around in a circle, landing back to her old spot. Sticking the blade under the rock, she used herself as a catapult to jump upon the sword as hard as she could. No good.I-it wasn't working, this is not working. How am I going to get him out! Letting out an Amazonian cry of frustration, she was responded with some slightly giggles, lightly pounding footsteps, and a cry of surprise.  
  
"Saria-san, what's going on?" Sati rushed up to her side, her other half on Saria's right side, staring at the rock with fascination. "What happened to Mido?" She placed a hand on Saria to pull her back from the rock, but Saria slashed out and began to slam on the blade harder and harder, building the steel piece into a harder metal, which was why now today the blade was made stronger. The force of the rocks had caused it to give in to its soft beauty, since the sword had never been used before, showing off the appeal of a war-veteran, one that had been through so many battles in her entire life.  
  
"It's Link! He's trapped here, help me!" Several more gasps of surprise cried out. Cocking her head back, she saw that most of the girls from the village were with Sati and her sister, maybe just searching for some berries and heard Saria's cries of help. Well, this was to her and the child's advantage, for the girls didn't mind the younger boy. Sati jumped up on the sword too, her sister placing the final spot on the sword, the rock beginning to rise just a bit. Others joined in by a group of them slipping under and helping lift the rock--although not much--off the ground. Only a few inches were open this way, so the rest of the group grabbed Deku sticks and stuck them, trying to do the same technique Saria had, but not sitting upon them. Those sticks were just too weak to stand the torture of that, but being used as a way of moving something--they were made for that--harder than most trees around.  
  
"Damn! It's only open a few inches! Sati! Something is attacking him, get him out!" Kicking the sword repetitively with each jump, she slammed her fist into the rock, crying out in fury. Yet another scream poured out, all the female forest kids perking in fear--Saria wasn't lying. A girl by the name of Jiu, the skinniest of them all, grabbed one of the smaller Deku nuts from her pockets and slipped her skinny arm down there--he would be paralyzed, but so would the monster. Dropping the nut downward, it exploded in seconds, causing all the noise to disappear, only the slight whimpering from Link. Returning to pushing, all that went on for the hours to be, but since none of the victims of the nuts were being attacked it could go on for hours at a time.  
  
Adrenaline perused the young girl, his foster mother, and she jumped upon the rock, slamming herself on top of it by jumping. The first time it budged in the direct a few times, the second time coming up and sliding several feet to the left, the sword shimmying off to the left. Falling inside the hole, her body slammed into the young Link, whose body automatically became undone with the paralysis activities. Taking him into her arms, she handed him back up to the other Kokiiri (who began to kiss and smother him under his wounds, like an infant.) The light poured in and down she saw that a beast, a Deku Scrub was staring up at her with appeasing eyes, just asking her to touch it. So, that thing hurt him, Eh?  
  
"Throw down the sword, Hati!" Sati's twin sister, the shyer of the bunch, silently handed the sword to Saria. She wasn't touching the thing, since her legs were spread across the narrow tunnel--letting her stand without actually touching it. Giving out a glance of hatred, like that of a lioness whose cub had been hurt, she put all her weight in the stab that did more damage to the creature than Mido had done to its counterpart. Sliding deep within the wound, black liquids slid down of its body, a scream bellowing through the smashed nozzle. Leaping for the edge, she pulled herself out, and spread out, throwing the sword like an Olympic discus player. As it sailed through the forest, they pushed the rock back into the ground, sealing the tomb, and proceeded to kick the living hell out Mido.  
  
When the leader was faced with the question of why he did the task, he said because that he loved Saria and she was paying more attention to Link than he was. Most of the girls (and some guys) all cheered them, congratulating them on the new couple--that was except Saria, she simply spit down on him and crossed her arms about his chest. Smothering him in a dung-hole, leaving him there with a hungry Deku Scrub, and attacking her were simply not reason enough to hurt him, that was no reason to do that. Dismissing his love for her as bland stupidity, she to this day would rarely visit him unless it was at the town meetings, the annual Festival of the Stars, or if he bugged her. Those were the only reasons he would see the beautiful girl.  
  
Also, she and the girls put up the gates, so that no one except the female of the Kokiiri, and Link could enter the forbidden zone. When questioned as if to why that was to be, they simply responded that he was better than the rest of the males, deserved more credit, and would be rewarded with that. Try as they might, the place was usually guarded by a Deku scrub who sided with the women, yes, they were capable of speech, at least the halfway decent of the race. Eventually a Wolvo killed the scrub and no one ever visited the place, except Saria and Link, who somehow could avoid the dangers and get past with Saria's song that soothed the beast. Other events between Mido and Link happened in those years they stayed together, but nothing that was savage as this one.  
  
Sure he had wounds, the wounds that had no reason to be there, yet they healed, just as wounds always did. Nothing to savage was done to him--a few tender ribs, one of them broken, and the bruises all over his body. Aside that, that was it, he smelt strange for the next month and a half, also had a mark upon his ankle. It was in the same place where the Tailpasaran had bitten, this the place where the scrub had chewed. With some healing herbs and a month of rest his rise to fame was all right, tightness came around it during the winter, but besides that, it always remained all right, not a limp or anything.  
  
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"There are other reasons I hate Mido. His arrogance, him thinking he is the leader, how he treated me for not having a fairie, and some of those things." Chuckling a little, he looked over to the two girls, eating off of his very words for the past few hours. Speaking of hours, his mind was getting a little tired, so without warning he simply slid the covered over his body and slumbered off peacefully. The faces of his two comrades broke out in fury, but the simple fact was the story was over, wasn't it? Yea, it was over, the story had been finished, there were other stories in the forest, but this one had been so hard on the boy, they (or Navi) hadn't had the heart to awaken him.  
  
"Aw, man! How dare he go to sleep on me, I really enjoyed that." Frowning, she placed her hands upon his shoulders, trying to jut him awake, when Navi tapped her silently upon the shoulder.  
  
"Ruto, let's just go to sleep, it's late--and we need our rest, I have the feeling we are close to your jewel, so if we get out sleep we can be out of her by the morning. Look a Link, he's pooped--we need him at full power tomorrow. You tired?"  
  
"You're no fun!" Grabbing a pillow, she hit the fairie.  
  
"H-hey, aren't you lis--"  
  
"Nah, nah, nah!" Placing her hands over her small ears, she began to hum a little tune to herself. Navi, infuriated, moved over to Link and on the pillow, sleeping right beside his face. Soon she was asleep, and the little princess was bored, wandering about the room for something, trying to open the doors, and going through his satchels. His extensive expertise of weapons was remarkable; each one different in its own ways, the only one she didn't trust were the bombs, and they just looked too dangerous. There she played with his weapons for a few seconds, before the room darkened, signaling Jabu was falling asleep. Stomping her foot hardly, she called out for him to open up the lights, only to be received with a long sigh of ignorance.  
  
"Jabu Jabu." Whining, soon the experience of sleep overtook her, but her own bed was so long away. Crawling up on Link's bed, she slid under the covers with him, wrapping her arms about his waist, sliding her head on his shoulder with a sweet sigh. So nice. she thought, sliding down into unconsciousness. Unfortunately for the two heroes, they did have silent nightmares that night, the elixir of the dreams had disappeared sometimes during the day, so throughout the night each of them awoke once (different times), looking over to Ruto with content and slipped back to sleep. Dreams only making up the happy thoughts of the land, each night they suffered with them, but only one or two, tonight being very lucky to live them out in peace. Ruto's dreams were always nice and innocent, like herself, the im-purifying thoughts of evil never penetrating her.  
  
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"You all ready to go." Leaning against the wall, he watched the two of them get themselves ready for the journey. Each one was wearing the same clothes as yesterday (well Ruto still naked.) Each gave a nod of approval and they took off outside of the room, the room led back into the room from yesterday with a door right to the north of them. Since Ruto was wide- awake, she walked along with them that were until they entered the new room, for as soon as they entered turmoil of trouble hit them. Sliding the skin through, his hands locked around Ruto's, Navi right near him, the trio slipped inside and stared up at the place in excitement.  
  
"Oh, oh, oh! Link, give me that, get me up there!" Struggling to reach to the top of the room, she jumped up and down to take hold of the small little octagon of land, sitting upon a top shaped like a dredge. Besides that little part of the room, the room was empty, but why did she want to get on it then? On top of the platform, with all its shining glory, was a sapphire shaped like a flower, adorned with gold all around it. Taking a few steps back so it could see the small piece, his immediate thoughts turned to that it had to be the jewel, of course, judging from Ruto's actions. I haven't asked her about the jewel yet.oh jeez. "What's that, Ruto?"  
  
"Jeez, Navi you can be dense, it is my jewel!" Squealing in content, she would occasionally grasp the ledge, but he thrown down for it was just to high to climb on by her. Turning around with those hips placed on hips, she stared down at the younger boy and gave out a huff of fury. From the look upon Link's face he got the idea and walked by Ruto, sword sheathed, lifting her up in his arms and placing her upon his head. Standing on his head was just the balance she needed! Now she leapt forward, the edge just above her stomach, and yanked herself up to the top of it. Sprinting for the jewel, she grasped it in both hands and cuddled with it, but her celebration was cut short when the platform began to rise.  
  
"R-Ruto! Jump down!" It's too late; she's too high. Jumping forward, he was pushed back by the edge of the platform and slammed into another wall. Slinking to his knees, grasping the bruise that had been pushed upon; the boy grasped his sword when the platform reached at its top, (becoming blended with the roof) a scream echoing out. Ruto's scream, he knew it from the sound of it, and clasped the edge of his sword, his boomerang tucked down inside of his belt. Finally the platform returned to its normal level, but anything looking like Ruto did appear.  
  
"Link.get back!" Shoving him against the wall, she guarded him as the huge beast jumped from the platform and down to the ground. Now from the platform to the wall was about twenty feet wise, which this creature was an inch smaller. Being so compacted against the thing gave it a disadvantage, especially when the spikes from the island stuck out and impaled the creature in its skin. The huge octopus cried out, yes, it looked like a cousin to the Octaroks. With a bellow of pain it took off in a different direction, a small orb across its rear was cracked open, as if a weak spots. Link would have taken it, if that thing wasn't so fast.  
  
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By the time he turned around, the thing was only a few feet away from him! Skidding along the wall, the shield held out in a worrisome manner, the beast pressed against the shield and compacted him down inside the skin. No air was given to him this time, crying out in the pain as his oxygen disappeared from his body. Swimming through the skin, it acting like an ocean of water, his thoughts went aside for something. How do I beat it, how do I beat it! Sighing, he looked along the edges for Navi, whom didn't seem to be with him for the time being. Slumping against the wall, he waited for the Octarok to come back around until he thought up his first plan, the thing slower this time, for the spikes had slunk in.  
  
When its' in pain it, it gets scared and runs; now it's walking. I have some time to spare. With another huge bruise of the shield going to be implanted on his, he threw it upon the platform and ran to the left of the circular room, keeping his distance from the creature. This way it was so much easier to think with the beast behind him, that he almost enjoyed it, but then his thoughts went back to how he was supposed to exterminate this creature. Was it the master of this place, maybe, since there were other Octaroks around, but then again what about the past masters? Each one had had kin of some kind, the Gohma babies, the Dodongo babies, and now the Octaroks? No, that's not right, the Octaroks were outside and I've only seen two easy ones!  
  
"Navi where are you!" Damnit, where is she! His thoughts turned to dread, that she was still in that abomination of the water. No, she had flown up when that happened, hadn't she? He couldn't think, the thoughts making him all nervous, should he save his fairie or go on and fight? His answer was given when the Octarok gave out a roar of pain spinning around from its general direction and taking off in a flash of speed. Seeing the crack on the octopus gave him an idea, the thing resembled an eye, and eyes were weak. Gripping the boomerang, he gave out a running speed towards the monster, throwing it right at the crack of it.  
  
Throwing himself forward, cursing silently when the boomerang returned to him, he regretted to notice the thing had bombarded over him again. Oh, no. My shield! Giving out a cry of pain when he was pressed up against the wall again, this time in full force, something tender gave way in his ribs, making him grip the edges of himself again, this time throwing himself out of the liquid in a few seconds. Spluttering the juice out, he threw the boomerang at the monster that was only a few feet away from him. A beam of light left the boomerang, piercing the creatures eye-crack that opened up to reveal a green light, it also turning a deep blue and spinning around.  
  
What's going on! There was no point in calling out; Navi wasn't at his side anymore. The beast began to spin round and round, moving in dizzying effects. It went on until it stopped, the crack on its rump facing him, and began to run away from him. Crying out, the boy grabbed his sword and threw it forward at the open eye, and a squeal of pain jutted out as the thing spun around, beginning to charge him. Biting his lip, he leapt upon the wall, but this time bounced up towards the platform. Grabbing himself up, the boy pulled his shield upon his chest, so to guard that area, looking over the edge of the platform.  
  
His blade was still stuck inside the giant Octarok which was bad, because now that he had exploited the enemies' weakness, how was he going to stop it without a sword? Tears of pain whistled down his cheeks, the pain from the bruises were aching since his heavy shield was upon it, so he switched it back in the normal position. Checking his boomerang out, he threw it out with skill, aiming with the tip towards the left, so it would swing around and hit it when it came infront of him. The rang whistled as he smashed into the monster, which in response began to spin around in a angry manner, giving Link his chance to pounce out.  
  
Jumping down, he landed on the spinning monster, leaning over the edge, and stabbing the blade in further. Green liquid poured from the already open wound, the monster crying out in pain again, but throwing him off as it bucked like a bronco. Gripping the blade, he landed right behind it once again, seeing it take off in maddening speed. This is getting annoying! The fight wasn't that hard, his experience coming in, so when the monster spun around towards him, about to blow, he threw the sword up and sliced right at its eyes. A mistake for the octopus, indeed, with blinding speed it began to spin around, not stopping for anyone.  
  
Damnit! He waited for his moment and launched the blade down inside the gut wrenched green area. It seemed this was the monster heart, for the final time it pierced the center, only penetrating the barriers previously. When it moved forward, the green light shut off, the remaining green in its remaining eyes disappearing, while the Octarok sank down in a mass of skin. One remaining sigh gave out from its nozzle before it lay down inside the mess it had creating, shutting down permanently. Now he had to search for his fairie, he couldn't find her anywhere before, but now was all right. Going over to the area where he had sunk in both times, the boy breathed back some air, diving inside the fleshy waters.  
  
That didn't help, the water was so thick that within ten seconds he had to pull his head out gasping for air. Using his sword as a desecrator, the boy hacked and slashed through the flesh (whining at the screams of Jabu), coming out to the area that he had been secured in. Searching around the empty area, he choked back his fears--staring down and diving back through the portal that swam back into the Octarok room. Bipedal feet landed on the ground, bowing his head in silence, a bit of honor to his former friend.  
  
Former? What the hell are you talking about! His mind screamed out at him in range. Regretting the former thought, his head bowed as he silently apologized. How dare he say something so vile, it made him sick? Biting his tongue, the boy stared around the room for some sort of sign or glow within the room, something that might lead him to the whereabouts of Navi. Gripping the sword, he jumped at the octopus and began to scrounge around him, to check his stomach for maybe her remains. It was a last resort, but he just had to give it his all, for there was nothing else do to. Closing his eyes and holding his breath, the lad dove inside the multiple colored guts of it.  
  
Not ever looking up, his nose was filled with the disgusting liquids, his eyes burning to open for the satisfaction of his whereabouts. Hands palmed around for some sort of body, some sort of evidence of her, but to his luck he came up with nothing. Pulling out of the body, the smells from the carcass finally gave in, Link vomiting inside of the dead animal. Wiping the bile from his lips, he sat down and began to call out to his former guardian.  
  
"Navi! Navi! Where are you! Please, if you come back, I-I'll be good, I won't complain. Oh, Goddess, Navi! Ruto is safe--I think, but what happened to you!" His voices were in vain, his throat growing tired after a while, taking a chug of the liquid, and cried out until his own voice becoming hoarse again. Sitting up, the guts making him wretch with pain, he removed his clothing and ran the rest of the canteen over the rest of the tunic, leaving only a little left to drink. Cold water, the saliva in the ground, and some good scrubbing got his tunic only smell half-bad, the guts knocked off of his sword, shield, satchel, and belt. Snapping his clothes and supplies, he secured the sword in his belt and the boomerang, so that they were at some great reaching places, for something else that came on. Something told the boy that wasn't the main monster of the boss. Maybe some sort of stronger minion to help it with its dirty deeds? His mind added helpfully. Mentally shrugging, his eyes reverted up to the top of the room, hopefully thinking she followed him when the monster came down. But how do I get out of here?  
  
Oh, maybe this is some sort of bridge. Climbing up the platform was stupid, but it might act as an elevator, so it was worth a chance. Luck gave it when he scaled up the carcass and landed on the island, the elevator's reactions giving in as it rode up to the top of the second floor. Connecting to the new floor, he leapt on the solid ground before the elevator returned to its original place. Taking a look around for his two companions, he couldn't spot a thing. Traps weren't in his path, or any monsters, hell anything to do except another one of those idiotic doors. Huffing out some breath, he grabbed his boomerang, for he smelt the electricity in the air, and ran out through the door, not even waiting for it to fully open.  
  
Nailing the two Biris in two shots, the toughened boy looked around his room, shaking his head with utter disgust. He was on a connecting piece of flesh, or so he thought the ground was, that led down into a spit valley, nothing down there at all. Another piece of flesh connected on the other side of the room, but guarded by two crimson wriggling things. Are those tongues? Why would a tongue be down here! Considering there wasn't a tongue down at the beginning, these must have been here. Thinking of nothing else to do, he was going to try to do the trick he preformed on the big Octo: paralysis.  
  
A few misses with the boomerang, but when he nailed the first it turned to purplish-blue colour as the Octo had just nearly a fourth of an hour later. Leaping the four feet to where the tongue rested, it sank a few inches, shivering with another wave of disgust. Staring forward, he hit the other tongue with the boomerang, storing it down in his belt before leaping upon the newest tongue just as the old one reverted to its sloppy manner of wriggling around. Being hit with saliva in the middle of the air, he landed on the second tongue and rolled forward the six feet length to the next piece of flesh. Another stupid door, these dungeons so disgust me. Bitterness was around, his jewel could be gone, his partner and new ally dead. Why shouldn't he be bitter? Slamming his fist into the door, a long whimper occurred before it opened up for him. Smiling a little, the force method was so useful sometimes.  
  
Just what I've been looking for! His next room was clear of enemies, but a piece of land stood out for someone to step upon. Grinning, he jumped on the new piece, it scurrying down to the first floor, connecting to what he had expected. Yes, the new piece connected with what he considered the main room and revealed that passage he had so long sought out for release. Ruto would have worked for the enlarged tooth, so he went around the corner to search for something to put in its place. A weapon would have also worked, but he dare not leave something so valuable outside, especially if it was something he might need in the near future.  
  
The pain in his leg deepened as he found one of the two boxes from earlier, picking it up with ease. It wasn't as if the things were heavy, it was just all the walking was taking some considerable amount of pressure on his wound, and since it wasn't getting any better when he set the box on the tooth, he sat down. Running through his satchel, he applied some stinging alcohol to the wound, throwing the old bandage off to the side, he wrapped the wound up once more and lay down across the area, searching the swirling amounts of holes upon the floor. Nothing to do but let it rest. What shall I do? There is always wonder what will happen if I happen to find her dead? No, I shalt think that, I shall not think such impure thoughts. Wrapping himself up into a little ball, as in his story from last night, he rested his head upon his chin, beginning to sob. Where is she?  
  
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Damnit, damnit! Where am I? I can't talk, what's wrong? Only darkness surrounded the young fairie, she could vaguely remember what happened from before. Yes, when Ruto had gone, she had followed as the octopus came forth, not even seeing it, trying to get to the child and the jewel. That was ultimately her demise, for when she was at the top, she saw something huge grab hold of Ruto, the girl screaming as she was dratted down into the skin. If Navi had seen the Octo then she would have laughed at the size comparison to this thing. Navi didn't get a good glance except an arm that reached out, a clear arm that would make her shiver with pain.  
  
When she was sucked away, the sides of the wall began to stretch out in both directions, preventing her with no escape. Going down towards Link, the portal closed shut on her, giving her nothing to do but cry out to anything that would listen. That was the last conscious thought she read, for now she was surrounded in darkness, liquids were about her, and she cried and beat within the walls for someone to help her. Wishing that Link were all right, hoping that he would not leave this place unless she was tucked into his arms. Sure it was selfish, but if Link defeated that creature that got Ruto, then she didn't want to be left in the belly of a whale her entire life. Digging forward, she noticed the shadows remained, but that she was getting somewhere.  
  
Maybe I have a chance? Hell, it was worth something, but this was getting her nowhere with her digging claws. Letting a barrier surround her entire body, she used her chi to power it so that she could literally drill through the flesh for a way out. Screeches of pain and thrashing around the walls came from the outside world, her hearing it, but not caring in the least, sure it would hurt. Nothing came easy, that was quite true for their case, no so much as Jabu's. Giggling silently, her voice concealed for some reason she wouldn't figure our, she only thought of Link, her determination that kept her going on through this hellish place.  
  
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Get a grip! Handle yourself, as if she was with you. A voice, one not that of his own, was speaking to him directly. Blinking a little, the boy looked up and stared around in the room, but it wasn't the room he had been laying in only a few minutes ago, he was in a blue room. The room was actually a small piece of ground surrounded with four platforms. Staring around, the boy caught wind of what was below him, a bellow of fiery lava, and above him was a sky with the sun so bright you couldn't even see the clouds. Sitting on the platform, he stared around the find the searcher of the voice that had commanded him, a feminine voice.  
  
Twitching, he felt something of a cold breeze surround his body, and turning around caught the image of a woman. Her back was turned to him, long blue hair cascading down her back, a pair of Hylian ears peering out. So, she was a Hylian, for her fare skin was so pale an adult she was, so Kokiiri was out of the question. The other alternatives were out of the question, even the more relative looking Gerudo. Walking towards her, he tried to touch her shoulder, the arm only going through her body, and jumping back, he gasped out loud.  
  
Spinning around, the hair over her eyes so her blue eyes shone out, malicious cerulean eyes. Crossing her arms across her chest, a white dress felt across her body, and she held a white want with a Triforce on it. Staring towards the boy, suddenly her face changing. As if warping in and out, the face of the beautiful woman was dropped that of a dark skinned man with red hair, the dress replaced with some black armour, and that of her wand was a huge double-edged sword pointed at him.  
  
Swinging forward, the boy jumped back away from her, but the ground that had been sitting on had shrunk, somehow, him grasping the edge of the land, hanging over the land. Staring down at the boy, the sword he gripped was drug across the smaller land, scraping down it with all his might. Floating above the land, the man with his face having only soulless black, grabbed the white of the land that formed into three separate triangles. A malicious chuckle began to form in his throat, breaking back his head to scream with laughter.  
  
"You shall never receive the God's powers, boy!" Throwing down his sword upon the left hand, Link's silent scream echoed through his mind, the hand flowing with blood. but something was weird, where the man stabbed was a Triforce symbol, with the left one glowing. On his other hand he freed, tears streaming through his body, but the man with no face had planned this, and he launched out an energy attack at the boys' body. The world seemed to into slow motion, his eyes widening with fear; the mouth cupped open in a pure scream of agony, awaiting his doom. While this happened, the man continued to chuckle, even as the fire of the energy penetrated his body and sent the boy turned into a small corpse.  
  
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Everything in the nearby distance of that room heard the loud scream. Each one roared with fear of what was happening, even if they were evil, the pure agony of that scream sent shivers down their spines (even the invertebrates.) Some pulled out and covered their ears; others looking for prey just sighed sadness and laid their heads upon the things they had killed, the once stalking prey having the lunch lost. Why with the terror, even Navi had heard it, crying out for Link to hang on and continuing in the distant direction she was going. The only one not hearing it was the shivering Ruto, who was trapped with a beast so hefty it wouldn't out large the Dodongo King, but twice as deadly.  
  
Shivering badly, the boy uncurled from the ball and looked over the room, where a small hole was in the center of the room, having been there before. Laying his head over the edge, you might have thought he was puking his guts out, but he just let the tears drip down restlessly. Pulling up with some strength, he reached in his bag for something to eat, disappointed to find nothing, so with a stomp of his foot he began to stretch himself out. The scream he had given, but didn't remember it, for he was still semi- conscious when it happened. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Link faced the doorway, blowing the mussed hair from his face, and ran through the door, hoping over the crate (which for some reason had a Lon Lon insignia upon it.)  
  
Pressing downward the hill, the boy stared around his surroundings, noticing that the walls were made entirely of stone. Strange, how did stone get out here, his thoughts rambled as he looked down into another pit of saliva, only this time he had to jump into it, for the landing spot was a good sixty feet away. Falling down on knee-deep saliva, his senses numbed with disgust while he stared up at the room he was supposed to go too.frowning that a pack of mucus stood in its way, but nowhere to sit something down. He could have easily gone for the other box in the following room, but there wasn't a tooth to set it. Then his eyes roamed over to the large pillar right next to him.  
  
It stretched up about twenty feet in the air, and not being able to see what was on it, he scourged the nasty mucus webs just like he had crawled across the similar vines from the Deku Tree. Reaching the top, and taking a view around, his eyes grasped as a pack of Biris was heading towards him. Biting his lip, he looked down in shame for not checking the room over. Unsnapping the boomerang, the lad began to throw the rang back and forth, missing some, but getting most of them. Still they plundered on towards him, looking for their prey with the tentacles crackling with shocking moments, desperately wanting to stick them into the young flesh for a bit of shocking sensations.  
  
Having nailed three of them, the remaining seven scurried infront of him, stretching out some of their stingers for full access. Biting away a cry, he watched them come closer and closer.so close he could feel the hot breath from their blind mouths, running down his chest. Curling up, his boomerang headed up, he threw one last shot at the monsters, only to be relieved when it somehow bounced off of the invisible barrier, returning to him. What is this? Staring forward, mouth gaped in utter surprise, the Biris were ramming towards him, but still ten feet apart. Rubbing the remaining sleep from those beautiful hues, he saw what was holding them back: webbing of some sort was keeping them from penetrating on his territory. Spiders, no there aren't any of those Skull-whatever they are around here. Maybe some sort of snot from Jabu, or the main creature of this place? Ugh! Whatever it was, he thanked the Goddesses for it.  
  
Not that his celebration went in vain, the things were starting to find out the way past it and turn the corner, coming towards him, but that was, sadly, their downfall. The largest was bunched up in a group of four, Link nailing them with two shots of the boomerang that took the duo out at a time, and the following happening to the other Biris surrounded in this place. Gripping his blade, staring through the light saliva web, he noticed a rotting tooth up past the barrier. Just like in the first room! Instead of aiming forward, he pressed his back near against the wall of the pillar and threw the monstrous crescent over towards the tooth, to the left. That caused the boomerang to swing over, smashing the tooth into pieces, and return back to his gripping hands, causing him to jump for joy when a sudden ding went overhead. He couldn't tell what had happened, but his hunch was that a door had opened.  
  
Crawling down the secured vines, forgetting he didn't check them like before a very fatal mistake, the boy would drop down each time, only to catch himself in his death-defying (or idiotic) stunt. For his pleasure, he didn't know what was happening, he really hated that Navi was gone, could be dead, and that the jewel and Ruto had disappeared all at once too, maybe if they had gone at separate times he would cope, but no! Falling the last four feet, he submerged in the saliva, pulling out with some retching sounds. Wading through the water quickly, he pulled out to the small hill that connected the room he had been trying to get to this whole time, scrounging it in a matter of seconds.  
  
Taking one good look at his clothes, wiping them off with the most prestigious care, the boy placed the sword in his right hand, the boomerang in his left. Something about this room gave him a pre-destined feeling, the same he had had before each major mass monster in the room, and it was about those Biris that really frightened him. Dodongo babies had been hard; the Gohma's had been tough, and now the Biris. Could that be the major boss, a giant Biris? It was possible, yet he had faced a giant Biris before, the ones clumped together in that single bounded shell. If it were, he'd have no use for his silly shell for protection. Grabbing the canteen, chugging the last gulp of water that was in it, he stored it back in its place, stepping up to the doors, sliding in them with that feeling biting at his neck.  
  
Darkness and a wet feeling overcame him, not at all like the saliva from the previous rooms, but something like there was something in here producing its own spit. Trying to get a full view over his position or something in here, he realized he just couldn't, that it was perfect for the enemy. This one was smarter than the others, that was for sure, Gohma had had dark surroundings, but she had revealed herself too quickly, the King going for a sneak attack, yet unaware at his demolitions disposal. The wetness was up to his feet, giving him a bad feeling if the boss was a Biris; he'd have to find some dry land or something to survive anything electrical that it gave out. His luck was answered when he came up the crust of Jabu, sighing with deep relief, his jovial expression turned to dread when the crackle assured.  
  
Suddenly the room lit up in a prestigious manner, as if it were a surprise party, him having the birthday. Covering eyes with a smooth hand, he peeped through the digits at what the light source was, backing up into the water with fear. Just before him was a creature, it didn't match the size of his former rival, but the deadliness of it gave off such an animosity he couldn't help but weaken in the knees. Giant Biris surrounded the monster, that stood the exact height of the room, its three tentacles connected to the roof of the room, while scullery legs jutted at the end of it. Chewing upon his lip nervously, he saw that the Biris were sort of like protective armour, as his shield would be if it could protect electrical energy. Sticking the sword back into its sheath he readied the boomerang, giving off the stance in a showdown.  
  
Those three slithery arms that connected to the roof were a deep crimson, glowing brighter and brighter with some yellow tinted in it. So the electricity is connected to Jabu, Eh! If I cut them--oh Goddess! They're not even protected! Nodding quickly, he stared at three violet tentacles that stuck out in the open, their distinct characteristics making him even more nervous, they were just as long as the ones connected to the flesh, but at the end they shaped into a cup with a piece of skin sticking out. Below the ray of tentacles was a head that matched the colours of the slimy appendages mixed together, but that part didn't matter, the lower region must have been the most futile, it was least guarded. He couldn't even spot what colour that part of the belly was, since it was covered with the monsters. It must have been done examining her prey, for soon it shot something from that purple appendage.  
  
Holy! No time to react, the bolt surrounded his body, tearing inside, making him scream in utter terror. These attacks weren't like the lightening he saw in the clouds on Hyrule Field, they would just torture you, not offering a sweet death, they always surrounded, not went inside. Whatever the little Biris did to him at the beginning of this place were nothing compared to this! Falling upon his knees, the creature closing in for the kill, Link could do nothing but examine the room, seeing some pots only a few feet away and scurried to them, wrapping the pots around him for protection, using his shell too, not caring what happened to it. Was that enough to stop it? It didn't seem, for soon the next shock missed him entirely, but destroyed the spot where all the last line of defense was: the jars.  
  
Oh, Goddess! First you take her away, put me up against this, how am I supposed too.my boomerang! His mind stuck panic, noticing that it wasn't in his hands any longer. Looking up and down, not caring that the thing was absorbing my energy from the fish to give out another blow, he came upon the rang that stood only a few feet behind the creature. Mustering up a hidden power he didn't think possible, the boy limped forward (dodging the next electrical attack by only an inch), rolling over to his boomerang and holding it over his face in defense for the new blow.  
  
Slamming up against the wall wasn't a nice way to go, the attack absorbing some of the energy, but not able to hold its own with him. Sinking inside a puddle of the water, the boy knew it couldn't help but start to cry. Oh, no.this is it, the water with intensifies the power and I'll be fried. His skin already had a few chaff marks upon it, but the water was going to kill him, he knew it. Closing his eyes as the tentacles crackled louder, he gave out one last breath of hope, aiming with blurry eyes at the line that stood above the attacking arm, throwing with all his might at the thing.  
  
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Oh, Goddess, Link! Flying through out the skin, the screams intensifying as she went at a faster speed, she had heard the first scream from Link and continued forward. His scream echoed long and hard as she continued to break the barriers deep within the Jabu. At first the creature had resisted, trying to attack her with those weak antibodies, but now it was actually helping open the skin so it didn't have to suffer any more pain from the chi ball (which was nearly running dry, for that matter.) When she had gone into hyper-mode it began to scream louder and louder, until its paths opened up to match hers so that she could turn off her ball and zip through at a faster pace.  
  
Finally the door compressed some sort of warp hole, not giving Navi much chance to think, it literally sucked her through the hole into a region that didn't look to familiar to her. Thoughts were washed away when another scream of her friend echoed through, this time in the same room! Spinning around, she caught wind of the creature from before headed over to Link, who was slumped down in a pile of spit from the creature. Being in the water, she saw the crackles of energy, knowing automatically it would shoot some sort of ancient Luminaries attack at the boy, that would fry him to pieces. No, I shall not let that happen!  
  
Flying faster than ever, she trudged the room just in time to see that the boy was throwing his new weapon at one of the tentacles that connected to the top of the flesh, absorbing the energy from Jabu (she guessed.) Unfortunately, his fate was bad and the boomerang was about to miss, when Navi stepped in and shot a beam of energy at the jewel of the weapon, causing some sort of chain reaction. Absorbing the blow, the boomerang spun in a ricocheting manner, coming to a complete halt infront of the right tentacle, and slicing through with pain. The bolt stopped dead in its tracks, the creature crying out as purple blood violated its skin, making it retreat for the time being. Falling to Link's side, she desperately checked over the semi-conscious boy.  
  
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".Up! Wake up!" A hard sting was delivered to his cheek. Feeling the pain return to his body, he remembered his situation and jumped up out of the water, dodging a lightning bolt, making him look stupid, for there was nothing to dodge. Not feeling the aftershock of the wave, he looked over to the Biris that had spread off of the monster, as it tried desperately to repair itself, more than that just getting anger off (the wound couldn't be healed.) Reaching his hand out, the boomerang touched his palm, but who had woken him up? Staring off to his left, he caught wind of his girl, she was standing before him with a worried look on his face.  
  
"Navi! Oh, Navi! You're alright!" Crying out in joy, forgetting the pissed off Biris and its master, he pounced the young Fairie beginning to cover her in wet, sloppy kisses, his eyes watering with the joy of the aftermath. Being prompted with another slap, he blinked a few times at the also wet-in-the-eyes Fairie who shook her head blankly, pointing up at the monster. It wasn't back to normal yet, its armour was still spinning around, not even trying to attack him. What was up, were they just there for practice, or could he?  
  
"Get 'em first, Link, then we can celebrate."  
  
"R-right, Navi. You are right, now let's go kick some behind!" Holding up his triumphant weapon, the boy looked over to Navi with the repetitive look on his face, some information.  
  
"It's called the Bio-Electric Anemone Barinade."  
  
"How do you get this information?" His eyes gazing dreamily at her, his wondrous face formed up into a smirk. She gave a nervous chuckle of embarrassment, covering her crimson face with her barrier, shrugging a shoulder.  
  
"Just do, I look into their DNA. Anyway, this creature is electric, but you see how its belly is covered up? I think that if you rid the armour of it, then we can attack that, why else would it be that way? I am just taking a guess, for this creature is more complex than our previous ones, harder to read, too." Nodding solemly, that was the data information, but he didn't know DNA gave names, and weaknesses, but anyway, he held up his weapon of mass destruction, charging forward at the armour. The boomerang was just as effective as on the larger Biris cousins, for each one did disappearing into a heap of bubbles as soon as he took care of them. A dozen or so Biris were compacted on the monster, but he only got three when the things compacted back on Barinade, invulnerable for the time being.  
  
Flipping backwards, the boy caught himself before slipping in the water, this time finding it easier to run from the shocks of the monster when they fired it at him. Only two of the tentacles remained around, the other hanging limply, but they were both shooting streams of attacks at him, making it harder and harder to dodge them. Navi stood at his side, dodging with him, and firing marks at the two tentacles, trying to disable them, finding the only way was to shoot the boomerang with a power-up attack and launch it forward. The only problem being that the dodging was making it too hard to shoot a Ki attack and follow up with a consecutive aim in only two seconds.  
  
Their luck ran forward when the monsters began to drain back in some, giving them a clear shot at the monster. Link was a little more chaffed, he'd been nicked during the dodging frenzy, so it took it back ten times when the ultra boomerang slashed across the second tentacle, the first one let go of draining the good fish and proceeded to let loose its Biris again, like an idiot. Maybe they had misjudged this one, for as soon as it let the Biris gone to go after Link this time, he took them out with some quick boomerang attacks, grinning when the monster was back in consciousness, only to find it without armour. Well, they hadn't misjudged the creature too badly, for it implanted its body from the neck down into the ground, firing off the last tentacle faster than anyone could imagine.  
  
Oh, no! Maneuvering past the shots became some sort of game for the next fifteen minutes, hiding between some pots that were around, the others that hadn't been destroyed. While this was happening, the thing would search helplessly for them, firing off in all directions, finally finding them. When all the pots were gone, nothing important in them, he was left with the simple fact of nowhere to hide, and it was good place for the monster to come back up again, this time with a dozen more monsters upon its body. Gasping in fear, the boy backed away from the creature, his eyes widened with terror, how were they supposed too? The invisible grin given off from the Barinade said it all: you can't.  
  
"It's armour, Navi, how do we stand it?" Another slower assault of attacks from the lone creature were given off once again, the boy dodging them with ease, since there wasn't but one of the tentacles left. Dodging them was easy; he even had time to throw off an energy-powered boomerang, that missed the creature. Hopping back and forth across the battlefield, eyes always trained on the enemy (something he learned from Impa), the boy questioned to her again. How were they supposed to stop a creature that could generate infinite armour?  
  
"Well, since the last tentacle is about to be destroyed, and she can't repair them, let's go in for the assault before we take the Biris out. Yes, while it is recuperating, only take half the Biris out, and we'll take the rest of the shots." "Are you crazy! That's ludicrous, it's suicide.it's.it's.crazy enough to work! Good work, Navi," Slapping her upon the back, there were a few more dodging, before he threw out the powered rang and nailed the part of the monster on its last tentacle. No more attacks of energy, it really satisfied the boy somewhat, and leaping forward, he handed Navi the boomerang as he launched in for the assault of the creature. Hearing yells of throwing the heavy rang, he raised the Kokiiri sword from its sheath, and beginning to launch attacks upon the creature.  
  
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Navi hadn't expected Link to throw the boomerang at her, but that was a better plan than hers was. This way none of them would get attacks, and then they could kill off the armour, and the creature much quicker. Swinging forward at the first trio of creatures, they quickly turned into the multi-coloured bubbles, disappearing into the atmosphere. Squealing with joy, she flew up in the air, making the Biris follow her, so they wouldn't stop Link with his beautiful caliber, the magnetism of this plan making her bit herself mentally. It wasn't that Link was stupid or anything, quite the contrary, but a tactician he could not be in some cases, this one of the rare times it surprised her to have someone like him around.  
  
All of the jellyfish swarmed up, excluding the approach of their fellow siblings and going off in single pairs. Great, more work. It was worth it, though, the loud screams of the Biris making her glad to be taking care of these minor pests, her guess was that this Anemone didn't have as many pairs of armour that Link thought she did. How else did it take her so long, she was scrounging them up, never did she think that they would be smart enough to punish her for her crimes. Whipping the rang forward once again, taking down the closest of the bunch, the boomerang was spinning around when it took out a group of three that had so idiotically paired together again for some sort of ambush.  
  
Ambushes were stupid with this weapon that acted like an electricity rod, and since Link didn't seem to need it anymore, she didn't mind taking it off his hands when he hauled it over. Grinning, she led them further away from the battle scene, leaving back a trail of dust that was so intoxicating that they just had to follow for a piece of the action. Some of them were thinking of coming in for some sort of ambush on the boy, but that was quickly taken care of when she sent down the boomerang again (this time charged) to ram three more of them that weren't even together. That is nine down, three to go! Her thoughts rambled on silently as she watched them with the eye of a sniper.  
  
For once and all, she atoned their sins once more by throwing the boomerang out for the final attack. They hadn't grouped together, but with her last bit of Ki pushed into it, she was able to smash them all into the trio. Jumping for utter joy, she caught the boomerang and stared down at the boy, whose situation wasn't as grim as hers, for somehow the tentacles upon it had come back and were shooting up more and more energy. Meanwhile its stomach (which was bloated with slash marks and blood upon it) was spinning around as it twirled like a ballerina in her last performance. Coming to a halt before the boy, he stared back at her, his eyes having a deep and determined look upon them.  
  
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Yes, Link's luck had been better than Navi's, that was, until this happened. The creature would bloat up a few inches each time he slashed it, having gotten in a total of ten slashes while it screamed and regenerated its own limbs. Now that the limbs were back, he had put his sword inside his belt and began to jump back and forth across the battlefield, and yea he knew if he tripped his leg would be sliced off. That didn't seem to be the big problem anymore, all that did was taking out this stupid monster, it was so invincible, how could such a creature possess such power? Finally coming to a complete stop before the creature, he was knocked with an energy bolt (not as powerful as before, a sign it was weakening), and slammed only a few feet away from it. Quickly rolling away from the next one, he was back upon his feet, his mind screaming at him that he had it all wrong.  
  
Look! It's not regenerated, it is sucking from it's own body.or something. It was true; the crimson tails were still hanging limply off to the sides, as the monster continued to fire bolts of its own energy. Okay, so maybe the thing wasn't just a drain creature, it just drained the enemy for so much energy, and it wasn't weak, for this was the energy it had after Link literally tore it to shreds. Blubber hung off of the creature, giving off a sickly display of its guts (no heart), but the rest of its body to him. Holding back to urge to throw up, he was greeted with the view of Navi, who promptly landed upon his shoulder. Taking a quick glance up, he noticed the Biris gone, but the creature wasn't even going underground.  
  
"What's happened, Link!"  
  
"It's sucking from it's own bod--" He was cut off again, jumping to the left with Navi tucked in his hand. Coming to a halt, he began to dodge the attacks as she spoke to him, to concentrate on his work to add a word of help.  
  
"Body, hmm? I took out the Biris, well, what are we supposed to do? Oh, Link, go in for an attack at the body."  
  
Is she crazy! "I CAN'T DO THAT! She'll shock me!"  
  
"Take a look, Link, she will not. Before she may have been aiming down at you, but look. Those slime tentacles were her sense of direction, since you took them out, I am guessing--this is just a guess--that she can't point down, so if you go in for the kill, maybe she won't hit you."  
  
"Maybe is a bad bet, Navi."  
  
"If she shocks you, it won't hurt as bad, look at her energy, she is so weak it's sad."  
  
"That is true.fine you wi-" Being shoved off in the general direction, he gave a growl at the Fairie with his weapon. Pulling out the sword from his belt, he slid under the monster--not under, but right beside---and began to slice and dice at the creature. Roars of pain went out everywhere, the spinning creature trying to grab him with arms that just weren't there. Heh.stupid creature. Navi's hypothesis was correct, for the bolts only came three feet within him (at the most), never even coming close to him; the aftershocks did make him a bit light-headed, yet that was resolved with some quick reflexes. Jumping upon creature, he slammed the hilt of his blade within the monster, which threw him off with a bind of its bloating becoming too much of a habit.  
  
The sword slung out of Link's arms, staying inside the creature, which it would remain until the monster blew up. Yes, the bloating caused the creature to die, with its hidden heart no where to be seen, the bloating was so immense that it was swell three times its own size, a limit that could not be mustered much longer. Link saw the opportunity of his winning, reaching inside of his pocket and smashing out a bomb. Pressing the quick fuse on the demolitions, he threw it straight inside the hole, leaping upon the ground and covering his own ears for the protection he know wasn't needed. If it had only missed the monster would have lived, but Lady Luck wasn't on Barinade's side this time, it was on Link's.  
  
Navi was at Link's side, covering under his hat with fear when the monster exploded with sudden passion. Guts and everything else flew across the place, covering Link and Navi (concealed under the shield) so the Hyrule shield protected them against any nasty infections. Breathing with a small sigh of relief, the bruises of his most horrible place, imbedded inside of his mind, he couldn't help but sling the shield aside and break out in a cry of relief. After all this time, it was really over, and he just didn't mean the leader's demise, he meant the whole enchilada. Everything was gone, no more searching for jewels, no more scars, sure it had been fun in the long run, and he'd remember it for his long life. Frankly, he was glad it was gone!  
  
Finding no where else for his acute weapon, Link stored the boomerang down in his satchel, snapping it shut. Giving a deep sigh of content, the boy turned around, only to find the familiar looking blue light, and a particular beaming young Zora. It was Ruto! Smiling, he pushed its sword back in its home, running up into the blue light, with the feeling of over wealth entering his mind. Navi was right by his side, and a silent Ruto stared on, her pale white cheeks now giving off the brightest colour of crimson ever seen. She must have seen the fight, maybe captured somewhere about, and saw the whole thing, probably seeing how skilled he was in battle? Fighting Shaboms was nothing compared to this creature.  
  
His expectance of the overwhelming feeling of instant restoration was promptly thrown away; sure he received the power of his accomplishments (smaller than ever before.) So the child decided that for the first two dungeons he needed to grow a lot, but for the last one he had had his fair share of strength, only needing a real small dose, the healing mystified him. Maybe it was because he would be healed at when his burden of this mission was gone, the evil Ganondorf wiped out of existence, and him and his fairie going back to wince they came. Stepping down into the blue light, all went white as day, as they were sent from the bottom room of the dungeon, out of the Jabu and to a secure spot.  
  
Landing on his own two feet, he noticed they were right on that huge slab of rock her had commented on mentally before. Yes, before them was the trees and that cavern he had wanted to explore, but instead was suckled in by the evil Jabu. Cocking his head to Ruto, he was greeted with the weirdest feeling he didn't expect from her: shyness. Yes, the princess was staring at him--no drooling over him-- with her eyes widened with excitement, the blush having been contagious in her skin, as both cheeks were illuminated, not to mention most of her face. Placing her hands back behind her back, she hunched forward, just staring at him.  
  
Smiling warmly, he took a few steps back, greeted with the satisfaction of the end of the ledge, but caught himself with a tug of the silent Navi, who was just as curious as to what Ruto's intentions were. It was quite known that she had seen the fight, why else would she be acting this way? She was obviously impressed with his tolerance of pain, the association of tactics and everything else about him. Maybe she didn't see me cry. he thought out with a shrug, staring back into her eyes, staring up at her. Only a few inches over her, they seemed to grow as her gaze grew more and more intense, flaring over his entire form.  
  
"Urm, Ruto-sama?"  
  
"YOU!" She poked him upon the chest, which he caught himself once again, glaring at her, but her tone had calmed down, her arms going back behind her back. "You.you were so cool! I-I couldn't imagine you could be this good, or this cool!" Smiling playfully, she reached against his chest, running her fingers upon them blandly, which caused the boy to flush and look down at the ground, while Navi's jealously began to show its true intentions. Ruto was ignoring Navi, not even having noticed her, when he pushed back with all her strength, giving the boy a might push off the rock, herself diving off the rock with such grace only a few seconds later.  
  
Splashing into the water, Navi following him down just as soon as he hit, the boy sped to the surface, sputtering out some water. Wiping the clear water from his eyes, he was greeted with a violet set of Ruto's gazing deep into his eyes, suddenly as whiplash did something happen, he realized just what she was getting at. Wow.his cheeks turned crimson, her cheeks having disappeared to the original colour when she dove into the water. Giggling nervously, he shrugged a shy shoulder and began to swim away, only to be leapt upon by some fierce limps, cocking his head to the left and seeing her upon his back. Gasping, he began to kick his feet farther and farther, trying to stay up, but regrettably sunk down deep into the water.  
  
Not even being prepared to breath he gasped for air, his mouth shutting just enough to get a few swallows when he sunk down. Being under the water was her territory, so the underwater breathing mammal stared up at him with those eyes glancing sweetly at him. One of the advantages of the scale was he could see underwater also, the reason he found the bottle in the first place, and staring back at her, he looked off to the side again, shaking his head. Pulling up towards him, she wrapped her legs around his shorter waist, her arms around his neck and began to kiss him long and hard.  
  
Navi had seen the tension this older girl was given, so when they went underwater, she took her time to breath deep and sunk under to water, only to be utterly surprised to find Ruto kissing Link. Growling a little, she grabbed hold of Link's collar, dragging him up to the surface, next to one of the limps he could take hold of. Emotions were getting harder and harder, as she cursed silently towards the little Zora she had claimed as a friend had. How dare she do something like that, especially to her partner, her friend, and dare she say it.her future lover! Not being able to stand it, the fairie flew up towards the sky, a few miles away from them and let out a tremendous scream of fury.  
  
Grappling himself up the huge tree, he sat down with only his legs in the water, the silent Ruto resting her head upon his legs, staring up at him with those eyes gazing. Sure, she was pretty, but no they were two different races and with Navi's jealous fits that wouldn't work out. Navi.where is she? That normal warmth's was gone from his side, looking up only to catch her flying upward towards the clouds, and biting his lips he heard the screech of terror. Ruto, however, didn't expect it and jumped at the scream, looking up at Link.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Navi, she can get jealous, sometimes."  
  
"Jealous? How?" She was still as innocent as he was, so the thoughts of him being stolen never entered her mind. Such thoughts were petty and would arrive later in her life, later when things didn't go her own way.  
  
"Like whenever I hang around other girls, or something. I have met a lot of them on my quest, usually girls, I guess it is because I am just a kid, and adults wouldn't mess with me." Chuckling a little, he reached down and petted her head, only to be rewarded with a small little sigh of relief, nuzzling up against his bare legs once more.  
  
"So, Link, did you want something in particular for a reward? A kiss, perhaps."  
  
"Hee, I already got one of those! But seriously.I happened to want your jewel, you don't happen to still have it, do you? The Spiritual Stone of Water." It seemed to be her personal jewel, so claiming it would maybe have to get some sweet-talk involved. Link didn't mind kissing her again to get it, it was his third kiss after all--this one was a bit weirder than the previous ones. One other kisses he had been with Saria and Impa, but this was weirder than ever, for her lips had a coldness to them, yet giving off that beautiful warmth of a kiss. Yea, he didn't mind Ruto in the last, there was nothing wrong with being a Zora, maybe a Goron, but not a Zora.  
  
"Well.my jewel. It did belong to my mother, and she said I should only give it to the man I would be engaged too. Alright!" Her face beamed with pleasure, reaching up from behind her back and producing the beautiful Spiritual Stone of Water. Her eyes seemed to intensify with pleasure, loving that he would be her new fiancé. Ah, the sound made her shiver with pleasure, she didn't care if he was a Hylian--he was her Hylian. It would be years and years until they got married (maybe around thirteen), but she could wait and until then he could fulfil all his duties before becoming a prince for her, later taking over the throne with her. Lost in her own thoughts, she felt his fingers grasp hers as he took his prize.  
  
It quite surprised Link how much he didn't have to do to get the jewel, but the problem was he had no idea what engagement meant. What he guessed was that it meant something like the Sworn Brother ceremony, a bunch of phony talk for a new friend. Grabbing up the jewel, he placed it inside the sack with the other jewels, feeling the warmth it gave to have the three friends placed together again, maybe it was weird, but he guessed they had been separated a long time ago--eager to meet. Standing up, he stretched out his limbs lazily as Navi came down with her emotions fried out, spotting the expressions upon the two, she questions Link.  
  
"What?" "We got our third stone!" Grabbing her, he tossed her into the air, only to catch her when she returned down.  
  
"W-we do?" Looking over to Ruto--who nodded a little diving off of the platform and swimming off towards the direction of Jabu--Navi stared back at Link in utter disbelief, it was really over? Oh, Goddess, it was finally over! After all this time, no more monsters, no more nightmares, no more fear of expressing herself. Yes, she was going to do it tonight that was decided, after the party she was going to do it!  
  
"We head back to the castle, Navi?" Looking over the rock, he noticed that Ruto had swum out all her way and was now at the other end of the pool, waving for them to follow. Stretching a silent wave to her, he turned his attention back to his guardian, which she gave a silent nod and dove down towards the surface of the water, stopping before it hit her. Slinking his shoulders, he dove down and landed in the water, sticking to the edges of the water so he would reach the surface in the shortest amount of time. Since the rock was not that far from the surface he reached the surface only under ten minutes (no way was he as fast as Ruto) coming to a halt upon the impatient princess who was now looking over her own guardian.  
  
Jabu Jabu seemed to be doing a lot better. Sure he would have scars within him, scars that Navi left in particular, but the sickly pale white look to him now was a vibrant Navajo colour, his gills now brighter than ever. Giving the animal a swift pad on the back, he gave some sort of semi- consciousness thought and dove down to the waters below where it would rest for the night. Speaking of rest, his own body was on the over-load, staring upward and seeing that it was night, so they had been out here for quite a while, it seemed.  
  
"You all ready to go now? I feel a bit faint, so if we have a party, let's keep it quite and nice." Both his companions nodded, and away they strolled down back towards the domain. To say in the lightest, no one was more enthusiastic than the great King, holding an honorable feast in their honour was, giving them everything that Link didn't seem to want. When they had first arrived in the domain it was about nine-thirty that night, but after the party ended it was just about closing in on twelve, Link's muscles crying out for sleep, for someone to bash his brains out. Finally requesting a room, to the King's dismay, he was lead down to the room he had slept in barely two nights ago.  
  
Having been made up once again, the boy sunk down into the covers, draping himself down into only his undergarments and spreading the silk sheets about his body. After a few hours of resting Ruto came up to him, explaining that in three years he was supposed to be back here (three years exactly.) Shrugging a shoulder simply, he complied that indeed he would be back here in thee years. What was the harm anyway, maybe that was when the ceremony was? With a perky giggle, the princess locked his door on her way out and strewed back to her father to tell him the great news of her marriage proposal. Navi stared at the boy, questionably looking upon him.  
  
"Oh, there was a deal to get the stone."  
  
"Deal? What sort of deal?"  
  
"Navi! It's complicated and I am tired, can't we talk tomorrow?"  
  
"Fine, forget that subject, but we can't stop talking now--I.I have something to tell you?" She flew up to his face, looking down at the ground with her veil shielded upon her body. The candles within the room burnt long and hard, giving him room to see all her expressions, frowning as she slipped that piece back on, she knew how much he hated it when she hid her emotions. Trying to push the veil off (of course he knew it wouldn't), he stared down at her with a serious tone, she only got like this when she was trying to be as honest as possible. Letting her rest her chin upon her chest, she stared up as he looked down.  
  
"What is it, Navi."  
  
Don't do it, it spoke with a serious and dark tone.  
  
Why, she herself countered back at the stupid voice.  
  
He won't love you anymore.  
  
That's a damn lie!  
  
"Navi.Navi!" She felt a push upon her shoulders, shaking herself a little and staring up. There Link placed a veil of concern upon his face; having seen her fall down silent for a few minutes had worried him beyond all belief! Smiling a little, he kissed her cheek, the veil now gone so that nasty after-flavor wasn't in his mouth. Breathing out a nice sigh of content, he placed a hand upon her head, patting her like an animal, as he spoke out. "Tell me what's bothering you, I want to know."  
  
"L-Link.it's just so hard, I'm afraid you won't like me anymore."  
  
"Now why would I do that?" Was she crazy? Did she know who she was? Goddess, that was the most ridiculous thing that he had ever heard, who couldn't love her, more than that, how could he not love her? Navi must have been hit a little too hard on the head for her to think that. Grinning a little bit, he smoothed her beautiful form over, taking the time to study it, it was true that you take things for granted until they are gone, so he should have explored her before she was gone. She isn't going anywhere, idiot. Well, maybe not, but it was best to make sure of the things you love. She was so beautiful and he just sat and around and never noticed--well he noticed--he just took it for granted.  
  
"I-I don't know, it's just nothing we've ever talked about. It has to do with why I am jealous."  
  
This perked his interest. "So what you said before was a lie?"  
  
"N-no, just half of the truth, it was partially, but I didn't tell you the real reason."  
  
"Look, Navi, I know it's hard, but I want you to just go ahead and blurt it out. I know that is what is best, I mean whatever it is, we can accomplish from it, benefit from it, or get over it--I don't care. You are one of my best friends and y'know with my reputation I don't have that many.anyway, I want you to know that whatever it is, I can cope with it. I mean come on-- I was just electrocuted more times than I can count, and went through a disgusting fish's insides, I think I can take something like this."  
  
"I love you.and not like that, the real love." Okay, maybe he wasn't ready for that. His face dropped, from the perky expression to that of concern. L-love me? Love me? How could. Turning to the side, he stared down to try to figure this out, try to do what he had mentioned the previous seconds before, but none of those things seemed important anymore, they just seemed stupid. Turning towards her, he caught her looking off to the side, cursing under her breath and crying out with her head placed down inside of her hands, knocking back the sobs, but they would win. This must have been going on for quite a while; it seemed that it had been wracked up.  
  
"How long?"  
  
"I tried to stop myself--believe me--I tried!"  
  
"How long?" He asked again, being patient with her, it was best this way. Link hadn't really been set up for this before, his situation with Saria was that he loved her, and the other kisses had been flirtations, except the emotion in Saria's. This really surprised him, bring him to a desperate stop in his tracks of though. Suddenly the stones didn't seem that important--suddenly defeating Ganon didn't seem that good at all, and suddenly Saria didn't seem that important. All his attention was focused upon the little fairie on his bare chest who was crying her eyes out and blaming something she felt on herself, why she did that stupefied Link.  
  
"S-since after the Deku Tree. I have internal conflicts to let it go, b- but I can't. I'm sorry Link, if you want another partner fairie I'll unders--" She stopped in the middle of her tracks, feeling the pressure of his lips upon hers, something she had never felt in this way, this situation. Staring up in utter shock, his cheeks and hers were both run with blood, staring down at her with the lips puckered across her own. It lasted a good ways, both of them enjoying the kisses in some way or manner. Link enjoying it for what it was--not sure of his emotions to Navi, but sure that he did love her some way or another, in some shape or form. While Navi was in pure joy, enjoying the love she was receiving from her friend, hoping it just wasn't a guilt trip or something to make her feel better.  
  
Each of them kept the kiss on for the next five minutes, whenever one would pull away--the other would push them back with utter force. This just wasn't on Navi's part either, the first time had been Link who tried to pull back for air, but she pointed to his nose and yanked him back into the awkward smooth. Sure it was awkward, just look at her size, her race, her personality--they were all clashed with Link in some shape or form, of course Navi's attitude had changed on battle ever since she had been with the boy. Mostly it was the size that mattered, more than the race than anything else, she was only barely the size of his middle finger, so he had to pucker his lips small and she had to pucker wide to get the right movement.  
  
With such a movement from both of them, they both broke the kiss at the same time (with no resistance to hold them back, they soon parted lips), and stared at each other in different directions. For Link it was the best kiss he had ever received, rivaling with Saria's, for this kiss was not a flirt, this kiss was not a taunt, this kiss was true love--which frightened the boy. If it was true love, there was no way he could dismiss it off as some stupid crush on the hero, like Ruto seemed to have, or something else. Licking his lips where her lips had been, tasting her upon him, he stared down at the ground, beginning to speak with such movements.  
  
"Why would I replace you?"  
  
"Because Deku-sama said not to love you." When she pulled back from the kiss, she saw the innocence broken upon the boy, assisting her for doing such a stupid deep. The small imp had been winded from the Deku battle and had hidden inside the hat, so according to her this was the first time that he ever received a love-kiss from anyone, maybe one day he'd tell her about that more intensifying kiss. Looking over to the boy, she answered his question with full honesty, that is what the tree had said, yes, but she regretted to mention she didn't listen to things that died. Things that had no say-so in their lives, things that didn't know the emotion--the passion that she felt during that brief kiss that only seemed like seconds. A passionate swab so perfect that he left her aching for a rematch, this time with a little more than just lips.  
  
"Great Deku said that, Eh?"  
  
"Link we should figure this out afterwards?"  
  
"Yea, we really should. I appreciate your forwardness about me getting rid of you, but you honestly think I could replace you so easily? Nah, I didn't think so, now let's get some sleep and in a few days, after we're done with this mess in Hyrule we will figure this out, and don't worry, I won't dismiss you just because of your race." Slipping off down into the covers, Navi couldn't help but let out a small moan of pleasure, going under the covers with him, just as the evening lights were being lowered. That night he slept so comfortably with her friend, not sure of their destinies together, but sure it would be nice, since he didn't care about her size. Those other girls didn't matter at all, the Hylians and Ruto; the only one that proved a bad cause was a Saria. It was so bad that she happened to like Saria the best out of them, but since nothing had happened between the two of them, she thought that maybe it was just a simple crush that would go away.  
  
Following him into dreamland, the same maiden servants who came back to tend to them the two nights before adjoined the duo. Now, however, his tunic was stripped while he was bathed and mended with matching cloth materials to look as good as new, trying to get all the blackened marks off the stupid thing. When the Zorians were done, the two were put in the same clean clothes as before, his weapons getting the cuts and smells off of them, his shoes and everything else upon his body given a good scrub down. As one o'clock approached they were done, leaving the boy with some soup in his tummy, a tonic that would help restore a little of his energy for tomorrow, and the rest of his body and mind secured. Even though nothing was used on him that night, the two still didn't dream anything bad.  
  
A following morning they received some sort of fruit that was sealed up in their bags for safe-keeping, this way, the king said that the fruit would stay fresh inside a concealed area. Given a nice farewell, the duo set off alone with the third spiritual stone in hand, ready for anything that came their way. Zora's domain was a great deal easier this time, as they were sunk in the river and road down the stream at a riveting forty miles per hour, reaching the end of the domain in only two hours. With that save in time, the boy was overjoyed to be getting back to the closer, the faster they went on, the faster they went home to talk about this new problem that occurred.  
  
Traveling outside of the arena, the boy had promised Saria a visit, but called at her with his ocarina and explained they would go and give the princess her three spiritual powers, then visit her. Saria didn't seem to mind in the least, only giving a little whine in her voice and announcing that when he got back they were going to play twice as much. With a small laugh, he agreed and shut off his connection with the beautiful forest maiden. No talk of the kiss was occurred as they walked past the Zora's river, passing by the alleged Kakariko Village, not giving a stop and continuing on. It was like there was time for that; they could wait until after the quest was complete, the hard part was over, but not the quest.  
  
Two days of extra trudging was what caused him to get back to the castle further than he actually expected, yet he was met with a surprise that would haunt him for years. It was just passing midnight when they came upon the gates of the castle, about to camp down by the water (for Stalchildren hated water) when the large gates of the place opened up for him. A welcoming entrance was his first thought as thunder clouds began to form above where he stood, right infront of the castle, dripping rain down all over the scene. That scene was what made him feel all the more uncomfortable about it, it was as if he remember this from a past life or something, but he didn't believe in reincarnation.  
  
"Navi what is this--" A neigh broke his call off, gasping as from the gates exploded a large white horses--matching in size to the ones as Lon Lon. The mare was headed right for him, so he dodged to the right, barely missing from being crushed. Leaping up, he looked over his shoulder only to see the royal insignia of the Triforce placed upon the horse, it wearing all the bearings of a steed. What was more confusing was the master of the horse wore a fashion to somewhat of Impa, not it was Impa! At her side was the little princess Zelda, a concerned look plastered upon her face. Staring back at her, she reached forward and threw something forward, Link to blinded by the lightning to see what it was and where it went.  
  
Suddenly, he knew. "My dream! It's my dream!" Gasping, the whinny of another horse caused him to spin around, only to find him staring at a contrast of the beast from before. Sure this one had the trimmings of a beast, but another insignia rode upon it, one that had the swirls of the desert. The horse was also black all over, where the other one had blue eyes; this one shone a lunar yellow. Gulping loudly, he stared up at the master, and gazing upward he didn't even need to guess who the driver of the steed was. It was as if he knew, feeling the trembling Navi at his side, all the heroism they had felt before was dissipated.  
  
The man everyone cursed, the one man that made Link gnashes his teeth with bitter hate: Ganondorf. Yes, Ganondorf Dragmire rode upon the horse, that sword from Link's dream was stretched in his hand, those matching yellow eyes of the horse gazing out towards the sunset, not being able to catch wind of the princess and her attendant. Hearing a loud curse in the Hylian language, the man looked down at the boy--surprised that something so small and weak was out during this time of the day, but Th a grin, he looked down at the boy and spoke a deep and booming voice.  
  
"You there.boy! I am sure you've seen a white mare with a bitch upon it, around here. Now tell me where it went." When the child didn't reply, he pushed his sword into the larger sheath placed on his back, the sword itself enough to knock his own blocked up dagger. How did this boy dare not speak, was he mute? Asking the repeated question, the boy stood frozen with fear, a little question that Ganondorf enjoyed, but the annoyance of this pest was getting upon his nerves. Growling loudly, the Gerudo slammed a fist upon his steed--that whinnied loudly, but dare not run or buck its master off. That was only punishable by death, even though it was an animal, it feared him.  
  
"Boy, I am going to ask you one last time! Where is that horse!"  
  
"I-I'm not telling you, G-Ganondorf." Reaching behind his back, he pulled free the Kokiiri Sword, readying it for an assault on the man--it had come up to this. Except for the change of shield on the boy, this was the exact same dream, so recalling it, he was sad to say he feared the same ending was coming forth. Yet instead of shooting the boy, the man took a good look at the boy, beginning to bellow with laughter. Sure his voice wasn't as deep as the great Daruina's, or the Deku Tree's, it rivaled those Hylians and surely made the boy weak in the knees, his guardian floating above him, but all the while silent.  
  
"Hey-- you're the child from the garden, aren't you? Defending them, I see. Hrm, I like you, you have spunk. Spunk is a good thing in this world- -as long as you can back it up! Can you back it up, boy!" Throwing his cape back, which Link hadn't noticed before, over his shoulder, the man reached out a palmed hand and aimed it towards the boy. Maybe it was the destiny of the fate that made the boy stand still, the wading of the nightly storm, or his feet were simply stuck in the mud? No, it was that the paralyzing gaze of the evil king of thieves was pierced upon him that made him forget who he was, where he was, all he saw was the cupped palm. Navi was also paralyzed when she looked, at first trying to break the boy free from it, utterly failing, and soon falling into it herself.  
  
"Addictive, isn't it. Boy, you will pay for your crimes, for I shall soon be king!" Ki began to form around her palms, but not the beautiful colours that Link or Navi would disrupt. Ugly colours consisting of yellow, orange, and black, the Hallows Eve colours. That palmed glove formed more than Link would ever imagine, or so he thought, so when the beam hit the boy, his sword tried to deflect the energy like a baseball, having the sword become a little bit more dense. A normal sword would have disintegrated, but this was the sword of Farore, so it remained intact.  
  
Straying from the wimp's smoking remains, the man let out a long gale of laughter. "Alive, I see. Well, you are indeed special. Consider this a gift from me to you, which wasn't even a fourth of my power. Next time we meet, you shallot' be so lucky!" Kicking his heels into the steed's sides, the horse let out a long yelp of pain, following out in a general direction that the mare went, searching for it. For that thing the small bitch had was what he needed--what he strive for, if her were to gain the power of the Gods, something he had strive for as a child. Leaving the child might prove lucky in his hands; he felt a certain aura that might cause a minor problem in the future, not that he cared.  
  
As soon as the man was gone, over the horizon, it was as if a spell had been lifted from the land, for when he left the storm brewed on a simple five seconds and disappeared along with the clouds, letting off only the moonlight shine down at the boy. Navi was at his side, pushing and slapping upon his body, trying to get him away, crying out for any help at all. The gates were still down, but no one was coming, staring at his remains, she began to sob. It had happened, what she feared all this time, he had died. She knew it was coming, why hadn't she, they had been unprepared for that stupid bastard and now he had taken this young life.  
  
Navi wasn't a medical technician, for with a simple examination would have revealed that Ganondorf hadn't been lying, he had went extremely easy on the boy, only unleashing a load of pain. Swallowing his guilt, the boy crawled over to the edge of the fountain, staring down at the waters as he did, looking at something that had caught his eyes. Pulling himself up on his arms, he stared over at the hysterical Navi, giving a little sigh of dissatisfaction, calling her name out blandly. He ached all over, yes, but he would live, a huge hole was no in the place where the center of his tunic was. The sword was a few yards away, a little messed up, but overall alright.  
  
"Link! Y-your alright!" Running a quick check over her body, she buried her face deep into his chest, nuzzling with relief, he was okay! Oh, thank the Goddess' he had been spared from that evil, that the dream that she had had with him was not a reality, only a something that could have been. Looking at his drawn face, which was pointed down towards the moat, she looked over his shoulder and stared down at something hidden within the water. Maybe the thing the princess threw? Of course it was, and soon she went down in the water alone, picking up the semi-heavy object, lugging it back up to the boy.  
  
"N-Navi, is that what I thin--"  
  
"The Ocarina of Time. Oh my, Link, Zelda must have thrown it, but why?" Her question was answered when they both received a daydream, something that really wasn't done much in this world, and maybe it was considered just a dream since it was still around midnight. Not even asleep, the two could see the room that they had been in before: the Temple of Time, a room so beautiful it was beyond vast words. In the dream it was the middle of the night, moonlight shining through the room and reflecting off the beautiful pictures of the Triforce.  
  
Seated before the alter Navi had read before was the majestic princess Zelda. She was knelt in prayer, the ocarina placed before her arms, holding it up on the altar and chanting briefly. Still dressed in the royal attire and hat, she looked just as lovely as ever, but her face was drawn down in a frown, as if she knew that something was about to happen. A bad something that just couldn't be helped--it was hated by all, but accepted by everyone else. Suddenly, he eyes opened wide, staring down into the portal they saw the dream, and she spoke to them, as if she knew they were spying upon her prayers.  
  
"Link, as you can see, this message is concealed to you and your fairie. I have incased the ocarina to you for it has been too long of a wait, now I don't blame you, I am sure you've done all you could. Now if you have all three of the spiritual stones, I want you to go to the Temple of Time. When there, I want you to use this ocarina to play a song, the most powerful of the royal family's songs: the Song of Time. Playing that song will open that wall in the room, the Door of Time, and lead you onto your destiny. Please do this, as a last request, and I am sorry we couldn't meet one last time, I loved our time together, and maybe one day we can see each other again." She pulled the ocarina to her lips, beginning to play the tune of the time. The tune was a sad melody, that gave you the feeling of remembrance, but nevertheless it was a beautiful tune to know, and easy to remember. Zelda played the tune twice for Link, knowing that it took longer to learn if you weren't some sort of musical genius.  
  
Suddenly the dream was gone, he with the notes simplified in his head, the ocarina in hand. Grabbing the paper from his satchel that had the other notes on it, he wrote down the tune of time, marking it as the 'Song of Time.' Pressing the ocarina up to his lips, the boy battled with the semi- difficult song for the remainder of the hour, until he finally had it set inside of his head. Placing his notepaper around, he stared over at the bitter Navi, smiling sweetly at her and slumping his shoulders sadly. Truth was, their journey may not have been over, she had said that it led to their destiny, but what exactly was that? He surely didn't know, but curiosity was killing him to find out just what it was.  
  
"You want to go?"  
  
"We don't have a choice, Link."  
  
"Our talk may have to wait."  
  
"I'm alright with that, let's just do what we can to help." Smiling sincerely, he retrieved his sword and placed it back up, holding the Ocarina of Time in his hand. Standing himself up, he wobbled along from the dizziness of the energy shock, knocking it back and strode down the drawbridge. Running throughout the midnight streets of the Town Market, he easily dodged the lone guard that would have sent him back to bed, but he wasn't headed for the castle, his mission this time was to infiltrate the Temple of Time. That was a bad word, for the place wasn't even guarded, only those stupid Gossip stones were in the way, and a few small terriers roamed around with friendly invite.  
  
Ignoring them as best he could, which was hard for their cute furry bodies but the boy finally slipped past them and inside the unlocked Temple of Time. This place had been built thousands of years ago, to hole up some sort of Sacred Realm, he didn't know too much about it, since he lacked in that study in history. Anyway, seven people had barricaded it up so just no one could retrieve the Sacred Realm and wish for something, they had to do something special, which also had slipped his mind. Stepping inside the Temple of Time, his awe was overcome with greatness, the church was definitely a place were people had come to worship the Goddess' sometimes, yet is did have other uses, some of which made no sense to him.  
  
His footfalls were spread hollowly as they walked over that huge little insignia trapped in the Triforce he had seen earlier, then stepping over that he looked upon the inscription that Navi had read all that lone ago. He inscription that read one with the three stones of elements would be able to open the door of time and reach his destiny. Grinning sadly, the boy pulled out the three stones placing them in the order that he retrieved them from the left and onward. Forest emerald was first, the fire ruby, and then the water sapphire concluded the final intrusion of the hollow spaces. Obviously he did it right, for a cracking sound came about, the spaces locking down into the altar.  
  
"Link, the door." Pointing at the seemingly unbreakable Door of Time, it was beginning to move back from its hinges, and this continued on until finally it came to a rest opening all the way. A brightness shone in the room, the duo staring up and finding that the Triforce symbol at the top of the room that had been a dull gray, was now a bursting golden yellow, shining as brightly as the sun. Giggling, the boy patted the stones one last time, as if saying a goodbye to his special treasures, and ran up the three stairs that changed the floor from hard rock to a soft marble. Rolling along the marble briskly, he ran into the less darkened room inside the door.  
  
".Navi, what is that?" The new room held windows that shone in seven different directions, each held out a beam of moonlight that reflected upon the inhabitants of this room. From what Link could see it was as bigger walk-up platform, and studying each insignia in the octagon that went around, he saw that each held an insignia he had seen before. Noticing the Kokiiri, Goron, and Zora one, the other three dazzled him, for they were ones he hadn't seen before. Yet, in the center of the platform was all the attention, it was where a small pedestal stood, housing a sword. "T-t-that's the Master Sword!"  
  
"Master Sword? I've never heard of that."  
  
"The sword of Evil's Bane, it is said to perish all of evil. You see your sword was made by Farore, and I am sure Din and Naryu weapons belong to other races, but this sword was crafted with the powers of all three of them. It is three times as powerful as your sword! Oh, my Goddess, you couldn't be.could you?"  
  
"Could I what?" Greater than my sword? Looks kind of big. Indeed the blade was that meant for an adult, so now he had to deal with an adult shield, but an adult sword? He didn't like the sound of it, but maybe if the sword was so magical it could revert down to his size. Studying the long sword, he gave a little sigh of content, it had a blue hilt with the sides that sprung out like a hawk, reaching in the right and left directions. Upon the top of the hilt was a glowing yellow jewel, it didn't seem to be activated, but held a tremendous amount of power. From what he could see of the blade itself, that it's power did seem more than his blade; the steel seemed stainless, as the eye could be deep runics places on the sword in a language not known to him.  
  
"You could be the Hero of Time!"  
  
"Hero of Time, what's that?"  
  
"A hero. This sword is stuck inside the Pedestal of Time. If you can pull it out, then you are the hero. If you are the legendary Hero of Time you will wield the Master Sword and protect the Sacred Realm from the clutches of evil, a.k.a. Ganon." How could he be the Hero of Time, she had always read that it would be some brute Hylian, it never crossed her mind that a Kokiiri would become it. Who wrote those legends, the Hylians did, they were just presuming it would be a Hylian while the other races presumed it would be one of theirs. How ironic that a child would become something that they so trained their whole life to be, which is if he can lift it.  
  
"Go ahead Link, pull on it."  
  
"Will it hurt if I can't?"  
  
"Of course not, you just won't be able to yank it out, if you are the Hero then you will be able to pull it out with both hands, easily." A Hylian would be able to pull it out for two hands, but he didn't want to risk Link any further injury.  
  
"Alright, I am trusting you." Walking upon the little pedestal, that could ['t have been less than a foot high, the boy spread his feet and placed his hand upon the hilt of the blade. Whatever happens, happens. Without further ado, the boy let out all of his strength, pulling upon the hilt as hard as it could, with all his might. To both of their jovial astonishment, the blade actually slid out of the slot, but something happened that both of them were not guessing on. A blue light surrounded the two of them, an ominous, but gentle light surrounded the boy and his fairie. Having the sword in one hand, he tried to swing at the light, yet it overtook him and his guardian in a quick second, sending down into the bowels of nowhere, wherever the energy led, was where they were taken.  
  
--------------------  
  
Sparing the young child was exactly that had been his plan from the beginning. Generosity wasn't one of Ganon's strong suits, but ever since he had seen the boy through the Dodongo Cavern, he knew he would be an worthy adversary. Yes, Ganondorf had been tracking the duo as they made their way from the forest, traveled through Kakariko and over ruled the triumphs at the Cavern, that had astonished Ganondorf on how a child so young could take out a beast something so powerful. It was even more spectacular inside of that damned fish, how he took care of the entire place in less than two days. How strong this boy would be wasn't the only reason, the best reason is what he left behind.  
  
To trail the boy he had sent out a chameleon with enchanted vision powers, a more advanced power he had rewarded the Dodongo King. This way that thing could hide with its colour changing mechanisms, but still send shots back to the Ganon within his quarters with the king. It was quite fun watching some of the battles from the boy, testing his own powers, knowing he could defeat the child, bit making himself reassured of himself. The blast he gave the boy was just a stunning power--something to tide him over for disobeying him (but what did he expect?) That had been so the child could open up what he so seeded.  
  
Getting the stones just hadn't worked for him, he wasn't a people person, as some would say. That was when he decided to entrust the private mission in the boy, letting him get all of the jewels. Ganondorf had planned on getting the ocarina and then meeting Link on the way to the princess, killing him, but his arrogance had sent him in an angry rage against the child, who had fled with her attendant. Now he was all alone, and watched silently as the boy yanked the hilt from the sword, and within a smoke and a flash his vision was gone from all the world, giving him such bad-luck he had to travel down to see what happened.  
  
The best luck that happened next, the boy wasn't anywhere to be seen that dreaded sword was also gone. Did this mean that he had his wish, was the God's power his? Yes, that was the truth, the boy had been obliterated by the Triforces' powers, and now they were his. Standing within the glory of the room, he crossed those arms around the muscled chest, giving out a long grin of satisfaction, with nothing spilt on his side, and all he had to thank was a stupid little boy. That boy must have regretted betraying Ganondorf, for soon they all would, for with this power he wouldn't become God, but the king of the world! 


	5. Chapter IV: Maiden of Forests

Chapter IV: Maiden of Forests.  
  
Copyright: I do not own Zelda, Nintendo does. Story by Habuki productions.  
  
"Link.Link.Link. wake up."  
  
Blinding flashes of light were the last things he remembered a light so large and fast it would have stopped him in his tracks. Now, only a few seconds later a deep voice within his head sounded him, but the boy shook his head numbly and kept those lips shuts. Suddenly the voice was a bit impatient, yet all the same a gentle tone came out of it, soothing the boy awake as a mother would do when trying to be firm, yet having the parental touch. Yet again the boy kept away from the gruff voice (not recognizing it as Navi's, so totally ignoring it.) Whatever he did to the voice, seemed to spark him awake as it yelled out in a furious tone, the deliberate fury of the tone stoning him awake in his path.  
  
"Link!" Peeking through those blonde brows, the pupils did, refocusing them out after a good night's sleep, but hadn't he just pulled the--ah, the thought wasn't there, it was as if he was brainwashed. The room he was in, was blue, the only colour of the room, some of the areas infront of him black, and the land where it was stand able was a blue that shimmered in between white and gray with them, switching back occasionally. Spying no one in his path of vision, the boy's lids sunken back down into semi- consciousness before a loud grunt gutted h back to the three-fourths of a consciousness. Seeing no one still in his way, he looked over to the left, only to be surprised by a bulbous man seated upon a yellow platform.  
  
"Link, you are awake." The man, who looked about in his early fifties, was a medium skinned man with a long tuff of gray hair staring at the rims of his head and connecting into a full-grown beard above his nose. Where hair should have been on the top of the head, was nothing but baldness stood abrupt. Studying those dark eyes, he moved away from the least interesting part of the chunky man and went down to the main course: his ensemble. A huge red scarf was sticking off of his neck, seeing that if it went over his head than you wouldn't have been able to see his head, maybe like the Grim Reaper. That part really did give Link the shivers, thinking that maybe the impact of the sword had killed him and now some fat creature was judging him.  
  
Connecting to the scarf was a deep, luscious orange robe that flowed right down to the tips of his feet, starting at about where his shoulders were give, the robe so long that the man's hands weren't even shown in it (of course, that could be for the victim's sake.) Victim's sake? Now he was talking nonsense, and going back to examining the man, he saw that the scarf wasn't a scarf at all, it went down towards the end of his chest and cut off, so it was a robe. At the center of the robe wasn't white at all, but a bright white colour, that was either sown into the robe, or some sort of undershirt shown off to the public. No, with close examination he concluded it had to is another robe sown in, for at where his hips would be were the tassels of the white robe (on both sides), blue marks being imprinted upon them.  
  
Shaking his head In disbelief at where his stomach was, there stood some sort of belt snapped across it as if he were some championship fighter, imprinted in the center of the belt yellow stitching of the Triforce. Surrounding the symbol were six other symbols, each stitched in another colour, but none of them were actually filled in with anything of the yarn. Finally, below the belt was the end of the robe, a matching part to the robe that was the same colour, but was actually the front part of the robe. Letting a piece of cloth hide down to cover up any of his legs that might have shown through this uniform. No shoes or sandals were on the man, for his feet were covered up with him, and to Link's approval he wore no scythe in his hand. Staring at the man with deep ease, he couldn't help but feel rejoice to see him.  
  
"Young hero, you have awakened. I am Rauru, the Sage of Light."  
  
"And I am Link, nice to meet you, Rauru-sama." Sage was a high title, so he shouldn't disapprove of this being, the funny thing was that he didn't know exactly what a sage did, he guessed it was some sort of high priest since he had mentioned himself of Light. From his clothes, he did resemble an old priest, since many hadn't been around Hyrule in this day and age, there didn't seem to be a need to worship deities for the Hylians, they seemed to have understood the world of science, leaving the Triforce as a myth. Well, Link couldn't disregard it anymore, he had seen the Master Sword, and now was looking around a room he had never seen before, only awakening himself less than three minutes ago. Not being able to move, the silent boy stared down at the man, as if asking for help.  
  
"Ah, yes, young hero. You don't even have to speak; I can read it in your face. But before I let you down, stare down into your reflection, you will notice something eerily different about you." That did freak out the boy, how could a priest read his thoughts? Smiling nervously, the boy looked down at where the man pointed, but never got to the reflection, he was mesmerized at the resemblance this place had to his pre-existing place, the place where he pulled the sword out. It was the exact same platform as before, same shape--everything was the same--except the structure was blue and each of the marks that had been a deep gray from before were now in multiple colours. Next to the one where Rauru stood was a green one, followed by red, blue, purple, and yellow. Some of the symbols he recognized once again.  
  
Shaking his head, as he looked for the pedestal and sword (for he felt it not on his body) the boy stared down at the water, his eyes drawn back--his face shuddering--w-was this a dream! There in the cool reflection of the water wasn't a boy at all; there was some sort of man in his place. Falling to his knees, the reflection splattering when his knees collapsed down, he looked at the man with worry plastered on his face--seeing it also on the man's face. In the aquatic illusion was a man with the same clothes on as him, except they were much bigger, a complete white undershirt on under his body, bigger boots, a larger satchel and side pack, plus gloves were on this man's hands. The same hat, the same hair (just now stopping at below the front part of his spine), the sword and shield put on behind him. Shuddering with disbelief, he shook his head, slamming that light colored glove into the water--staring in horror as his hand did indeed have the glove snatched upon it.  
  
Shaking his head again, longer elven ears remaining in place, he studied his structure: the darker skin, a pointer nose, the hat having been added onto so that it would be the same size, and his ears! He had piercing in his ears? T-this.what is this! Leaping up in a bound, the new white suit soaked in the warm water, along with the brim of his tunic, he stared down at this so-called Sage with a rage that was fired beyond all belief. How could be this old, for one he was a Kokiiri, it had only been a few minutes, and where was Navi! Crying out silently, detecting for the first time that his own voice was indeed a lot deeper than any of the Kokiiri's could have seemed, he laid his hands down on their sides, touching the building abdominal muscles that had developed over a period of seconds.  
  
"N-now, Hero, let me ex--" The Sage's face had become quite flustered, never had he imagined such a reaction from someone like this, the anger swelling in his face was unbelievable. Only thing to do was reason with him, somehow, or someway, whichever came first. Those ends of his robe where his arms were supposed to go weren't too small; they were banded shut by some sort of rubber, preventing his own hands from escaping. Rubbing the left cloth at his chin, the other one staying at the man's chest, he tried to speak again, only interrupted.  
  
"My name is Link! What did you do to me!"  
  
"W-we had to seal you up for se--"  
  
"We, who is we!"  
  
"The Goddess', I was told to seal you up, now be quiet!" Flashing a hand before the boy, he stopped in a sudden movement, paralyzed for the time being. "When you pulled the Sword of Evil's Bane from the Pedestal you were destined to become the Hero of Time, but you were too young to become the hero, you see, so you were sealed up in here: the Chamber of Sages, for the next seven years." "Seven years.are you serious?" Seven long years, years he could have spend re-aquatint himself with new people, reminiscing with old ones, seeing the new lands, finding new journeys, and he had spent seven years locked up in this stupid hell-hole, aging at a marketable speed of a normal person. How could someone be so cruel, how could they have pent up anger so much to let this happen, why wasn't he just left in the Forest where he could spend his days until he grew up (which still mystique him.) Curse them, curse them for doing this, for taking my childhood away, how dare they have such a right? He was the one taking care of the land, not them!  
  
"Yes, Hero of Time."  
  
Spitting off to the side, he growled at the man. "Do not call me that." It wasn't as if he this reward was bad to him, for he did deserve the title, he did beyond all recognition, but he would not accept that title upon him, until he truly felt that this was a good thing. Right now not even excepting this face as a wonderful event. Catching the paste of dishonor in the old man's face, the older boy came to think that maybe this was one of the original sages he had read about oh-so-long ago in his teachings from Saria. They were still fresh on his mind, what else would be for seven long years, but moreover, he came to think that the Light was a position in the sages.  
  
"How come I have never read of this place before?"  
  
"It is so sacred that it isn't covered in your history books, plus up until now it wasn't that real important. This place is the last stronghold of the Sacred Realm, the rest was corrupted by the evil king." Shaking his head a little, Rauru had to keep from throwing up to throw those images out of his mind. Clasping his hands together, he watched the newly awakened hero question his surroundings.  
  
"Where his my friend?"  
  
"Who, you mean your guardian?"  
  
"My friend." Having no time for these foolish traits, he clicked his tongue partially from impatience and waited as the man stared down at the ground, mumbling silently to him and after a few minutes nothing happening. Keeping his arms crossed upon his chest, a small crystal appeared before the boy, the size of a block in his hands, beginning to rapidly un-melt. Link had a feeling that was what he, himself, had been trapped in for close to a decade, and that feeling still didn't suit too well for him--why didn't they at leas tell him, then maybe he would have done it for the good of the country. What good of the country, the King of Hyrule has probably taken care of this place, Ganon is dead.  
  
At the very bottom of the melting process, two simple cracks occurred upon each side of the stone wall, the two slabs of ice disappearing back into the water and going back to wince they came from. There, unconsciousness for the time being was his young fairie, she having grown over these seven years also. From before she was only the size of his middle finger, but now she was two inches taller than that, getting a little bit bigger in ounces. Wings had spread out in six different directions now, two pair in the front to keep her performance at its best. Studying the skin that was just as silk, blue hair dropping down to her waist, and the same clothes, but different sizes on her--he couldn't help to smile.  
  
"Navi." Ignoring the big man who had just tried to explain the situation in Hyrule; all he heard was something about Ganon. Not caring about that wet- bag of a man, the boy continued to blow upon his fairie with gentle breezes, wiping off the crystals of ice that had formed around had when the ice was melting. Somehow as it melted, it had kept her dry, so she was still as dry as he had been just before waking up. Holding her upon his palm, he blew a few more times, before those eyes jutted awake to the eyes of someone new--someone foreign. That wasn't a good reaction for the new meeting with an old friend, for she did not great up, but flew away from him, searching around.  
  
Where was she? What had happened? Nothing made sense, she awoke in some stranger's arms, and someone dressed in a green tunic like Link, but not Link at all. Looking around the room, she recognized it as the room they had only pulled the sword out a few seconds ago, looking about the room, she saw that it was entirely blue and black. A bearded man and the young teen that had touched her were the only places around here--the old man sitting on the yellow insignia. While the boy sat on the middle section-- well stood--upon the thing that held out Triforce mark with only the one on the left was lit up in this picture. No Link, no pedestal, no nothing at all, she shook her head, trying to fly away from the two, but was caught by a pair of strong arms. Automatically she began to sizzle and burst, maybe trying to burn his hands in the process, but damned all the luck that he wore some study gloves. Holding her above his face (maybe to eat me), she stared down into those perpendicular blue eyes.  
  
"Navi.what's wrong with you?" The voice wasn't familiar, it was smooth and sweet, and having not been hit the right notes of puberty all that from a few years ago.  
  
"W-who're you?"  
  
".Navi, y-you don't recognize me?" Dropping her, who she caught herself up, the young teen leapt off his platform and dove straight for the man in the beard, cursing wildly under his breath. When he neared the man, the older one held his hands infront of his face, summoning a bright shield that deflected the boy back to his seat. Slumping down in the water, he slammed his fist down on the hard marble of the structure, looking over to Navi with a face that changed so quickly it was unbelievable. The face of anger switched so surprisingly to that of utter compassion, to sadness seeping in the ends of it. "Navi.it's me, Link."  
  
"You aren't Link.Link is ten years old, he is a little boy, and a Kokiiri. Besides you look nothing like him--"  
  
"I know! It's weird, but this guy--he claims to be the sage of Light-- he says that I have aged during these seven years of eternal sleep." The man had tried to interrupt Link, but he glared back at him, ready to pounce him at will be, when the man just crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from the group. Good, let them discuss this amongst themselves, because from what Link was getting at, it would take quite a while for them to get used to this sort of stuff--to get used to being much older--that is if he could convince Navi it was him. She might become too hard-headed and just flat-out leave Link searching for the real Link, unless he had some sort of evidence, maybe some sort of proof.  
  
"You have no evidence you are Link, so I won't believe you." Crossing her arms firmly across her chest, she managed to take a look down and saw that he wasn't lying about the years of aging, that had went on, but Link shouldn't be like that. Link would be about Saria's size, not much older than thirteen would, and that was supposed to be the age he would remain the rest of his life. Studying her new form had actually made her feel nice--she felt beautiful in this form--not that the other form was cute, but it was a kid form. This little piece was her woman-self, a self she had been dying to get into, but the wait had been forever.  
  
"Rauru-sama, cover your ears! And no mind-reading!" Turning at the man called Rauru, the man gave a little smile, covering his hands upon his ears, making the change in his face seem like he had just died. Turning back to Navi, he placed a palm upon her, scooping her up into his arms and looked down at her--smiling a little, before he leaned in and pecked her cheek. That wasn't the proof, of course not, it was just something that he would remember her by if she decided to high tail it. Yet for the time being she seemed to be tolerating him, so he petted her hair out and spoke softly, making that louder voice seem to disappear, at least momentarily. "The proof is that a few nights before I grabbed the sword we kissed--ain't no way no one else knew about that, but me and you."  
  
Gasping, her hands clasped over her mouth, she looked over to him and pointed with only one finger. Giving a slight grin, and nodding, he stood up from his place and snapped his fingers to the man, who uncovered his face and seemed to come back alive. Navi stood in silence, of course it was Link--there was no need for anymore testimonials, if this was an imposter there was no way he could have gotten that out of Link, and plus, he wouldn't have known otherwise. Landing up upon his harder skin, she rested on her shoulder, running her fingers through his hair, then his neck- -so amazed at how much he had changed. Maybe it was something to do with the Deku magic leaving you when you left the forest that made him grow up, that could be a factor to consider.  
  
"You are from the ancient text, right?" Link blurted out, staring at the man.  
  
"Why, yes, Hero, I am." Keeping true to his wishes, 'Hero' was much better for Link. "I am one of the original six sages, the other five having died out unfortunately from one way or another--perhaps to the most relevant trials of Ganondorf." Rauru's face turned grim, the expression souring.  
  
"Ganondorf--he's still around?" Now the name did perk interest in Link's mind, he was contented with having proved his innocence to his faire; so the boy did want to learn what had gone on in the world these past seven years. Without so much as a word, Rauru didn't bother to explain he silently went dormant again and projected images that had been cast down by the Goddesses to the Sages, images that what happened those seven years ago. After Ganondorf had seen the young boy gone without a trace and decided to make the most of it, by reaching for the heavens and taking the power of the God's for himself.  
  
Images of Ganondorf riding to the gates of Hyrule Castle Market with an entire army of Gerudo women at his side, no one else could be seen as it seemed every person of the civilization had banded up for this event. Young and old, even some of the teenagers were about acting as squires if they couldn't muster the strength to fight. At first the King thinking it was some sort of joke, he was later very mistaken when they attacked through the streets of the market, destroying men, women, children, and burning anything that came within their way. It didn't last very long, an indeed, since the knights were positioned so far away that the town market was burnt before they could even make it halfway.  
  
Ambushing most of the knights when they went in the market to search for survivors, the pitiful men were savagely mutilated in all parts of their bodies, screaming for a painless death, but rewarded with hours and hours of torture. Holding back the tears, the boy watched in silence as all the knights were taken care of (at least the ones that had left) the Gerudos and Ganon had rode the days trip to the castle gates of Hyrule, but instead of fighting with the men, Ganondorf did something else. The man ripped off his left glove and out shone a Triforce symbol, a piece of the symbol glowing up at the top and in a flash of an instant the battle was over.  
  
Buildings crumbled, people murdered, the King was sliced to bits by the ravaging Ganondorf with him and his new power too the throne as not the King of Thieves, but as Ganondorf, the King of Evil. This had happened less than a week after Link had been gone, the land over the next few years being dried and sucked out of until it was barren all around Hyrule Castle market. People fled from that place, cursing the Goddesses, and praying for some sort of hero that never came. Now the castle that once housed the royal family only housed the Evil King--himself-- and his minions for bidding his own evil, no one could get inside for it was pinned up with a barrier and other resources. Rauru didn't show the castle to them, for he said that they would see it in due time.  
  
The images faded away in a slowly mask of fate, the boy holding back the tears, as Navi burst into a few of her own, being comforted by the boy. Sage of Light wrapped his arms around his chest, giving a gruff nod to the woman's content, and waiting until it was finally over to speak to them as a whole. When Navi had dried herself up, gotten contented with her again, the man stared at the boy with a questionable look on his face. Nodding that the emotions were not to be spread until later, Rauru accepted this conference and went on with his story.  
  
"Ganondorf is now the King of Evil, as you saw. That is where you step in, Hero of T--Hero." "I have another mission?"  
  
"Unfortunately, you do. I am assigning you to freeing the six sages of the lands; each one with the combined power of the Master Sword will be able to take down the evil King. When you left this world, the man called Ganon went inside the Door of Time and entered the Sacred Realm. There he tried to seize the Triforce for himself, only resisting being able to break the piece into three separate parts: Courage, Power, and Wisdom. We have no idea where Wisdom is, Ganon has the piece of Power, and as for Courage.take off your right glove."  
  
Slipping it off, the power that exterminated made him hold it back in fear of blinding himself. There upon his left hand, the back of his hand was a Triforce symbol embodied into his skin with the left mark was glowing brightly. Staring at it for a few more seconds, he slipped the glove on that concealed the light of it, giving no detection what-so-ever to what had been the best source of power he had ever seen. Looking up to Rauru, the man smiled greatly, his arms opening in a welcome signal before doing what he had done best: explaining.  
  
"Yes, you have Courage. Be warned, do not show that piece to just anybody, for there are people who have been corrupted by Ganon's evil and would turn you in a second. Ganondorf thinks you were burnt to pieces when you laid your hands upon the sword, so until you defeat the first temple he will not know otherwise. There are six sages to awaken, but I will make it easy for you--since the Temple of Time is the temple of light and I am already awakened you shall receive my medallion."  
  
"Medallion?" Navi spoke up, Link was busy snapping his glove on, and wondering what material concealed such. Flipping the glove back in and out of its position a few times, he stopped when Navi slapped him on the arm, trying to make him pay attention. Mentally he was the same, not that he was stupid, but still had the innocence of a young child. Yet his adult side did show, as she had seen earlier before, something that seemed flawed in most ways, but high, too.  
  
"Remember those Spiritual stones you collected? Well, those blue lights that you thought powered you up--you were mistaken, it was the jewels themselves that added their power into you--even Ruto's, even though you didn't know you were getting it. It was as if the jewel itself knew it, all those blue lights did was used teleportation." Pulling out around his neck, he produced a small medallion that would be able to fit in the palm of their hands. Placing the medallion to Link, he gasped as some power surged through him--not like the jewel's powers, but power he needed since he was an adult, and that was something to be able to wield the blade well.  
  
"What is this?" Link pondered out in the open.  
  
"This is the Light Medallion, hero, it contains a sum of my power needed for you."  
  
"Thank you Rauru-san. Will we see you again?"  
  
"Oh, yes. I am the leader of the Sages so whenever you open up a temple and awaken a sage you shall be returned here to receive the medallion and the power. Please do not lose these medallions, they are needed to open up the gates to Ganondorf's castle." Waving to the boy, he seemed to disappear from existence, as another blue light surrounded their body, the fear of another seven years passing before both of their eyes. It soon went away when that shocking feeling from before wasn't there, the emotion that time itself had stopped in mid-air. As the lights cleared, they stared out into the darkness, quite unable to see where they were, a quiet hymn being played in the background. Navi recognized it automatically: the Temple of Time.  
  
The hymn, it was so beautiful, with the composition of humming of the ancients, clashed with an old textile organ playing, Link couldn't help but sigh a deep content of pleasure when he stepped from the platform, hands weakened at his side. Not having yet learned how to draw his sword, the teen would occasionally lay a finger upon the hilt, as if ready to yank it out at any prepared second. Smiling contented, from the windows shown it was dark, but none of the moon shown through the lights, either it was a new moon or something was abyss. Also, the sky that had once been a perfect blue from that scene in the windows that streamed up a few miles, were now painted a violet colour. I have no time to deal with this; we must see what has happened to this work. Looking down at the pedestal for his new and improved sword (the previous one, and a lot of his weapons missing), the boy did it to remind himself he was back in the real world and not in a land of sages. Tapping his foot upon the ground, getting his legs straightened, he tried to balance his weight and walk.  
  
That ended up in a little bit of a disaster, Link had barely weighted over a hundred pounds before, and now he was packing up in the sixties, also holding down a five feet and seven inch broad frame. Stumbling over, the boy hit the ground with a wheeze sound out of his mouth. It was a little bad, but with some quick movements of his hands, he was up again and began to descent down the stairs of the platform. Taking each small step, trying with all his might not to trip over the medallion insignia's, the boy came to the very end of the room when a voice rocked in his direction. Correction, the voice rocked behind him, a voice deep and menacing, somehow holding a gentle touch with it at the same time.  
  
"It's sad the hero can be so clumsy." A male voice, but not Ganondorf.  
  
Spinning around, shifting in his knees and falling back down, he tilted his larger head up only to meet the eyes (or eye) of a male Hylian, but the attire showed that this couldn't be a Hylian, something else, perhaps? Around where his head was, stood a large white piece of cloth, serving as some sort of cap, or protection from attacks (although not very heavy, so it wouldn't provide perfect protection.) Sticking from the cap were streaks of golden blonde hair, most of it covered by the piece of cloth, so he could only notice the spikiness of the bangs that hung from the left and right in a fashion that revealed his face. Concealed underneath the hair stood a dark-skinned complexion, with crimson pours standing out for his enjoyment. Normally this could have been an albino Hylian, but the skin was a dead give-away that this person was far from white, he had been heavily tanned in more ways than one.  
  
The rest of his skin could have been white, for all Link knew, for on his muscled body was a body suit, much better looking than Link's. Starting off with a large white collar that stood up all the way up to the end of his nose, hiding the face and giving his voice the booming effect. Below that Shinobi mask, connected in all ways, was a long white jump suit that in the vest part was white with a simple sign of a blood red eye, the pupil opened up while three triangles in the north, northwest, and north east directions sticking out. Attached underneath the eye was a red blood drop that was painted on, going on for several inches, and reminding him more of a teardrop, than a blood-drop. Around the shoulders was a separate layer of cloth, maybe to conceal in dark places from enemies, but it was white so that idea was trashed in an instant. Rest of the appendages, up until his thighs, were poured on with a sleek material that Link didn't have the words to describe, stopping at the thighs and consisting of the same colour, but turning a light shade of blue. "W-who're you?" He asked dumbly, reaching for his sword as protection.  
  
"Tsk, tsk tsk. If I was an enemy, you'd be dead." Holding his hand out, that was bandages for no apparent reason, he held out some shurikens for Link's exposure. Tossing the bladed knives up in his hands, not even worrying that if they so much as moved in the wrong direction he'd have a spilt appendage. The Shinobi returned the star-shaped knives into a little slot that rested around his waist, looking like a small sheath for a dagger, except larger. Now they couldn't see the expression upon the man's face, but from the look in his one eye (the other covered by that piece of cloth) a definite smirk was on his part. Maybe for Link's lack of strength, maybe for that he didn't know why Link seemed so weak, and named the Hero of Time.  
  
"Who are you, ninja?" Navi asked calmly, the weapons didn't impress her, nothing seemed to impress her upon him. The boy didn't look very friendly, so he might have been an assassin to take care of the boy if he ever reappeared, or one who guarded the Temple of Time. He didn't seem like the guarding type, more like the type who would want to be in battle more often than once, living for the taste of blood whenever a battle ended, always wanting more. Shuddering in recognition, the little Farie stood infront of the boy (whose face had gone incredibly pale when he saw the stars), keeping her stance as a guard for this one. They had just arrived and no two-bit punk was going to take care of her partner the second he touched ground, no, no she wouldn't allow for him to lay a finger upon him.  
  
"I admire your courage, maybe you should become the Time's hero, little sprite. Not this wimp." Leaning against the wall, in the shadows, the man had moved away from the pedestal and back into the shadows from wince it came. Admiring the shadows was something that anyone could do, respecting the dark and the stealth it gave out, loving how darkness could over win the lightness in any fight. A shrieking sound of metal came out, when the man stepped back into the light he had two extra additions added to his wrapped hands. Lying on the hands were a pair of gloves, razor sharp spikes sticking out of them, dried blood crusted on the edges from previous fights.  
  
"We're going to fight?"  
  
'I am not your enemy, hero. I was called to train you, too wield you in that sword, you are so clumsy with it I doubt you can life it." Wiping a brush of hair from the back of his head, Link could just smell a pretty-boy face under there. How dare he be so rude to him, for no reason at all, and the boy nodded a quick approval reaching for his new blade and yanking it out of the new sheath that rested just below his old Hylian Shield. With a thinner sound of metallic riding, the boy held the double-edges sword out in two hands (even though the sword was a one-handed, he wasn't used to so much in a blade, that this one seemed so immense.) Giving a small grin of approval, pointing the sword at the man, Link clicked his tongue a few times.  
  
"Wait, there are rules. You are out of this fairie." Before she could reply, the new one had appeared right infront of her a small bottle encased in her hands. Slamming her into the battle, he snapped the cap upon it, the jar being compressed in their so no air could enter or exit. Smirking, through that cloth veil, the boy threw up the jar, catching it with little ease and placed it about ten feet away from him, without moving, or so it seemed to the young Link. Reacting quickly, charging in, the man shook his head and pointed at the bottle with a little sigh placing down his throat, showing he was definitely up to something, it not anything else.  
  
"Defeat me and she lives, lose and she dies. Hold you tongue fairie! There is only two minutes in there." Throwing down a small seed, the room filled with mist, the ninja falling out in an instant to his whereabouts. Yet the smoke didn't clear as when he was in the fights with Impa, it simply stayed there. Must be a Shiekah. Link quickly jumped for the bottle, only to be thrown back by some mystical force, a force field of some kind, and cursing his luck, the boy heard a small taunt about how cheating wouldn't get him anywhere in the room, the voice seeming like it came from everywhere. Gripping the hilt of the sword, it suddenly didn't seem to weigh as much as before, the real nature of the sword revealed as the edge of it began to glow brighter and brighter, as if absorbing the young hero.  
  
"Ha, you are the hero! Only he could do that, now use your quick skills to find me, or the one dies." Goddess, how can he throw his voice like that? Link had heard of ventriloquist, but this guy was throwing his voice so far that it seemed to be going in every direction in the room at once. While the right hand gripped the sword bravely, the left hand held out his hand to searched with his hands over his eyes to stare around the room for some sort of movement, some sort of detection of some kind. When nothing went around, the boy reached through his new side pack to see what just the great Light Sage had removed. Missing his boomerang, Fairie Slingshot, Deku sticks, and the sapling seed was all that was gone, and his little tunic that he wore as a child, that one also throw away or something. Grabbing out for a Deku Nut, he threw it out towards his left, seeing a flash of light, but nothing move.  
  
--------------------  
  
She shouldn't of let her guard down, she should have shot that freak from the moment she saw him. Yea, that was a Shiekah, why hadn't she noticed it before, she had read about them oh-so long ago. The symbol meant for the Royal Family, the tear added so recently to represent when the Shiekah were all dead except a few, a symbol that Impa had added only fifteen or so years ago. Shiekah's were dirty and underhanded; they had both faced some brutal attacks by the great Impa when training with her. Stealth skills, hidings down, finding her within a time limit. Why hadn't she noticed it before, it was so simple that a child could have figured it out in a matter of seconds.  
  
Seconds were too late as she pounded upon the invulnerable jar, trying to yank on the top of it with no choice but take shallow breaths, holding her breath whenever possible. Firing Ki marks didn't seem to work either, the bottle either absorbed them or deflected them (which was bad in a jar) back at him. Staring through the glass, she silently cheered on her boy as he began to throw nuts around, understanding the concept behind the strategy and what was the plan. If Navi could have talked through the glass she could have told him his location in a matter of seconds, the night-vision of her magic working with her. The Shiekah had obviously seen that, imprisoning me for that handicap, and that the stakes were to low. I mean, this person obviously wanted Link for some reason or another.  
  
Cheering silently within the bottle, she finally got out of the process of yelling, and into the process of keeping her breaths calm and clean. Or hoping that the man was lying to get on Link's bad side or that her former Kokiiri could get move a little faster and catch that creep in the head- lock that he deserved. Whatever his problem was, they were going to fix it, if he had some sort of grudge then maybe they would duel it out, but how dare it separate them. They were a team, they didn't need someone keeping them locked up together, but the instant thought of them being separate. That's what Impa said. Exactly what she had said, that one day they might be trapped, so was this some sort of follower of Impa?  
  
Hoping that their sensei was a former trader to Ganondorf (if this kid even did work for the evil King) her hopes were drained clean when she noticed that through her night-vision the boy was watching Link throw the little nuts. It was as if he were testing the boy, knowing full well what was happening, but allowing it to happen so that it was destiny. Maybe the boy was just resting us to get on our bad sides, and if that was what he aimed for, he got it. Leaning up against the clean glass, she let her aura stay on, sighing a little bit, this fight wasn't going to take long. If it were, then she'd find out what the ninja's true intentions were. Unfortunately for her, she would be dead when that happened.  
  
--------------------  
  
"That won't work, I can't be paralyzed."  
  
"We'll see about that, heh...Throwing out a total number of seven nuts in the room, each in a different direction, he detected no movement from the Shiekah, only the occasional middle-of-the-room chuckling and some taunting that paralyzing wasn't going to happen for this ninja. The funny thing was that the boy wasn't trying to freeze him in his tracks, he was looking for the smarter position, the position where it was easier too see through the mist when the flash of burst came about. Finally the seventh nut stuck to the northeastern section, seeing a figure sitting behind in the twilight, leaning against the wall. Only a few minutes or so left, go for the old approach! Turning to the northwest, he threw another nut, growling with frustration, trying his acting skills out for a few seconds.  
  
"Damnit, where is he? I can't find him, maybe here?" Leaping to the northwestern direction, the man was caught in the middle of a laugh when Link had pounced on top of him, holding the man down by the throat, the sword held to his side in a slashing manner. Gasping, the Shinobi had been tricked indeed, for while he was chuckling away from the boy's inconvenience, Link had made a quick attack to the left and overtaken the defenseless one. With a grip upon his neck, so close to breaking it that he could taste it, the boy gave a sickening grin from his lips while they moved down into the light that was shining from the Triforce symbol up at the top of the room. "Let her go, now!"  
  
Disappearing away from the lad, the man snapped his fingers once, the jar disappearing and Navi reappearing next to Link's side, as the two rejoiced in a few hugs and kisses, the Shinobi stared off to the side about to gag from all the emotion. To be a Shiekah meant to be alone, like a Shinobi or ninja, it meant to stay in the darkness, the shadow of the Royal Family, not to be respected, nor honored. He understood this taking great pride in his situations, not even admiring the boy for his power. Finally, the boy turned back to the man, did he fully begin to talk to that one: the hero.  
  
"What is your name, Shinobi?" The gagging fairie answered, still trying to clear her lungs from the past adventures. Link patted her on the back, since he didn't have a grip on the boy any more; it was obvious that he was testing them, from the point in his skill he could probably take them out. The thing was that he didn't, so that showed he wasn't some accursed man, but someone with a mission, maybe another person who taught techniques, or maybe another rival looking for a quick thrill. Whatever the case, it was obvious that the cheering section of this band camp were ready to take on anyone who would directly hurt another member of the team.  
  
"Shiek, and I am a Shiekah. Never call me 'Shinobi'." From the tone in his voice, he didn't appreciate the Shinobi too much. Maybe it was like that bond between Samurai and Ninja, if you got them mixed up then dire consequences were faces from the people of both clans. Shinobi were stealthier, wore black, and killed for a living. Navi didn't really know what a Shiekah did, it had been so long ago since they lived, except the gentle Impa, but obviously they were loyal. Maybe the complete opposite of Shinobi, where they killed they Shiekah would clean and help others in need. That would be a good reason for becoming over-edgy of a name.  
  
"Alright, Shiek. What is your business here?"  
  
"Hrm, I am here for help, if you must know. I know your partner here is the Hero of Time."  
  
"Hero of Time, what's that?" Link slapped his head. Of course! Navi had been resting when this went on, but he, himself had no idea what exactly the Hero of Time was. From the meaning it meant maybe someone who traveled through time, also being a hero? That would be good in this case, because figuratively he did travel ahead seven years in time, without his own knowledge, or growing up. Only problem was that there wasn't a way to get back down this his original form, relive his childhood that had been washed away in an instant. Staring down glumly, the boy recollected upon those thoughts as Shiek explained.  
  
"The Hero of Time is the person who shall wield the blade that repels evil, the Master Sword. Also, the Hero of Time shall change the future for all of Hyrule by defeating the once re-noted King of Thieves, Ganondorf Dragmire. To perform this task, you will have to cross through forest, down into mountains, in the most vast sea, out in the spirits of the dead, and deep within the desert." Smiling to himself as his small introduction, he went on. "The Hero shall be the most powerful, most will not believe he is the hero, maybe a False Prophet, or just another insane person who has gone mad over the time that Ganondorf has been around, you and your partner shall be the ones to take out this evil. He being dubbed the Hero of Time and you being dubbed the Fiireui Ruiilu, or Fiery Ruin. As the old sage may have presented to you, you must collect all five medallions from the places I explained."  
  
"I-I see. So, you are saying we are to go to the Lost Woods, Death Mountain, Hylia, somewhere ancient, and the Gerudo home?" Link stated out, looking up at the man. No, not a man, a boy he had to be, but still older than him.  
  
"No, hero, I am not saying that. I am not saying anything to you, for this is your destiny and you shall handle it however you like. Now I want you to draw your blade--you seem to be able to handle it with one hand--so attack me as hard as you can."  
  
"A-attack you? You are unarmed!"  
  
"Just do it, idiot! You need to learn or you will not accept in your leadership as the hero. Understand that the training you received from Impa was essential, but these monsters are twice as fierce compared to these new monsters. They are rulers from each division, under Ganondorf's power, or his generals."  
  
How does he know about that? How could this guy know about him and Rauru, the stones quest, and Impa? Shaking his head, the bangs slicing to the left and right as he turned, the boy grappled for his sword, the slithering sound of a snake resented as it slid from its holster. Holding the blade right before him, giving a quick and honorable bow to Shiek, he pressed the Shiekah in the most admirable fashion he could seem good. Still worried about the fact that Shiek had no weapons on him, no shield for defense, nor could he detect any manna for a physical barrier. That worried him beyond belief, not really caring for the older boy, but not wanting to ruin his life just before the man was cocky. Biting his lip, the boy swung to the left of Shiek's ribcage.  
  
"He's gone, Link!" She couldn't believe that, right when Link had sliced down at his side, the boy seemed to vanish, as if he were an apparition. Simply amazed by the conflict, her eyes began to wonder around the room to see that if he was real or not, but she wasn't really surprised when she saw him hiding amongst the shadows, a finger to his lips for her to quiet herself. Not that that stopped the young fairie from spilling the action to Link, so she quickly whispered a few words in the boy's ears, loving the face that appeared on Shiek. Absolutely ridiculed, she could see that he raised his finger up, the middle one, giving it to her before taking off into the deepest part of the room. He could be anywhere, for the boy could hide up in the shadows, farther up than Link could reach.  
  
"Link.I don't see him anymore."  
  
"Hrm, where could he be. I wish he would just att--" His prayers were answered when something caught him in the left of his eyes. Gasping, a leap back saved his skin as the Shiekah came down with a malicious look plastered upon his face, baring weapons that Link hadn't even paid much heed to until now. The claws that were hooked to his hands--not real ones, but metal ones--they had slit down right for Link's face when he had dodged the attack. Raising the sword up, the boy knew that this attack couldn't be dodged, they were head on together, nothing was going to save him, for Link was near a corner that Shiek was blocked into. Link also noticed that down where the palms were, there was a pair of spikes sticking out, so if he were to grab someone they would be pierced. Preparing himself, the sweat tingling from his brow, he threw his weight all into the blade to vanquish the evil.  
  
Shiiing  
  
Oh, my Goddess how did he! With the blade pressed upon Shiek, or so it seemed, the enlarged Kokiiri was staring down at the man whose eye was gleaming a re-collectively amount of crimson. Both of his hands were crossed in the shape of an 'X' giving off the indication of trying to defend himself, but what was weird was how he was holding himself off. Feet spread a few feet out, the hands were shaped like the letter at the beginning, but near where the claws were was where the fun started, they were hooked in with the blade. Yes, somehow, at the right exact moment Shiek had grasped the blade with his sword, letting that cold look give out to Link that this wasn't just luck.  
  
"How did you--" Link began only to be cut off.  
  
"Because I am better." Using the wall as a deflector, he pressed his back up against it and jumped into the air, pressing his feet into Link's chest for balance. Those shoes he wore weren't so hard, so nothing was broken when Shiek launched himself off of the boy, using him as some sort of catapult, skydiving over the boy's head and revealing himself back into the shadows before Link could even manage up the power to turn around. When he finally did spin around, all he saw was his silent partner and the darkness that seemed to have filled up the entire space. It was if the Triforce that was in the entire Temple was fading, fading fast--he didn't think it had to do with Shiek either.  
  
"Did you see that?" Navi blurted out, looking out with her eyes around the room. Somehow the boy couldn't be detected of the intense darkness. It had gotten so dark now that the only parts that were lit up was the room outside of the Door of Time (which didn't matter), and simply the pedestal was giving off a faint reflection of the gray material about. Standing in the center of the room, the girl could hear something, something metallic that was being ready for something. Then her mind thought back to what she had feared, those little knives. Grabbing a hold of his head, she hit his head fiercely, trying desperately to get her boy off his feet.  
  
"Get down, Shuriken!" Hitting the floor, three of the tiny stars zipped past them and clattered into the nearby wall, directly passing over where they had stood just seconds ago. Shiek wasn't talking anymore, so that must have meant it was time for business, the hero had to stop him or he would die. Leaping back to his feet, Link began to search the room, thinking as the seconds passed into minutes, nothing happening at all except the occasional unsheathe of a shuriken, and when he threw it and they hit the floor. His fairie didn't have any problems stopping the little knives that were collecting into the near wall, but he sure did. If Shiek decided to go for a knife down when he was on the ground then he was dead meat.  
  
Still lying upon his back, he could only hear two things In this room: his own heartbeat, and the sudden gasps of Navi as she would sigh with relief when he would evade precisely. Laying his hands infront of him, the sword in the left, while the shield in the right, he did notice something. That all the shurikens seemed to be coming from one general direction: the north. No, not all of them were north exactly; some were headed more towards east and west, then north, while most stood around northeast and its counter part of the west. Springing a wonderful idea into his mind, the boy looked over to his fairie, speaking to her so silently the Shiekah couldn't hear.  
  
"Plan, I got one."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"Direction I see, go in with shield raised and hope doesn't aim for legs." Speaking incoherently, he was doing this to throw off any indication that the boy could get a peek at them, or an earful. Navi caught on, deciding only to nod with a bit of relief reflected on her face, but she did show some worry about that fact he couldn't guard his legs. As a child he could have ran forward with the shield (if he could lift it) and would have done it easily, but being bit had its advantages and disadvantages. Link hadn't really discovered on any of the advantages yet, his own soul pleading to be returned to its initial inhabitants. Jumping up, he felt one of the knives whiz past his ear, causing some pain and blood to pour down that delicate feature, and grabbing the ear, he was responded with another one, this time raising the shield to defend himself.  
  
--------------------  
  
He was getting to smart, to fast. Not that was expected of the boy, he was the Hero of Time. He had just expected them to be at it for a few hours, instead of only a few minutes, and with the damage cut to his ear that meant the malice in the boy was going to be intensified. Not that Shiek minded the little messy part of the battles; those were always the most fun of the battles, getting in real close and personal for the final assault. Maybe he could try the ramming trick again, but he doubted Link would fall for it--he wasn't stupid or anything. Gripping his palms together, gnashing the claws, he leapt in as Link charged.  
  
Being accustomed to the night was a good thing, he could see most of everything in the dark, most colors were almost natural to him, but there were a few that escaped his mind. Ah, if only blue hadn't been one of those colours, then the battle would have gone on for a few hours or possibly even days. All Shiek saw was a large bird headed his way, a Triforce hidden under it with some other insignias printed upon it, and only when he noticed that Link was towered over it did he leap up for defense (he hadn't seen Navi, she was blue also.) Not having enough time to move, he crossed his claws together, bracing himself for the impact, no matter how hard it would be.  
  
Yes, it was over when he hit it. Link hadn't held back his power that time, the Ki in his soul had moved up to a higher caliber than Shiek could imagine for the younger child. When he slammed down into Shiek, the man slammed into the wall, making a few rumbling sounds come about (not that anyone would notice!) That kind of joke made the pain disappear somewhat when he slumped down, the shield being pried off of him, and a huge mark of the shield printed all over his upper-chest and face arena. There he was about to jump up when the legendary evil repel was pressed from Link's hand up to where Shiek's throat was, obviously not liking him in any bit.  
  
Slumping down to the ground all the way, he knew when he was beat, it was quite a shame that the battle had lasted so short. Stopping wouldn't have been an option until Link over-took him, that was only when the boy would be able to face the first general of Ganondorf. Not that Shiek was weak or anything, he was more powerful than the Hero would be for months, but this was all the power he was allowed to use on the hero without getting in trouble. Grabbing the blade, he yanked it away and stood up, walking over into the light and sitting down upon the pedestal of the sword. There the Triforce brightened again ah-ha so it had just only been his doing.  
  
--------------------  
  
The two hadn't really known what Shiek could see under the darkness of night, but they took a chance and came out lucky. A bit of the part on Navi's side, she had suggested he be quiet instead of his plan of yelling a war car and charging the boy with the fierce battle that was supposed to be laid ahead. To both of their surprises, the Shiekah laid down with a snort and jumped up, pulling off his weapons (no--he pressed a button and they depressed down into his wrapped hands.) Crossing over to the land where the pedestal, they saw him take a seat the light return back to the room, making it a seemingly more happily place. So, it had just been some trickery of the man, but something was wrong, it wasn't as bright as seven years ago that was for sure.  
  
"Hrm, you've proven yourself worthy, for that I shall teach you a song that will help you."  
  
"A song?" He had nearly forgotten about his instrument.  
  
"Yes, pretty soon you will have to travel to this temple as lightning speed, so this song is sort of a teleportation device. As in if you play it than the song will transport you from wherever you are standing to the spot in the middle of the Temple of Time where there is that platform with the Triforce and the symbol on it. Yes, you've seen it before." Chuckling, he snapped his bandaged fingers together, a bit of a sparkle arousing and then a golden jewel appeared in his hands. Not a jewel, but it certainly assumed the identity of one, it was actually a harp of some sort, the thing incrusted purely in gold so it had quite a beautiful value rate. Ripe stringers sang upon the delicate siren, giving off the incantation of holiness, and holding it out, the boy tuned it up with the brim of his fingers.  
  
"Transportation? I don't believe you." Navi spoke out, looking towards with boy.  
  
"Yes, you probably don't either, do you hero?"  
  
"Well, it is farfetched."  
  
"Just as farfetched as the Chamber of Sages." They both remained quiet, so he continued. "This song is a beautiful tune, it is entitled the Prelude of Light. Composed many thousands of years ago when the earth was still young, it was played to the Goddesses as a sign of forgiveness for their sins, letting off the holiness of all three sisters being combined and chastised as one. Now take out your Ocarina and follow along, I will only do this once."  
  
Pulling for the strap, he was faced with a conflict. Which one of them would he take the fairie from Saria or the one made from glass by the princess of the Kingdom? The man who said that the Fairie Ocarina didn't give off the special powers that the Ocarina of Time gave out quickly gave his answer. Nodding, he kissed his old piece, snapping the pack shut and turning towards Shiek, pushing the Ocarina at his lips. Readying himself for the passage of the song, he blew up inside of the Ocarina, cleaning some of the dust upon the edges, he may have been preserved but this thing sure hadn't.  
  
Shiek's tune did turn out to be very melodic. Where the story about the honoring the heavens was true or not, had to be determined by someone else, maybe a scholar (if any where left.) It was made up of six different notes, as all the other songs had been, the notes gliding out into quite a chipper mood yet giving off a somber look of it. While the boy tried the first time to play the tune, Shiek reached down into his satchel and grabbed up the piece of station that Link had for his songs. Reading it over, while the disgraced boy practiced, Shiek grabbed the writing tool from his pack and began to write on the paper, not just copying notes, but drawing something.  
  
About fifteen minutes of practicing proved the tune was a little harder than the rest, but it gave Shiek the time to work on the paper, whatever he was doing, and Navi to peer over his shoulder with a sudden interest. The time he finished the six-note tune perfectly, a light sprang above him, making a yellow aura surround him in a flash. Covering his eyes from the blindness that the light would surely give, his entire existence was gone from the spot he stood, Navi too being sucked up with him. When he opened his eyes this time, he was back in the first room of the Temple of Time; the jewels still stuck inside the slots of the room that opened his path to destiny.  
  
"Link, it worked."  
  
"Y-yea, guess he wasn't lying."  
  
"Of course I wasn't." Stepping out of the Door of Time came Shiek, the paper and writing utensil handed back to Link who looked at it with his own interest poked in. When Link had copied down his songs he wrote down the name, notes and how they were played, a very bad manner it was in, but Link didn't compose. Shiek must have been some sort of composer, for it was written with the whole style that music was written in, with the little sign and lines all around, the tunes at such an easy access to remember. The stationary was obviously new, the old one had been crumpled and gray, the songs printed on there in a good fashion, and storing it down in his satchel, he grinned up at Shiek.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Don't mention it. Now, you may have been wondering where your weapons and everything are, correct?"  
  
Actually he had been wondering where they are, but he just shrugged a simple shoulder. What was the point in worrying someone over old weapons, although he did have to return the weapons of the Kokiiri back to their original place--no one would recognize him now, would they? Shiek grinned at his confidence, walking up to the entrance of the Temple of Time and slamming a palm on the surface of the marble wall. Yes, this entire place was composed of stone and marble, maybe a mixture so complex that it was hard to tell which one went where. Anyway, the stones slid back in an orderly fashion, where there stood a rack that held the sheathed Kokiiri Sword, his old boots and tunic, Deku sticks, the magic seeds, and that boomerang. "As you can see, these weapons aren't fit for you, or that's what Rauru has decided. Fortunately for you and me, I don't listen to thousands of years old men. Help yourself."  
  
And like children at Christmas, Link and Navi gathered up to their old cabaret, searching through the old merchandise for some sort of beautiful traditions. The tunic and boots were a no-no, but the Kokiiri sword would come in handy, so he grabbed it and stuck the blade down in his side pack, it could act as a last line of defense. Everything else was pretty much useless, the boomerang was too small, seeds weren't of any use anymore, and the Deku sticks were like twigs in his hands. Shutting the thing all the way, he looked over towards the man, who clapped his hands and the wall returned to its original space, no mark was there to shown as if it had ever moved.  
  
It was hard to judge Shiek's expression, you could tell by the way the material moved, as when he was grinning it stuck up a little, when he frowned it went down a bit. Link had only seen happiness and cockiness in his new ally, but now the cloth did go when he spoke of something grave, something Link didn't want to hear. No, he didn't want to hear, but he simply had too, it was for the best if he heard it from his new friend (?) before seeing it for his own eyes. His hometown was having an over-running of monsters.  
  
"Your serious?" Navi and Link spoke at the same time, their face graven with age.  
  
"Yes, I have looked on and I see all the children hide within their homes in fear as Baba plants have sprout up, Deku Scrubs, even those evil Octaroks you faced in the Zora's place have migrated to the waters. Also, there seems to be a strange aura coming out from the Forest Temple there, that means the general is readying to attack and destroy everything in his path, now since no other temple is not activated up as of yet, I saw you start there."  
  
"Tell me about these generals, are they different from our past main enemies?" It was Navi speaking.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes. The enemies you encountered were bred, bribed, and given unknown power that they accepted for their own enjoyment. Before they received the powers, all were minions of Ganon--now don't make that face--they were the most powerful minions of Ganondorf, but not anything compared to the Generals. Your first one, was a tree of some sort, but a dispute came about and I heard he was killed, so someone new may get there. Others are usually elemented what you will be fighting, so expect a fire, forest, desert, death, and water monsters. Yea, it only gets tougher from here. Oh, that reminds me!" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a piece of paper and threw it at Link.  
  
Catching the paper, he unfolded it and read it aloud for Navi to hear. "'New treasure supposedly discovered in tomb of late Danpte'. Oh, he's that guy we dug with back then, huh? So, what about it, Shiek?"  
  
"I know the treasure he has, he's still a ghost and since I am Shiekah we have the ability to interact with the world--think of us as Shamans, but without all the integrating stuff, we only speak to them. Now, he has a tool that you will need to get into the Forest Temple."  
  
"That's right, Link, remember? When we went to the meadow that place above us, the place near the top of the tree, that is the Forest Temple, right, Shiek-kun?" Navi asked, she perching upon her boy's shoulder, lazily. Yea, she had gotten some little respect for Shiek, he was just too battle hardy, she still doubted that the jar she had been in was really empty of air. Of course who couldn't help but be a little bloodthirsty in the way she still remembered from those images, shuddering at the thoughts. Whatever Hyrule looked like was probably worse than ever, maybe even decaying dead bodies around. The thing she was truly glad was over had to be the battles, maybe that was a way the Goddesses had protected Link, for if he was asleep and imprisoned away from the world than no one could hurt him.  
  
"You are right, miss fairie. And don't try leaping from that tree, it's about forty feet across. The weapon you will get is called a hook- shot, it is basically a hook attached to a base that fires off a chain and when it connects with the target it will pull you up with the recoil."  
  
"And we need this?" Link chirped in, not really in the mood for anymore side quests. He had had his share of fun as that when he was a kid, now he really just wanted to get all these medallions, win whatever there was to win, defeat Ganondorf Dragmire and go home. Since Shiek had said that there would be a time he should return quickly here, than Link made that to believe that maybe he could travel back home somehow. Everything was possible, right? I mean, we can get home somehow. Link caught something from the man named Shiek, a small little brown bag wrapped up with a band of rubber, and undoing it he discovered that there was some food in it, meat, cheese and some bread. Grasping the food to his chest, he smiled to the older man, who shrugged it off.  
  
"Yes, hero, you do. Anymore questions?"  
  
"Can we get home when this is over?"  
  
"Yes, during one of your medallion quests you will be required to return, hero. To return to your past you simply slip the Master Sword back into the slot from which it came, if the sword is no longer in the world of the present than you return back to normal, remembering everything of course. Oh, that reminds me, transportation. I figured you are older now so you may want a need of transportation, I don't know where many are left around here, but you shall look. Mm, also, I think your friend is in danger--the one you hold so high in your heart." Smiling a little, he caught Link looking down to the ground and there was the time to make his exit. Holding out a seed like before, these were more of a darker gray, seeming the same in comparison as Impa's. Backing up ten feet, he threw the seeds on the ground, where there was s small explosion, and when the smoke cleared he was gone.  
  
"Just like Impa." He spoke, admiring the grace at which he left, it was so weird, but he felt so familiarized around the new ally. Crossing his arms around his chest, Link walked over to the wall of the temple, leaning against and letting the marble touch his skin, caressing it softly between the fabrics. Sighing sweetly, he held out a hand, which Navi accompanied over to him, staring at him in utter fascination. What would become of them was still unknown, still very much stupefied the boy, but that didn't mean it wasn't time to show it. Pecking her forehead with a kiss, she began to talk to him in her sweet-mannered way.  
  
"The only transportation I can think of is--"  
  
Snapping his fingers, he intercepted her. "Lon Lon Ranch!"  
  
"Yup, some horses, maybe not a buggy but what about that horse whose song you know. Epoch, wasn't it?"  
"Epona, Navi, Epona. Yea, I remember her song and if we play that than surely we can overtake her with us, that is if Malon will allow us. Epona maybe nice and all, but she isn't my mare, I would like to see how she is doing, so we can just head off to the trail, and suppose we don't get Epona, we can always take another horse in action. What is she, seven now?"  
  
"Yup, but we must hurry. I think we are in for some surprises. Shiek said that Saria was in trouble, or is there another Forest girl that you admire much from afar?"  
  
"N-no, I think its her. She always stays out in the meadow--alone since I left-- so if the thing attacks it will probably take her hostage or something, I don't want her to get hurt so I'll go after her. Wonder if she'll still call me little?" He just had to chuckle over that, jumping off from the wall and giving a large glance around. It was funny; she was older, yet he would probably size over her many times, not that he wouldn't mind. This body was, after all, just a shell of himself, maybe it wasn't even his real body, but what he'd be like if he could grow up--something the Goddesses made so that he could handle the sword. Something like that, but there was no way that he was ever gonna grow up, for when this was over and he went back to his own time he was gonna go back to the forest and stay a few years.  
  
"I think she'll like you even more, you are quite handsome now. At first you were cute, now you are handsome."  
  
"Is that better?"  
  
"Kinda. In some ways it is, but you are even bigger now." Whining, she laid down upon his hand, while he went around the room checking out for any other secret passages. It was true that now she was smaller than his middle finger, but it didn't matter, it was as simple as that. Navi did hope that Link's theories were true and this was just something that the heavens produced to do their own work, that would be fine with her, as long as he was all right in the end. Finally, he readjusted his cap, slapping the shield on his back and holding the Master Sword in his left hand, walking to the doors of the temple.  
  
"This world might be frightening, Link, you sure you're ready?"  
  
"Ready as I'll even be, if it is dark and gloomy, we'll face it together, okay?"  
  
"Mmhm, that's right, sweetheart. Nothing can stop us." Leaning up and kissing his cheek, he let her get one on the cheek too, letting those tender muscles press against hers as it moved, the sweet pink muscles. Finally stopping the kiss of her cheek, he pressed upon the doors, seeing the Triforce dim from the back room, making a promise to fulfil his destiny, no matter what the cost, and give it all his all. It hurt to think of dying for a country he had never had the time to experience, dying for something other than that, but when he thought about it: he wasn't fighting for Hyrule. It may have seemed that way on first glance, but it was really fighting for Navi, for Saria, for Malon, for Ruto, and Zelda (wherever she was.) He was fighting for a future of these species, so that one day we'd all live in peace.  
  
--------------------  
  
Good, he's gone. Limply hanging his head, the boy slipped out through the shadows when the smoke had been at large. That was the best way to go, just like a true Shinobi, out the window when no one was looking, as quiet as a mouth, slick as a snake in attacks, and quick as a weasel. Chuckling dully, he knew what the boy had to face right out of Hyrule, nothing too desperate for his skill in the master blade, but something to test his abilities. Of course Shiek had gone easy on him, if he had used his full power than the boy would be dead within a few minutes, and the fact was that he was stronger: a lot stronger than the hero was at this time. Yet, it didn't matter if the hero was weaker now, he had to have received the sage's powers to realize his full potential, only then would he extend beyond the human limits in power and vitality. Right now he did cross over the borders of a normal human, but Shiek could beat a normal human, he was far beyond those days, back when he was younger.  
  
Would have been easier if he was trained instead of kept sealed up. Rauru was so stupid sometimes, he should have trained the child inside the Chamber of Sages, there he might be able to change to different environments, let the boy train in a variation of arsenal, and teach him some simple hand-to-hand combat. That's what worried him the most, that one day he might have his sword thrown aside and without it all he had were his little gadgets for protection, no other weapons. He had to give him credit; it was nice to store that knife down, if only he'd have stored it somewhere it had easy access, like his boot for instance. Oh, well, you don't except apprentices to surpass the teachers within the first day, do you? Not that Shiek was his teacher, far from it; he was simply helping the time hero in his quest.  
  
No harm done in that, he had commanded himself since he heard of the great hero to do this deed so that the evil king could go down. Speaking of the devil, I have to report in, the thoughts trance forward while he slipped passed the slums of Hyrule, ignoring them with utter disgust, slipping out of the large and barren market, making his way down into the castle gates, where that the palace stood. There stood the deep black castle of Ganon, once home of the Royal Family, only born of his generals and their precious allies, only the strongest, though. Since Ganondorf's take-over, the path to the palace had shortened so great a bit that if it was walked then it would take only six hours, but this was Shiek who was walking. Scaling the paths and soiled ground with only barren earth, he reached the castle within a few seconds, taking out another one of those pellets and slamming it into the ground.  
  
Unlike the generals of the evil king, Shiek didn't wear any detection that he was with him. Why would he, he wasn't one of them, he was basically a mercenary for the king, one who could gather valuable vital information, and keeping on the Gerudo's good side. You never wanted to get on the bad side of Ganondorf, no matter how much more powerful Shiek was than Link, Ganon was ten fold that power, the Triforce of Power had been described for the right reasons, all it gave was power. Courage was assigned to give more vigor, energy, and willingness to survive, while Wisdom allowed more intelligence and healing skills. Wherever the Wisdom was, that person was awful wise in worldly affairs.  
  
The pellet he threw down was kind of like Link's Ocarina songs, they did transport him through out the evil castle, having to miss all the shadows and wizards (what a loss) and come out to where the throne room stood. Placing his hand on the velvet doors, the boy gave a giant shove, the fifteen feet tall double doors spreading across and leading down a darkened path, showing nothing quite so bright for the future. Each step at a time lit up his path a little and little farther, that was until he reached the end when the lights suddenly flashed on, the sound of organ music floating through the air. Covering his eyes from the light, he'd never get used to that, the ninja stared forward through dimmed bright and caught a gander of his fearless leader sitting on a stool, the organ that was played being himself.  
  
Kneeling before the throne, which was right infront of the organ, he spoke aloud. "My Lord." Suddenly those hands cracked into the organ key, splintering a few of them in the frenzy. Placing his hands on the sides of the organ, the man spun around to face his own little pet. Most would have screamed at the terror pasted on Ganon's face, he was the most powerful man in the world, after all, yet Shiek just looked at him with determination in that one eye. When Ganondorf gave a slight nod, the man stood up at the front of the throne that his boss had rested himself on, listening with an eager ear.  
  
"He's awakened."  
  
"Who, the hero?"  
  
"Yes, sire. That wretched fool has awakened the Hero of Time."  
  
"Interesting." Shiek was assigned to guard the Temple of Time from intruders, that was so no one would be able try to do what he had done: defile the pure land of the Sacred Realm. Nothing was pretty about this land, Ganondorf knew that, but he also knew that it was his land, the land of his people now, not the land of those dreaded Hylians. At his side stood two female Gerudos, each silent with a Kwan Dao, ancient blades of the past that was made up of a simple steel pole with two pieces of sharp curved blades on each side. Quite an impressive arsenal for these beautifies, but they were guarding the King from any assassins, it wasn't as if anyone had ever tried to take over the land (all the knights and their sons were dead) it was only a precaution.  
  
"I have been watching him close, he doesn't seem too well developed in the sword now. Might this be a good time to kill him?"  
  
"Oh, Shiek, you are too blood-thirsty. I know you are dying to taste his blood, but let him go through the temples, and if he goes in the correct order than he shall be ready when he gets to me. Besides, I doubt if that stupid boy even be able to get past the Forest warrior I have replaced Shiiu with, he is quite more powerful."  
  
"I see, sire. Well, all right. I bid you farewell, I am going to keep a close eye out on him from a distance." Shiek forgot the to mention the part about the songs, he just thought they weren't that important and would probably piss the king off. Right now, all he had to worry about was what the King would do, the King had decided to let the boy live for now. That was quite fine with him, but he didn't like the fact on how cheery that his master was getting, it quite an eerie look on his face, as if he wanted to fight Link. Must be the case, since he hasn't had a good fight in over seven years, not even seeming to have aged in that time, his bones are probably restless for battle: a worthy opponent.  
  
"Good idea, see what he is up too, don't show your presence, but just watch him when he sleeps, guard him, I guess. I do want him to live incase he gets to my castle and we face, I want that show for myself, but I do still doubt he will get past the Forest warrior, even if he gets past the guards." Guards were still in Hyrule, not the human Gerudo, but a different type of guards. His own kind were positioned around the world, everywhere except the Kokiiri forest where his beauties couldn't enter without being turned into some stupid Deku Tree. The guards that Ganondorf had planned for a Link would be enough to see if this was really the Hero of Time, no one to save him this time, nothing to protect him from the power of his evil. Zelda was gone, the king was gone, no one was around to save him, only himself. Ever since that day Ganon had taken an interest in the boy, he really could be the Hero of Time; he only needed to find out.  
  
"So, who is replacing Shiiu. The sisters?"  
  
"Ha! They are too weak; they are still in second commands. Mm, the person who is in charge is me!"  
  
--------------------  
  
The sky, it's too black. In fact it was the middle of the day when they stepped out of the room, Link proved this by slapping the older Gossip stone, only to receive that it was eight o'clock in the morning. Staring at the statue in disbelief, he slapped the other four that were next to it in the garden, just before the Hyrule market, each one repeating the same answer. That wasn't the worst of it, no not at all, the worst of it would have been the light that was in the sky, just like in the windows they gave of that malice aura. Deep violet clouds surrounded the entire sky, letting not an inch of sun or the transpolar clouds peek through, as if a thunderstorm was brewing on, but nothing was being summoned to strike down in an electrical fashion. Holding the sword out, he tapped it upon the ground, glancing at his fairie every now and then as they walked down the steps to the market.  
  
"What is it?" She had finally caught his glance after a few of the looks, smiling at the shyness he was giving, but worried for his health. The boy was showing signs of weakness in his heart, the sign he was about to break down, the signs of everything were in his mind, giving off in the perfect aura that only she could view, surrounded him.  
"I feel uncomfortable here, this world is so different."  
  
"I am sure it's just Hyrule market, you remember what happened over in the mind clips Rauru gave us."  
Did he ever, those images were burned inside his eye-sockets for the rest of eternity. Not taking anymore time holding back, the boy held out a gasp that would have come out, if not for the presence of Navi in him. It was weird, but he felt like he could cry in front of her, as if that was some sort of sin to show his weakness. It was quite the irony that when he was younger he cried all the time to her, not younger, but in his younger spirit he would weep to her as if she was some sort of bigger sister. What caused him to hold back his fear, his face twisting in fear, was near the end of the steps was a pile of bones (fresh, he couldn't tell), them piling down and inside the pile was a human skull.  
  
Navi wretched away with him, seeing he wasn't going to check the bones, so she did it for him, not thinking of him as weak, just short- stomached. Inside the pile (which was only one earthling) she saw that tatter pieces of clothing showed that this thing wasn't too old, had been a peasant, and where he held his hand laid a broken scythe, so it was given off that he was a farmer. Fortunately the body structure didn't match those of a heavy-set man, so the thought of it being Talon of Lon Lon Ranch was out of her mind, and yet feeling the sorrow for the family of this young man. Shivering from the bones, she came back up to where he was, wiping her hands on his new tunic. She did this because something was on her hands, from the bones.  
  
"A farmer, or something. Been dead for about a weak, but was picked clean, I saw saliva on the bones--or some liquid." Brushing her dried hands against his tunic once more, she wiped herself off and stared around the room, since the end of the stairs they were right in one of the many beginnings of the Hyrule Castle Town Market, or at least she thought this was the Town Market. From the looks of things around it had bee deserted for quite a while, maybe after that film was taken seven years ago, so the place must have been all alone and sucked up the power from Ganon's Triforce piece. A power that wasn't to be reconciled with, or so it seemed.  
  
"This is horrible. He is killing the land, whatever is in that Power piece we need to stop." Navi nodded quietly while Link spoke his mind. Gripping the handle of the sword, he couldn't help but drag it across the ground in the pain as they stared around. There were bones everywhere, some decaying, some not (the good thing was that there were no fresh bodies around.) Whatever had cleaned them left must have just left from wherever it was coming from, for that reason he lowered his guard for the seances. Now where the fountain in the center of the ground once stood, there was now the same fountain, but it was more cracked around the edges, having no water, no spring of joy it must have been. Cuccos that he had heard here before were gone, the kids that played beautifully, and the women who would yell at him for bothering him when they were shopping.  
  
"I don't see anyone, should they be guarding the fences for intruders."  
  
"Doubt they expected someone to come from the Triforce temple, Navi."  
  
"Mm, maybe you are right. There might be ones more northern, and we have to get to Lon Lon Ranch, so let's get a move on."  
  
Taking a few steps forward, his body stiffened as a long and melancholia moan went out into the air. It certainly wasn't the air, for even though clouds were around, there wasn't anything around to blow the wind, letting this howling being maybe the one who had eaten the others. He had heard that howl before, a distant howl of that sort, it was a lot younger back then, some more of them were around then, but the distinct enemy plastered on his face. Not being able to remember the name, he pictured that evil entity, the brown flaky skin, bad posture, and that evil mask to hide off the fact it didn't have a soul. Redead, those were the names, and revenge was their game.  
  
"Oh, no, are those what I think, Link?" When he nodded, she stifled a quick whimper. Damnit, it was those stupid zombie-like creatures from back in the Kakariko graveyards, where they received that song of the sun. It had worked in paralyzing the enemies, but since the sun was supposed to be out and it was blocked out, she doubted the sun wouldn't help either. Link seemed to mentally agree with her, for he drew out the blade of evil's bane as one of the figures staggered out from behind one of torn down tents that were around, moaning for sweet flesh for some relief. She didn't know if they were zombies, or just liked to munch on your skin, whatever the case, she was not going to take a chance on that.  
  
"The ocarina song won't be any good, right?" It was doubtful to try it, so he yanked his musical machine from its holder, pulling it to his lips and releasing the melodic upbeat tune of the son, composed by those dead brothers all those long years ago. The sun normally would have reappeared from the clouds and shone down to paralyze those Redeads inside small pillars of white silk, something of what a spider did, but it didn't do that. All what happened was the zombies noticed the music coming from the general direction, turning around to see what the commotion was. Sinking down behind a box stealthily, he watched as they closed over him, not moving by sense, but by those soulless eyes. As soon as they passed, he wiped the sweat from his brow, leaning on his knees now, noticing how uncomfortable it was to do something never even thought imaginable in the old body.  
  
"Shoulda' let me answer, Link." She appeared at his shoulder, turning his veil off so the bright colours wouldn't attract the zombies. Actually, it was a pure guess that they thought on senses near the eye sockets, instead of near the nose (they're noses were decayed off, so there was only a slumped bump where it would be, some of them even having them compressed into a single triangle.) Those creatures either thought on their sightless eyes, or maybe touch, that would explain why they were always staggering around. What they ate was uncertain; they were just going from the old legends of the dead that were passed down in stories, the dead that waked for flesh of the living.  
  
"Mm, at least they can't find us. How many are out there?" Finally relaxing, he sat down on his rump. "At least a dozen or so, and those are just as far as we can see, you know there have to be more hidden in the valleys and troughs throughout the market."  
  
"Goddess, what happened here, I knew it was bad. But are those the people who were killed here?" Shivering deeply, he placed his hands over his chest, laying the blade in his lap as he did. Since it was a double-edged blade, it was laying down on the bottom parts, instead of the side that would have surely cut him up. Link didn't know what was going on here, this place was so weird, so creepy, it wasn't the place that a naïve lad had wondered upon all those years ago, it wasn't the place that was always bustling with people, good and bad. No, that scenery had died seven years ago, that scene was gone down to hell, nothing to protect it from the fires licking slowly away at it. Ganondorf.he could never be forgiven, he would be punished for his crimes, to this the hero vowed.  
  
"We try to sneak out, Navi?"  
  
"Only way, unless you want to go at them head first."  
  
"Heh, no thank you. I'll keep my blade presentable, though, won't want to run into trouble bare."  
  
"Good idea, and I'll keep my barrier down, although your clothes are quite.recognizable, the land here is a purplish black, while you are a light green. Ah, I've got it!" It was risky, would get him dirty, but it was better than being surrounded by ten zombies and having them all gnaw at your skin. Floating down to where he saw, she clasped up some handfuls of dirt and threw them upon the boy. At first he glared at her angrily, for messing up his tunic, but soon he caught on the idea that the dirt was the same colour as the ground, it had changed the same colour of violet blended with black. Grasping the dirt, he covered his entire body with it, doing the hat with it too and tucking that luscious hair down inside of it. Banding the blade with the dirt too, it looked awful to stain such a beautiful piece of still, yet it had to be done if they were going to go on, another thing was that sword was gonna have to go.  
  
It was too risky to be climbing around on the floor with a handy blade in one hand that could accidentally clatter to the ground, getting the Redeads attentions. Better to be stealthy, like Shiek is, he thought tucking the blade quietly into the slot, looking down at the small clink that went about, fortunately thanking his lucky stars when none of the Redeads didn't turn around. Decayed ears were on their bodies, so maybe it was easier for them not to hear any of the stuff that would make shuffling against the barren part of the market much easier this time. Spraying some dirt lastly on his face and eyebrows, he looked down at his body in amazement if this was the same guy only a few seconds, he actually looked like a darker looking, sinister boy instead of the cherry one.  
  
"You too."  
  
"I can just hide in your--"  
  
"Not enough room, Navi." With a groan, she allowed herself to be dipped inside of the dirt and pulled back, tucking her right under his collar. All her clothes were dirty too, but that would be fixed, for soon they would be out of Hyrule Castle and able to bathe in the moat that surrounded the castle, hence the reason for the drawbridge. Yea, it was tough to be here, tough to get dirty, yet sometimes you just needed to bite your lip, take the pain and hope that when it was over you could look back on it and laugh. All of their bodies were covered down in dirt, the armour that he wore, and bags that carried the supplies of food that obviously wasn't there anymore (most of it was rotten, the only thing that survived was the milk, damn that Lon Lon was good.) Standing up all the way, pressing against the wall in a Shinobi manner, Link began to go onward.  
  
The box was right near the stairs that led to the Temple of Light, so naturally soon he ran out of darkness to hide under (and wall to press into.) There he was right before the stairs, and taking a few glances over at the Redeads, to make sure they weren't looking--his luck they weren't-- glancing forward he made a mad leap ahead, not actually attempting a leap. Maybe tumble was a better word, for the leapt gave away and as he fell down, rolled into a wall and slid down the stairs and back into the darkness, slamming into a wall on impact. Layers and layers of more dirt caught them in the nose and mouth, making them gag out for several seconds, not even aware of the sounds they made. When they were done with the gag session, Link peered against the wall and looked out to the Redead, astonished at how mad their hearing was, they had not even budged an inch.  
  
"We are lucky.these Redead are much stupider than the others." Remarked Navi, still bundled in his collar. "I guess maybe that the others had been underground so much that they adapted intelligence, although we never really tested their intelligence."  
  
"Mm, you are right. However, the stars are in our favor now, all we have left is past those curtains were the merchants used to be and down the path to the end, maybe two or three are there." Link nodded in agreement, all that was left were straight walls, nothing else but walls awaited them until they were past the old selling booths, then they would have to do down a straight corridor (the one where he met that guard one time ago.) Past that Link and Navi would encounter nothing else but the drawbridge, hoping it was at least open, or they might require a small problem on their hands, that thing couldn't be broken into easily.  
  
With little ease, he slipped past the rest of the walls, letting it turn a crack and then onto the next wall that held in the rest of the curtains. From the looks of things a very big riot had occurred such a long time ago that it was sad, nothing was left of the sheets except decaying wood that had one held up the top commotion of the town. Supplies were gone, the food probably long gone, the supplies were perhaps looted when the town was in utter chaos, people tended to react to the most rash situations so weirdly. Sliding past the wood, sighing at the display of the town, the hero couldn't help but whisper a quiet prayer to the souls of the ancient ones that had lived here, the ones who had given their lives while the 'hero' was asleep. It was sad, yes, but mostly it gave him false hope.  
  
Gulping silently, he watched as the wall disappeared with his sliding motions, the open air of the land readying for the path that would lead down into there. When at least he reached the end of the sliding wall, the boy took a quick peer over with his eyes, catching only the door of that place where he had never entered, some more buildings that were decayed, and the hole of where the drawbridge had once been. Doing a double take, he saw that the bridge itself wasn't lowered, there was no wall punched through it, the thing itself was literally gone, torn from the hinges by something terrible, something he never wanted to face, but known he'd have too one day. Scratching the back of his neck, freeing the dirty tresses from the hat, he slipped out and began to walk, still sliding against the wall.  
  
"Link.it's okay, no one's here."  
  
"I feel better this way, maybe it's a way to honor the souls of the dead, not stepping on their tracks. Goddess, do you see that door Navi, am I imagining it?"  
  
"No.no, I see it. I-I knew Ganondorf had power beforehand, but his power must have expanded by ten folds to let him be able to do that, plus this town. That door was consisted of ten thick inches of wood, plus I saw metal that was made in it, all that, it's so wondrous that a power like that could be harnessed, and for all the wrong reasons." The speech she made had she tingling with excitement, fear, and anticipation of getting through with this journey and face this power. Unimaginable power that somehow was harassed, for all the wrong reasons, something that she would never get over. Those words did ring true in her head and mind as she watched him keeping his pace up in the sliding motions, coming out of his collar and sitting on his hat, brushing the dirt from her. Coughing out the rest of the filth from her mouth, somehow she thought she was allergic, Navi continued to watch behind and he, to make sure nothing would follow them. If they did come over, she would just blast them with a Ki blast, which would get them off their high horse for food and off the rode of perdition.  
  
"Link, I really think you should be able too-" Her words were caught off as something fell off from the roof above, ten feet above, slamming into the ground. A bone-shattering crack came out of the slump, since it was so dark Link couldn't get a few view, so he motioned for her to brighten up, which she did without the slightest hesitation. Sitting before them was a man with long ears, obviously Hylian, in his mid to later thirties, the man was wearing a suit that made him jump back: a knight's armour. The same armour he had seen on the men that were in the room with the King and Ganondorf, on his visit to Zelda the first time, before he even considered collecting two more stones. Now they were fourteen feet apart from each other's, Link trying to take a step forward, but a roar of fury stopped him.  
  
Leaping off the roof of the building he never entered was this man's captor, and one who punished. Before Link had stumbled back, he had inspected many slash and bite wounds on the soldier, some of them were fresh and bleeding (the mouth marks), and while the slash marks were all dried with crusted blood, puss forming over some of them. With the signs of infection, it might have been a blessing with a dark figure surrounded the Hylian, diving down onto the man who let out a long screech of pain, an inhuman scream that came from the victim. Covering his sensitive ears, Link watched in horror at the monster ravaged on the soldier, the screams not stopping until the creature reached the man's face--one of the last things it got too.  
  
Stumbling even more back, the boy yanked out his sword, readying it in his right hand, while the left reached behind and pulled the shield out with little ease. Until recently Link had strapped the shield tightly around his body, only as a boy, so that it wouldn't come off whenever he was in a place that it might be lost. Now, however, Rauru had added a small feature that really gave the boy a comforting matter, there was a new slit in the place of the other where the shield held on from its back, making it easier for access. Now gripping the newly discovered slit, he yanked it out just as the monster was done with the dead man, sniffing the air hungrily, catching wind behind him, and jumping forward.  
  
Navi screamed as the tyrant jumped forward, being deflected back by the strong force of the Hylian shield. It slammed up in its face, knocking the creature back several feet, with this it actually knocked the monster out of proportion so it had to help itself shake off the dizziness. No need for role call at this point, Link was up and at them, watching in Navi's gaze at the monster, shivering down with it. The monster had at one time been some sort of human, a mutation had occurred in this human (he couldn't tell if it was Hylian or Gerudo), making it all the more worthwhile. A cross between a reptile and a human was the best answer, except nothing scaly was on this beast.  
  
Maybe an amphibian was a better choice, but Link hadn't felt it so he didn't know if the creature was slimy or not. Anew, the monster was a greenish colour, almost matching his tunic, the inceptions of the human characteristics shining through, showing that it could have been one of Ganon's minions, maybe that would account for the fact that it was evil. He didn't know what Ganondorf looked like, maybe sort of like this, but this very well could be what the intermission of what the Triforce of Power did to you. All that he hoped was that the Courage piece didn't have any side effects on him; he hadn't really gained anything from the piece. Gripping the blade, he launched himself forward, only to be shoved away before he could land a single blow on him.  
  
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Navi hadn't pushed him, that was well thoughts, but she was shoved along with the boy, into the wall with them as the monster launched forward and slashed into thin air. Twirling around, she searched for the one who had touched them, the one who had not let them get a single blow in the creature, but all they received were the simple sounds of the wind. Whoever did that was fast and quiet maybe it was Shiek? Maybe so, but she didn't know, all she knew what that this freak needed to go, some loony who had obviously been corrupted by the evil powers of the Triforce. The case on trial was that they had gotten lucky in receiving the pieces, the good one was handed down to her partner, while the other one was splashed down to the evil King. It was great that he hadn't received the whole piece of Triforce, otherwise they would have never awoken, for the whole piece would have granted him the power for full mortality.  
  
She didn't know if the rest of Hyrule was like this or not, and frankly at this moment she didn't give a damn. The only thing that was important at this moment was defeating this evil entity and protecting her boy at the same time, and firing off a Ki mark at the monster, her utter disgust was revealed. Just like in a previous battle, the mark didn't seem to connect-- no it did connect, the thing just deflected itself off and slammed into the wall, creating some pieces of stone to crack and fall on the ground. Grimacing at this display, she didn't find herself lucky when the monster gave her, yes he noticed her, a look of content on his face, some sort of chuckle following before it leapt out at them again.  
  
This time the boy was ready, throwing the shield up into the air, she watched as it stood in the air and came down to the ground while the monster was on its way to Link. When he threw it into the air, he aimed upward, she thinking it was very lucky that he threw at the right exact moment, for when it reached them the shield clanged on its head. Her eyes glanced upward as when he jumped on top of the shield, a loud crunching noise sounded, the monster giving off one last scream of defeat, the body jerking convulsing, and finally slumping down. They would have to clean the thing off in the river, but at least they were free of that monster-- whatever it was, she thought they wouldn't see another one until a time for a journey back here was necessary, fortunately they would use that sacred Prelude to return. He guessed the time was right for that song, the title giving off that this indeed was the prelude, or beginning of a treacherous journey.  
  
"You all right, Link?" He was pulling the shield off, studying the remains of the one that was once human. Sickly, she too gave it a look, if only out of respect, but had to turn away to keep from throwing up, because the monster had turned from hideous to gut wrenching. Where its head stood was just a lone mass of pulp, the head splintered down the middle and smashed brains being pushed in, and imprints of the shield were pressed in through the brains in a sickening manner. Since he was lying on his back when the event occurred, it was easy to see that the eyes weren't visible, but she had to guess they were out of their sockets and burst along with the rest of the body. Looking back to her boy, she saw that he was only looking down, shaking his head, while simple tears rolled down his cheeks, but why? Of course, he had never killed a man before that was very depressing.  
  
"Hey, Link, it's okay. You were only defending yourself."  
  
"I.I killed someone. Ha! That's a.well, it's sort of a relief. Yea, I was defending myself, but I could have gone while he was gone, I could have run, but my blood lust kicked in. I knew he was evil, and I needed to punish him for his deeds, so I.I could of made it less nasty, but I guess I love the smell of blood--guess I wanted to see this." Showing no respect for the being, she saw him hawk up some phlegm in the back of his throat and spit a wad of it down at the monster, taking the tip of his enlarged Kokiiri boots and smashing it into the tattered brains of it. Navi couldn't help it anymore; she ran off to one of the corners and vomited herself dizzy a few times, hearing the smash as Link repetitively brought his heel down on the brains. Yes, he was bashing the monster's brains in, not enjoying it, for when she came back after he was done those eyes were still filled with the tears of hate, the tears of pain, the tears of pure angst in its most natural form. That form was where a single thing like that wouldn't stand in the way, nothing mattered besides this, and by Goddess a thing like a conscious didn't stop the pure fact of this was bliss.  
  
She should of said something, she would curse herself later for not saying anything, but as he went over and cleaned the soul of his left boot by beating it against the wall (attracting other creatures maybe, yet not caring) she did nothing. It seemed the right thing to do at the time, let him battle with his own spirits, let him be alone with himself, no she didn't even give a comforting hand on his shoulder--even as so little, it still would have mattered--no words. Although what would she say at a time like this? Ha, it was quite such irony to think of a speech of something that was about to hunt you down with barred claws, but maybe that was the humorous thoughts in it: irony was like that sometimes. While the drift would go on, there was no one to stop the bad thoughts from entering your brain, the lust of the death as it flowed through your body. While listening to these thoughts, she jerked when he spoke out loud, determination caressed in a voice of his.  
  
"I shall not kill again." Waiting for some protest, he actually looked hurt when no other voice interrupted, but went on. "No, let me rephrase that. I shall not kill another human again.except one more, and you know who that is, Navi. Yes, I shall kill the evil King Ganondorf, I don't care who he is, any great title or anything, he is not great in my eyes, nor a king, he is a stupid Gerudo who used me for the powers of the heavens." Tightening his fist, the boy looked up to the girl with tears glistening in his eyes, she could smell how much he wanted a hug, how much he needed some comfort, but she took her instincts and nodded flatly. Another strike of pain appeared over his body, as if thinking he wasn't good enough for care anymore, yet he went on, the pain bracing in his voice. "If another human attacks, I shall not kill, I will only knock them unconscious, I can't bear that again.I'm sorry, I know I seem weak."  
  
"No you don't. You are the bravest person I have ever met; you are doing this quest without any rewards. You are so pure, greed, power, lust.nothing tempts you, you are perfect in an essence."  
  
"Yea, right. I have my faults, Navi." He seemed so much older when he spoke that it frightened her.  
  
"That's true, hee, you do have your faults." With that he smiled towards her, a small dirty glove coming up and wiping the tears from his eyes. Catching on in the brink of his glove, he noted it for a second before launching the salty discharge off to the left, listening with quiet ears as he slapped into the ground. Pushing the sword back into the sheath, but not returning the pack back to its original place (when they bathed he would wash it) the boy couldn't help but grin out at the land. So funny, because from where he was positioned the land that led out got less and less dark, he couldn't see the closest landmark of Lon Lon Ranch, but somehow he foresaw that it looked just as beautiful as seven years ago. Clearing his matured throat, the boy shook the last of the tears aside and glanced up at his fairie who had returned to his side for the first time since the same back. No, he wasn't going to speak, he simply gathered her up in his arms, caressing her dirty body with the gloved hands of his own, before putting her back and taking off out the door.  
  
What the two heroes missed about the previous battle had been quite an exciting element that should have been duly noted, that was the fact that Link hadn't killed the man, someone else had. Yes, upon close examination, it was seen that the perpetrator had used Shuriken, the small knives with no handles, a small hole in the center where they were held. Some Shinobi Shuriken were implanted inside the little body, so deep in that they were quite hard to view, but nevertheless the blades penetrated inside the region right around the heard. What this meant that a stealthy, quite person that had hid up in the shadows had aided the young boy in his journey, by lending a helping hand. The battle with the monster was hard, that evil thing would have taken over the boy if not for this mysterious being's presence. Who it was, that was uncertain, yet the fact was that a good suspect was in order.  
  
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For the next few days they took it easy, after exiting the castle, they discovered that the castle bridge hadn't been thrown away, but had fallen down the remainder of the feet down into the moat. The water was still warm and beautiful as before, so that was where they bathed, it tasting and feeling as refreshing as ever. Washing all over their tired bodies, the two were then washing their clothes, Link's armour and most of his weapons that hadn't been inside the satchel, then scrubbing the guts and muck off of that shield. It took the remainder of the day to finish that job, for when they exited the castle the sun was in it's fully glory, shining upon the twelve o'clock position. That and they soaked in the water for the remainder hours gave way that they truly were done in that portion.  
  
After his first meal in seven years (some of the unspoiled milk from his jar and the meat, for it spoiled first) the stuffed ones went to sleep under the stars, no worries of what would happen in the morning. The nice thing about these nights that no more nightmares came that night, maybe it was forever, but it was unlikely, even if they were back to normal, there would always be nightmares. The next morning was received in freshness, where they chopped up the rest of the meat from the pile and took off with four days of food on their hands, more than enough to reach their next destination: Lon Lon Ranch. Of course Shiek probably thought they would be headed straight to the Kokiiri Forest, but there was no sense in that since he needed transportation.  
  
The funny thing about that night was that they didn't use any fire, since his kindle kit had been long since ruined after the aging process, but the Stalchildren hadn't paid them a visit. When he presented the question to the ever-present Navi, so just shrugged a shoulder and simply replied that maybe after all these years the Stalchildren have found new homes, since so many had died. Taking that depressing response as an 'I don't know' answer, he simply forgot about it as the days moved on, not really caring that they were gone, it was just the simple curiosity. It was true that he was still a boy at heart, those two days to the horse ranch proved it to Navi, and the boy was just too sweet to be a teenager, not ready for the patients and stupidity of adolescence.  
  
On Link's part, Navi had to agree it was very unjust of the heavens to process in him time, her too, but she really didn't have much of a problem with losing her childhood as he did. On those two moons and suns that set sometimes the conversations would switch to the topic, both of them agreeing that the heaven deities were not as perfect as some perfected them in the legends, they were just like regular people. They made mistakes, this one being one of the worst ones and had happened to Link, what would have been better was to train him those seven years. Although it seemed like he had been trained, with only a few nights to practice, the boy was already getting better and better in the ways of the sword, already having some experience with the dagger added up in the help. No new techniques had come to him, yet he was still trying to perfect the one he used in Jabu, explaining to Navi (when she asked) that he had learned it from that guard who had attacked them that time they were there.  
  
On the nights he would train his body and mind physically and mentally with some meditation (a technique he just started doing the first night, he explained to his partner that it helped him relax, yea she was with him now.) Before they had trained separately, but now it would have been better to be together some nights, the two nights they spend together learning some new moves, some moves that Link wanted to use without his sword. Navi had suggested the idea, saying that one day he may have had his sword taken away from him, and then he wouldn't know what to do, she was insisting that he was too dependant on the blade. Acting arrogant, he protested until she took his sword, weapons, and magic away from him and asked him to attack--which he could do nothing but complain.  
  
His fairie wasn't much of an expert in the martial arts department, but what she had picked up from some of the other fairies from their boy partners was some basic techniques in fighting. Since he already knew how to flip backwards in his younger form, so they worked on flipping in his newly acquired form, relenting on it, because for the first few hours he couldn't do a thing with himself, but jump around and fall back. It was on the second night that he preformed his first flip, moving back with such ease it seemed almost too easy to believe, and with that he was able to flip back, sway side to side with some training. He wasn't that abdominal correct, so the flips were quite easy, he had the physique of an acrobat, he was very thin, but not scrawny and could move with the easy of one, yet he wasn't that weak in the power department. He could pack a punch, yet dodge one so easily, with practice that is.  
  
Now that's what they worked on with him, for the first three hours they worked on flipping the first night, but up until five o'clock they were working on something new, a technique that required the two of them to do some moves to perform it. A double tech was the name that Link came up with, yet he wouldn't discuss it with anyone, whoever was watching would just have to wait for an actual battle to see it out in action. Passing aside the technique and flipping, Navi was perfected in using his own weapons (not the sword), but grabbing Deku nuts and throwing them, reaching for a bomb and getting rid of it. Just a weird way to protect herself when he was in danger and in no feel to help her out, either in pain or near death. All of his bottles were also empty except for the one with milk, the one with the fairie was gone, she had escaped when he was put to sleep, good, for he didn't like the fact of a beautiful sprite trapped inside of his bottle for seven long years. Either Rauru freed her, or she got herself out and flew away, either way was fine by him.  
  
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Supplies were good when the overhead sun peered out at the third day, but he was over tracked from the situation, it was there that he stayed until the third night, watching as the sun glared over its horizon. Somehow he didn't feel well staying there that day, for troops were coming in and out of the milk farm, making the boy very nervous. Hiding in the tree that day, Link was surprised that Ganondorf's troops did look very normal, that other one must have been some weird mutation that went out of control and escaped. Ganondorf had a weird flag; it was a blood red flag, and a small triangle in the middle with the letter 'G' placed in the center of the square, the triangle also in the center. That was the only thing they could think of as they laid down in the apple tree, very much contented with the supply of their water (filling the canteen up at the stream) and munching on apples as he watched the sun peer over the horizon.  
  
The troops stopping their comings and goings at about the time nine o'clock was around the corner, Link peering over the gates of the ranch just to be sure nothing had rested that night over here. He still didn't know if he had been discovered yet, something told him Ganondorf knew he was around the minute that the sage of Light took him back to his own temple. Now nothing was there, only the usual milk carts some of them so dusty from his view that they looked like they hadn't been used in months. Shrugging a shoulder, the boy pulled his larger satchel now (filled with apples) and hopped down from the tree, sliding down most of the way and landing down on his feet. Navi was at his side, slumbering somewhat, but watching with a lazily eye. Grinning at her, he reshuffled his large pack and spoke out loud towards her.  
  
"You ready for sleep already?"  
  
"Yea, I know we've done slept all day, but maybe the apples tired me out." Giving a small grin, she floated lazily up to his shoulder and took refuge up in the clumps of the large tunic, not closing her eyes, yet looking onward as Link nodded and started walking. That apple tree wasn't that far from where the ranch was, about half a mile, so as her boy slowly walked along the path, her mind would wonder on other subjects they were on with the world. For one, she thought about that flag, thinking the letter stood for his name or his race, the triangle meaning the Power piece, and the darkness probably meaning black. Crimson colour was most likely the blood he had shed in this war, if it could be called that, and maybe the blood he had shed before the war even began.  
  
"Well, soon as we meet Malon we'll get a place to sleep, just bear with me?"  
  
"Yea.you think Malon had gotten prettier?" She spoke up while they continued the walk, the ranch coming within distance, it was still the same as before, not at all like the previous little installment of the castle. As their presumptions were predicted, the places beyond Ganon's headquarters were not as effected as the places otherwise out of reach. Death Mountain seemed to have some sort of strange cloud, the ash around the entire range--or so far as he had seen-- was covered up, giving off a weird aura whenever he saw it, only which had been when they were in Hyrule, or had just gotten out of it. Link didn't plan to travel to Death Mountain until he was after the Fire Medallion, which he guessed was where it was, so it was safe to say he knew where all of them were except one.  
  
"Hmm? Do I think she's prettier?" He repeated the question nervously.  
  
"Yeah, do you?"  
  
"Urm, well, I don't think she is. I mean, she was a cute kid and all, but.if anyone.I think you are much more beautiful." Navi couldn't help, but blush at this comment and look away from the boy for a few seconds, when she returned her complexion more fixed than before. Returning her face back, she shrugged a shoulder, really not agreeing with him, but she didn't disagree with him. Malon had always been a cute kid and with some of the growing pains, she was probably an older and more beautiful woman than he was now. So the boy did find her better looking than a woman he had never seen before, at least he still had the mind of a child, or other things would present themselves to turmoil him.  
Link nodded with a quick remise, staring over at the sign that read in the language of Hylian 'Lon Lon Ranch.' Chuckling silently at the sign, he led his hand across the wood, noticed it hadn't been paved in a few months, so the milk trucks were messed up, troops were coming in and out of the place, what has happened? Something was wrong with this place, he doubted Talon ever gave into the punishment of Ganondorf, he seemed more like an independent, if interested in politics at all. Maybe they had been captured and this was a fort of some kind? Nah, that couldn't be true because he smelt those nasty horse smells as he climbed up down and tried to maneuver through the green path that would lead onward to the land of the horses.  
  
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The land hadn't changed, nope not at all. Except for the milk carts and the sign from before, Link couldn't notice anything at all different about this place, the same smells over filled his nauseous nostrils as he passed wind of the stables, where the horses stayed the nights, listening to the whinnying. Yup, everything was in normal, the smell of the ranch was here, nothing dark or disturbing was around here, seeing that the place wasn't protruding with monsters or anything, that left him with a breath of satisfaction. Laying his hands down to his sides, the teenaged hero staked past the stables, coming up to the house that was directly on the left, seeing that it was locked and no windows were on it. When he had stayed here last time, the window above had led down to Malon's room, that was good, for he didn't want to wake up Talon when he chunked a huge rock at the brown shutters.  
  
"Hey! You little bastards, stop that!" Grimacing, he took off running when the shutters burst open, peering over the corner to see the more maturely Ingo glance around with his hands placed on a pitchfork placed between his arms. The man.the man looked different, his features were darker, circles were placed under his eyes where he had pulled some all nights, his clothes had also changed from the friendly white to a dark suit that looking of what a clown would wear. Now away from the houses and much northern, where sometimes the Cuccos would frolic and eat, the house of where they were was gone. Slumping down to the ground, the boy heaved a sigh of relief and turned back around when the infuriated man shut the gates muttering some curse words under his breath. Link turned to his faire, those eyes rolling in a sarcastic manner.  
  
"Wasn't that the girl's room before?" Navi pondered to Link. Of course it was quite possible that the girl could have changed rooms within the seven- year period, but didn't the attendant have a small shack-like house where he resigned before? It was strange that he would have an upstairs bedroom around here, yet the thought of Talon making another room seemed out of the question, last time they had been here he wasn't much of a handyman at work. That wouldn't even enter her mind as she looked back at the boy with the same look on her face, the look that somehow showed that things weren't as right as they had thought. No, something was wrong, Link may not have felt it, but Navi felt the presence full wind, she could smell it in the aura of wind, the wind was strong and gave off a dark breeze which make her hold herself in fear. Not like Ganondorf's power, no this was a little less than that, it wasn't even an evil they had to worry about harming them, but it just something that worried her.  
  
"Yea, I think it was."  
  
"Hrm, wonder what happened around here these seven days." Leaning on her shoulder, she looked out at the circular iron gate fence in the distance, a place where the horses roamed at night. Link also stared back with her, glancing out at it where there was something that caught both of their eyes: a tune was coming out of there, and a light was blooming out. Glancing at his fairie for approval, she gave it to him and he hunched himself up off the ground, beginning to walk past through the luscious grass and down where the light was centered in the middle that gate. When he came to the fence, the entrance that led in (the gate itself couldn't be entered without this gate), they found the lock undone and the gate ajar just enough so that a small figure could get in. Fearing that the entrance would creek when he opened it up, awakening the feared Ingo, he stopped and stared through the bars.  
  
Sitting on a small wooden stool in the middle of the grass, was a red- haired girl about his age. She had on a long white dress, not resembling a sheet in anyway, the matching colour of the girl he had met here previous those years before. The sheet had been added onto so that it had a collar, to an upper vest and lower skirt a bluish colour, and adjusted to fit her height. The luscious red hair flowed down to her bad, stopping right after the shoulder length and bracing upon the small of her back, showing off in the glory of the pale skin that matched it. She would have been beautiful, that tune they had recognized was now in the retrospect a tune of an old memory: the song of Epona. Alas, she wasn't beautiful, where he light blue eyes stood off was sincerely the expression that Ingo had, but they weren't black circles, they were the wrinkles of a hard-worker. Correct, they were the wrinkles of a person who was just not a hard worker, but worked so hard that she could not stand up on her feet at night.  
  
"Is that Malon?" He spoke in amazement, trying to get her face straight with the bratty former self.  
  
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"Yea, I believe so." Navi cried out to herself softly, seeing her corrections were right about the being having more attraction than her old self, the eyes were a plus, but those could be fixed, something she couldn't fix herself. Staring up at her boy's eyes, she saw that he had an affixed look upon his face, not that one of a person in love, but one in pure awe over something. Rubbing fiercely at her eyes, she swatted at the voices that came out, stopping them before they could arise, she vowed that since the old journey was over she would quit those voices, hoping they would leave. This time she thanked the stars that they did leave, not bothering to stalk her, maybe feeling that their fun had run dry a long time ago. That would be better.if they just left. Looking back to her boy, she gave off a silent little shudder, one of pleasure and angst, yea, he wasn't looking with love, that meant that he wanted to be with her, no one else was important. Saria hadn't aged at all, so she was too small for the boy, Zelda was off somewhere dead or something, that only left her to worry about. Grinning, she floated up to him, and nuzzled into his cheek.  
  
She let him catch her, bundle him up and nuzzle back with her, enjoying the warmth that he gave off, and mostly enjoying everything he gave off, the pureness of his soul, the way he moved, his appearance in both forms. Mostly she loved the way that he--himself--would move in anyway, no piece of a force was needed to show his courage, he had shown off that power when he braved three scary lands for no apparent reason than to please the ones around him. It took absolute pleasure in letting others feel happy to make something like that come true, for other people would expect some sort of reward--money, a knighting, anything--yet he just shrugged a shoulder and went on. Maybe she was like that too, she hadn't expected anything in return, at first she wouldn't have gone out of the forest, but Link had changed that with him being himself. Without she falling for him, she probably wouldn't have gone with him.  
  
Did it have to do with the Deku's last words? Ha, that was a laugh, she respected the tree and everything, but the fact of the matter was she wouldn't have left if he had said so, she just wasn't like that. The fairie wasn't a blind leader, the fairie wasn't weird like that, she wouldn't have rushed out to her doom without some sort of reason, some sort of a purpose. Maybe it was human (or fairie) nature, but she had always expected something in return for her own duties, but he wasn't like that, it was as if he were some sort of god. That wouldn't be such a bad idea, maybe a god-incarnate off to save the world from evil, but he wasn't perfect, that was for sure the boy had his own faults. Pushing those thoughts away, and smiling graciously, she floated above the bars, going in for a closer look.  
  
"Hey--Navi, wait!" He didn't yell, just whispered so loud for her to hear, but she ignored his muffled cries and continued to go on, finding that the truth was she wanted to see what this new girl looked like. She was sitting on a stool that they had gotten from first glance, but something they hadn't seen was that she was crying, having turned away right after Link saw her eyes, her back to them. Navi caught she was crying when she circled around, hiding her veil for the accumulation she would be caught if it was on. Moving at stealthily as a predator on the verge of finding food, the fairie went on only to find her with her hands in her hands, the song still going on, but cries echoing silently. Fluttering out of the darkness, her aura came on and she looked over to Link, waving a strong arm for him to get over here on the double. Where he saw it was her own guess, he did have keen eyes as well as ears, so maybe he did see the small arm waving, as the farmer girl noticed something right before her and looked up.  
  
--------------------  
  
Groaning softly, he cast himself forward through, trying to pry himself through the gates without so much as creaking them. That, however, wasn't the way things worked around here, so he came halfway around the place before a small creek sounded, his flat chest pressing up against the tip of the gate and giving it a small little vibration. Pulling back quickly, he saw the lantern go off where the girl he thought was Malon was standing, the shuttering opening up and the light in the window he had just hit was turning on. Curses of all kind went out as the boy heard footsteps stomping loudly upon the pavement, maybe intentional to try to scare someone. Link had to hide (and fast), so he scooped himself off the ground, looking for a place to hide, seeing the Cucco house, but thinking that was the most logical place to look.  
  
His eyes caught the side of the stable, seeing a small little hold underneath where maybe they put secret stuff in, some sort of treasure or something. Grabbing himself up in a mad dash, as the footsteps plodded off the stairs, he leapt forward in a sliding position, slamming inside the hole just as soon as the door opened. Sticking a narrow eye out of the door, he watched as the man named Ingo came out dressed in the black suit as described from earlier, it was actually night clothes that he had been wearing before, he could see since these things had such a tighter feel to them. Gulping down, he hurried down into the ground, burying his head underneath the stable and awaiting.  
  
"Bitch! Are you out here!" That wasn't Ingo's voice, it couldn't have been, the old Ingo was a simple man who had big dreams of making it big, liked to tease and get angry at Talon at his success of the farm and yet being a lazy worker. His image of Ingo would have never called Malon such a naughty word, being that he did indeed think of her as his own daughter, he had seen when he stayed the night how gentle and kind he was with the young girl. Helping her to bed when the Talon was off on business, being kind even to Link who was an utter stranger to him, yet Link couldn't help but feel bile in his throat now. No, this wasn't the man he had met all those years before; this was an evil being as if someone had possessed the late man's body and was consuming power from his soul. Ganondorf, the only explanation for this abomination of evil.  
  
"Stupid slut, you better answer me when I am talking to you." Nothing went on, no voices were sounded, and from what he got the girl that being called dirty names was hiding with his fairie, with Navi trying to comfort and keep her calm. When Navi had left, he noticed the girl had turned around and started shaking, thinking maybe she was crying, a reason he had so hurriedly went over there, getting himself into trouble with this man. How easily he could have jumped out and battled that pitchfork from his hand, decapitating him in a few seconds. No, stop that, this isn't you. You aren't that bloodthirsty! It seemed they all had demons to fend off, the killing was one that he seemed to have a problem with, it was weird, but even since the mutant incident he couldn't get the power of killing out of his mind. A love it took to take something away from somebody: he absolutely loved it, and yet how he despised it with every living breath inside of his older body. Grasping the nerve to control him, the boy peeked out of the hole at the man.  
  
Ingo seemed not to want to deal with this anymore, so he gave off a stream of curses once more. Came back to the door and re-entered it, Link hearing the reparative steps of Ingo going up the stairs, a blowing out of some kind and then the sound of something hitting the bed. The boy waited a full fifteen minutes, when the man started snoring, before he pulled himself out of the tiny hole, ripping some of his tunic off on the edges of the jagged entrance, letting out a small whine of contempt, he looked down on himself and noticed something else. There was something all over him, and also he noticed something else, he had a weird smell to him, something that you smelt when you used the bathroom.  
  
Oh, no.is this what I think it is? All over his body, starting from the top of his shoulders and going down to the soles of his boots, was dung, pure dung from that of a horse or a cow, whichever stable he was in. The boy hadn't noticed it earlier since he had no exposed skin, and his head had always been out of the hole, so the smell was so hard to establish in that environment. A small retch came in his throat, holding the urge to puke, but kept his hands down at his side, turning his head away from himself in utter disgust. Even his sword was covered with it, everything was covered in it, his new tunic felt so dinged and dirty to him, wishing he was in the torn one from before. Clearing his throat softly, the boy stared forward as the light came on and saw that Navi's barrier was reflected off the lantern light.  
  
Jogging the distance in less than a minute, he came back to the gate, seeing that since he had bumped it that he could slip past it so easily, and with that he slid past it the gate with so much ease, not bothering to walk the other distance. It wasn't that he was embarrassed--yea, it was--- but he was meeting this girl now and had to be covered up in the worst substance in the world. Shying down, he lowered his head with no glance towards the two, knowing the scent of him was already burning their nostrils, it only took a few seconds for it to adjust to him. When he knew it had happened was when the two made a very disturbing gag noise, not being playful, but dead serious to him. Cheeks were burning brightly as firecrackers when this happened, looking off to the side and muttering an excuse, them not hearing it.  
  
"Link--what happened to you?" Navi commented, fluttering over to him, stopping before she was two feet away and backing up to the girl. She knew it was cruel to do that to her friend, but the simple fact was that he was gross. That was sad what had happened to him, it was bad to happen at the least likely time, one of where he was meeting a new person. She wished she could comfort him, hug him and tell him it was all right, and that would have been good and fine if it was okay. No, it wasn't okay, it's nasty, and I wonder how he managed to do that good bit on himself. Probably jumped in a pile of it when Ingo had come. When Ingo had visited them, not coming close to the gate, but still scaring them--the two of them had hidden down in the deeper part of the grass, shutting the lantern off before he even stepped outside. It was only natural she would back away like the girl had done, but the girl had done something that she hadn't done, Malon had perked up at the sound of his name.  
  
Navi had warned Malon, her ears weren't as keen as Link's of Navi's, so when she saw the light the young girl had gasped her hand to her chest and frozen. It was Navi who slammed the clamp on the lantern shut, putting it out for the time being, and pushed her off of the stool and down into the grass to hide, covering her up in the weeds that had started to grow around this yard. Looking like it hadn't been cut in months was a good thing, they hadn't gotten to that part of the conversation when they talked, and all they did was speak to each other about why she was crying. Malon had remarked it was Ingo, that over the past few months he had turned evil, going from a jolly man to his otherwise alter ego of evil. Navi hadn't really believed the girl (she had met Ingo, he wasn't bad), but he found out the truth when the man had insulted with a wind of insults. Glancing over at Malon when she heard the name, he knew their identifies were given.  
  
"Link? Fairie boy?" He felt himself being gazed upon, knowing the green in his shoulder blades and above was showing, so it was easy to distinguish the green tunic implanted on his body (smothered in crap), but that wasn't important, he saw her expression when he glanced up. Her face had changed from the pitying crying, yea he saw she had cried just before Navi had come over, into a gasp of happiness, why she may have hugged him with that glance. If not for the nasty substance on his body, then he would have gotten a nice big hug, what she did do was clasp her hands together in happiness, an overjoyed look filling her face with that painted glance, looking over at him with those eyes sparkling. The wrinkles in her eyes had disappeared somehow; they were now glittering like that of a beautiful fountain, the pools moving back and forth with stars glazed before them.  
  
"Malon, right?" Navi spoke up, looking at the girl and not enjoying it at all, she thought that Malon was okay, but she had never been one of her favorite (actually any of the girls were never his favorites.) She was just taking a guess as who it was, I mean it was pretty obvious who it was with the clothes somewhat altered, the hair the came, and having that cute- girl smile on her. Crossing her arms across her chest, she gazed down at the woman, seeing that she may have been a year younger or older than Link, she had forgotten, so she was either eighteen or sixteen, not that it mattered to Navi. All she cared about was how this would affect the future, was she thrilled to see Link because he was a hero, or were there other intentions in her plan. That seemed highly possible, In this day and age people were wedded off younger than ever, actually it was around the time they hit puberty since women didn't have much to do, so this would be considered a late bloomer, perhaps?  
  
"Mmhm, I am Malon. Navi, Link, those two are you?! My, how you have both changed, Link more respectively than Navi. Hey, Link, I thought that you were a Kokiiri, and they weren't supposed to grow up, from what I heard." She threw out statements one by one, confusing the both of them more and more. Finally Link caught her in the middle of a sentence, speaking up with great pleasure for Navi. She guessed that he had caught this, giving off a smile towards the fairie. It was all right if Malon was interested in what had been going on these seven years without any visit, but the questions were getting old and dubious. Catching her hand to stop her, literally, the boy stared down at the shorter girl (maybe by three inches) and gave on speaking about what was going on these months and months of constant banishment.  
  
"It's the strangest thing.I am confused why I am grown up." He chuckled nervously, having the impulse to scratch his head, but dare he do it with his gloves handled like that, but nevertheless he let out a sigh of defeat and stared up at Malon, noticing how much she indeed had changed over the years. The sheet he called a 'rag' was now bloomed out into a beautiful long dress, revealing some of her curves pressed against the fabric since she had just been down to the ground. Shaking his head mentally, the boy stared off to the ground, trying to think of a way he might be able to get himself back together, the bath was in there with Ingo. With the man dressed like that, an attitude to match, he doubted the man would let him use his bath, a complete stranger, but even with introduction it seemed doubtless.  
  
"Link, you smell, why do you have manure--ohh, you must have hid under the stables, that's where Ingo makes me shovel all the manure. I don't know why, it does fertilize the ground, I guess. He has been like that for--oh going on four months now."  
  
"Why is he like that, we saw Ganondorf's troops going through the town, we hid in the trees for we aren't so popular with him." Navi blurted out, hovering a few feet above the boy so not to get her attention veered back to the smell of him. It was so strange that Ganon was in here, maybe Ingo's personality change had to do with it, that seemed highly possible in the situation they were in, the man had probably been corrupted or something. Strange as it was, they had been warned that people wouldn't want this land to be saved, some actually liked living in despair well the rich ones anyway. The evil king had such weird performances on how to run a land, not that it bothered her, soon he would be put a stop too and Zelda would be back in power, the way things were supposed to be. Sniffing the cold night air, she let the breeze be inhaled inside of her lungs, nuzzling back into it with a shiver coming out of her teeth.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, well they come here for milk. It's free since he is always paying tributes to Ganondorf, I don't understand why Ingo-sama has changed, he used to be such a nice man, but ever since daddy left." She trailed off, sitting back upon the stool, re-straightening it in the hard grass and heaving a soft sob to keep from breaking hysterically. Catching her breath slowly, she stared back at the two of them, locking the changes in them, accepting how that little 'fairie-boy' had matured into such a handsome young man, one who looked like one of those heroes from the ancient tales and storybooks. Grasping her hands to her chest, the young girl eyes roamed over the pasture, towards the stall, thinking of something, but mainly what to do about that smell. Ingo had the bathrooms upstairs, so the tub was out of the question, but wasn't their another way? Blinking with enthusiasm, she nodded, there was one other way.  
  
"Malon-san, is there anything we can do about this smell? Link is getting a little bad." She giggled when Link swung at her playfully, missing on purpose. She would have tackled him, if it hadn't been for the aroma being so bad. "Seriously, Malon, I do need some help." Link voiced in, slumping his shoulders.  
  
"I've got a way, you two. Just follow me out to the stalls." The stalls, she thought. It was worth a quick shot, there was the only other way, and she took off in a dash out of the gate, slipping past it with no whim at all and breaking out into a run towards the outhouse that was behind the gate. It shall take him a while to get past the gate, so it gives me time. Turning around and staring, she saw the two had indeed were in trouble, for when she reached the door of the outhouse, she saw he was just getting out of the gate (looking like only an ant from this spot.) Opening the silent door, she ran into the room where the cows usually stayed, but they were all crowded in the barn tonight, so the luck was in when a giant pail was standing right where they milked the larger cows. Another hint of luck gave in when she peered across the trench they drank picking up the small piece of wood and emptying it inside of the giant bucket.  
  
A few of the other troughs were around, taking the brown drinking fountains and emptying the contents inside of the large pale, it wasn't that there were no giant cows, just pails Ingo had made so that more milk could be transported at one time. It was large enough for the boy, that was an understatement, but she picked through the small satchel she had attached to her bag, picking out some soap and contents for bathing, laying them along the side of hay bales. By the time the water was drawn all the way, contents laid out for him, she heard the panting of him rushing up the long path all the way, probably running at full speed the entire way. She had trotted so her breath had been in content, developing a little sweat brow from the work preparations of his bath.  
  
Ten minutes after the breaths came out, the boy came straggling to the door (Malon had thought her ears were good, but not that good.) From the looks of things, he was smeared all over and grassed upon, Link had obviously slightly miscalculated on his was out of the place, either tripping over many of the pot holes that weren't paved on the racetrack. Then there were some that had been paved there specifically for that reason, Ingo liked to bet, and would usually bet men in a horserace that if they won they could keep the mare or steed, usually they lost. It was an old trick, dirt and/or grass either paved them up so when the guy hove slipped in the guy went flying off, and the funny thing was no one complained. Spooky was the good word for it; it was as if no one cared they were getting cheated.  
  
"Link what happened?"  
  
Letting out a groan of pain, Navi let out a little giggle of enjoyment, dodging the blows that Link threw at her. As he explained, he had to stop himself every now and then to get in an extra swat in at Navi, telling her to stop the slight comments and giggles she would protrude in. Basically he was trotting along at full speed (as she had guessed) and he slammed into one of those pot-holes that Malon had been referring too, falling on his knees and almost twisting his ankle. Moving along the paths, it seemed every five minutes he had do jump over, dodges, or fell into and crawled out of another one of these holes, so frustrating at the smearing of his clothes and everything that he ended up on his knees the rest of the distance. That explained why her ears had gotten all of a sudden so keen, as it turned out he had been dangling to the bitter terran earth when she had heard the noises, him probably a few yards away, dodging the pot-holes. Letting out a little giggle, Malon pointed to the tub and then to him.  
  
"What is that, Malon?"  
  
"Ingo-san decided to transport milk in larger bundles, so he had these made from the blacksmith. I filled it up with water so you can take a bath."  
  
"All right. Are you going to wash my stuff while I bathe?" "Yea, I'll go out to the stream and wash them, there is one right at the right hand corner of the ranch, and if it isn't working, the pump that is, then I'll just go inside and deal with Ingo. He's bitter sometimes, but he won't mind if I am extra quiet." She slipped out the door, peeking her head in one last time before leaving it cracked for him to throw his clothes down when he got undressed.  
  
Link was eager to ask about the evil Ingo, but now didn't seem the time, now seemed the time to be soaking inside of a relaxing bathe, to let his worries of this new land go to waste in the water. Pulling off the hat (his only clean material), the boy pulled down his tunic, slopping it right down next to the boots and socks that went off, sliding them all next to his satchel, side pack, shield and sword. When that was all done he remained in that streaked jump suit that was half-mannered and half clean from the protection of his tunic. Undoing the tight strings at the top of his suit, the only way to slip out of it, he noticed Navi was still hovering above him, looking at him strangely.  
  
"Something wrong?" He asked pulling the top part of the suit off, as it turned it was two pieces. A top shirt and a bottom part where the pants were, slipping around his feet so there was no need for socks around here, they basically trampled his feet and didn't provide any warmth or anything. Besides, this was Hyrule, it hadn't snowed here in Goddess knows how long, the place was buried with subtropical temperatures, even the highest of Death Mountain didn't experience snow in the least. Throwing the top of the suit down, he examined the muscles down in the reflection of the water as he had done the previous night before when they bathed by the river. So strange he felt when looking at it, it was like a hour glass had been turned upside down, drifting him and aging him every other second (when a speck of sand drifted through.) A good analogy, I feel like that, a glass to be fooled with by a marionette.  
  
"Oh nothing, I am just admiring you from afar." Giggling slightly, she came over and sat upon his shoulder, liking the feel of the strong flesh, yet feeling the anticipation to scream this wasn't him. It was strange all right, getting used to waking up to a teen figure instead of the puny one with courage so big her heart felt it would burst; it wasn't that she doubted this was Link. No, that had been proved in the Temple of Light, all she wondered now was who was manipulating him to have awakened him so old, to have taken the breath away from him, taking away all the dreams they had planned on accomplishing. Sighing out, the remainder of her veil fell, she slowly taking off all of her own clothing, she didn't wear boots or shoes, fairies were too delicate for that, the veil always provided a perfect protection. Sometimes she would just let it surround her feet, as a way of covering her feet from sores, not that she walked or anything.  
  
"Mm, all right, I guess that's okay." Slipping down the pants and last of the undergarments, he chunked them at the door as he slid inside the tub, feeling the pressure of hot water all over his body. Malon must have heated it up with fire while she waited for them to arrive, because it felt just like when they were in the springs, hot yet satisfying. What they hadn't hoped on was a little screech, not loud enough to awaken Ingo, but one that was of infuriating pain and suffering. No, that was wrong, it wasn't of pain (for he'd have been up in a second) it was a scream of disgust, one that someone feels pity for when they are hit with something not known. Maybe this was the case, for Malon slammed the door open with the bottom part of his jump suit connected around her waist.  
  
"Malon I'm--" Navi surprised a giggle, but Malon just took hold of the clothes and stormed out, slamming the door loudly as she went. It was okay to be as loud as they wanted too out here, no one was guarding this place, and Ingo was a few miles away, so when she left Link couldn't help let out a stream of giggles. Sliding down into the hot water, he let it slid down over his face, some getting into his nose and holding it there as he resurfaced with recoil so great he couldn't help but let out a shrug. Looking to his fairie, he saw her lying upon the air, like some sort of levitating psychic, pressing her face into the air and beating it severely. Laughter went on in giggles and chuckles for another fifteen minutes, before he caught himself sternly, telling himself to calm down or he would awaken the farmer. "Hee, Navi did you see her! It was an accident, but I--"  
  
"Yea, I saw it. Oh, Goddess, that was a good laugh!" It seemed the girl had finally caught herself with self-control and commanded herself to remain quiet, for when he stopped she gave last giggle and stopped herself. Poor Malon! Of course she felt sad for her, she didn't wish anything bad on her, but it was one of the best laughs she had ever caught, the thing had actually hit Malon in the face so she had crap smeared all over her face, all over the beautiful dress also. Somehow it had dangled down across her so that most of her was pain-stricken with the nasty droppings of the horses and cows. Now the giggles didn't help much, for Navi caught the growl and silent curses of the girl as she ran away, having felt sorry if the girl had cried, but it didn't seem she had. Something told her this girl had been through some tough times over the years.  
  
"Navi, why do you think Ingo is like that?" Link inquired, lying down so the water was at his shoulder blades, feet sticking out of the end of the tub. No matter how big that she thought it was, Malon was a few inches shorter than Link, so she could have feet in it, but there was no way in hell that he was big enough for it. When scrunched up he was, but whoever took a bath scrunch up, it was supposed to be a relaxing feature. He didn't mind having his feet stick out, they were airing themselves out, brushing against the bales of hay for some drying off, and then resting inside it. Link had been pondering this question the entire time of their stay, he may not have noticed it at first, but now he did feel a pretense around Ingo. Maybe it had a sixth sense, or maybe he was crazy, it just seemed wrong to be here with him.  
  
"I couldn't begin to explain it, but I feel a strange aura about him, like he's been corrupted." She was in the water so it was over her breast, yea she had stripped all the way too, so she was floating in the water instead of on top of him, her wings being used as sort of gliders to keep her up. Getting naked around him wasn't that much of a problem anymore, he hardly even looked down there (for when he did it was a blushing accident), but she didn't mind, after all they were friends and friends kept nothing secret. No, not that sort of friendship, she thought of him as more than a friend, so it was up to his actions that called out what would happen between the two of them. Anyway, she saw he didn't mind if she saw him naked, but that first time, which had been sort of awkward, it was strange for his new body, so he wasn't accustomed.  
  
"You felt that too? I just started feeling it when I saw him come outside. He's not the same man."  
  
"I agree, the other Ingo was a little high-strung, but he was an over-all nice guy." Navi let out a small sigh of relief from the water, trying to brush the thoughts of Ingo away, yet they returned even without speech.  
  
No more talk of the farmer went on between the two of them because they spent the next hour and a half discussing on what was to come next. They both agreed that somehow they were going to have to get Epona, or some horse to act as transportation, the place was too much of a risk anymore without them being disturbed. Sure there were no more Stalchildren running around the field, but something didn't feel right, Link would always stand guard some nights, sure something was watching the two of them. Waiting for them to fall asleep before it would feed upon their souls; Navi had said he was having too many bad dreams, yet he didn't doubt it for a second. Stuff like that was too scary to put aside as child's play, ghosts were real, and maybe a haunted spirit was chasing after them.  
  
Link had heard somewhere of some term that started with the letter 'P' of the alphabet. Whatever the word was, the definition was supposed to be an affixed ghost, or one that was so controlled on emotions they were too stubborn to return to the after-life. These creatures eventually got jealous of the living, developing small little physical forms of their owns, not being satisfied with this form and attacking humans. They weren't that all deadly, for if you looked one straight in the eyes it would fade away, but a nuisance, nonetheless. Spirits and charms weren't his things, some of it was fact and yet more fiction and all he knew was that he had never actually seen a ghost before. You don't see oxygen, do you? How do you know it exists? That was a nice argument he liked to bring up sometimes.  
  
What was finally agreed upon was that transportation was a good issue, but it didn't stop there, they still needed that invention that Shiek had mentioned. Something about a spring attached that would lift them up to high places, the places they needed to get too in order to reach the Forest Temple, but where in blazes was something like that? The only other civilization that came to mind was Kakariko Village, so that was the place they would head next, if on horse could be reached out in a few hours, a day at the most. That was the great thing about horse travel, they went long and hard, as long as you fed them they were all right with you, they were all right living with you, and even traveled slowly at night so there was no problem of ghosts in Link's mind.  
  
After gaining some information in the town, they would search for the prize, which was where Danpte' had it, right? Of course, that is what Shiek had said, so then they would head out to the old grave-yard, pay the old geezer a visit and win the hookshot over, buying it or something, if Shiek said it was a treasure, he doubted the grave-digger would let it go. Following those events he might pay an old visit to Anju, the cucco lady, then it was back to the horse and off to the woods where he would find Saria, saving the most time for achieving maybe a two day period to reach the forest. It was so far away that there was no other way to travel there unless it rode up Death Mountain a few days and took that small path back, but he didn't want too. Why do those when you could see your friends again, but friends that obviously wouldn't recognize him? Friends.friends, they were not when I left. An enemy was a better word of what the males of the tribe had been to him, the females with him all the way or simply neutral.  
  
There talk ceased down until the other time passed, being three hours directly since they entered the tub, Link feeling himself wrinkled enough got out of the tub and dried himself off with the clothed towel. Handing his young fairie an extra washcloth that Malon had supplied, he let her wrap herself up into it so she wouldn't catch a cold, and a source of drying off. Soon the two of them waited for their clothes to be returned, not Navi's but Link's, for she was soon dressed and laid the cloth back to the side, pondering where the young girl was with her partner's clothes. The question was soon answered when a knock was given, not even waiting for anyone to call out, the door opening and shutting in a smooth breeze. No candles were lit so it was hard to see who it was; yea they had been bathing in the dark.  
  
"Navi, glow." Link whispered, not sure of who it was, but relieved an expression of anger when Malon came out with some supplies with her. She sat down a few candles around the room, taking some kindle and lighting the candles in a few strokes of the stuff, before putting them back to her bag. Four candles total were lit, each one in a corner of the room and a new fifth one added in the center to help adjust the room to the light. With have been in the dark for so long, the two had to recuperate to the lighting change, noticing something that they hadn't seen before: Malon was wearing a cloth around her face, staring down.  
  
"Malon-san, what is it?" Navi shut off her aura and fluttered over to Malon, who was staring down at the boxes, as if reading them, but Navi could sense a bit of tears dripping from the handkerchief she had wrapped around her face like a robber does. Looking up at her, she touched her face that was through the rag, the girl wrenching away from the fairie and bursting out in smaller sobs, not afraid to let them go, no one could hear out here. Maybe it is her pride, the fairie thought, to cry infront of people that she hadn't seen for so long, she might think that we thought she was weird. A strange statement, but even more normal people had been known to have different phobias, maybe she had the phobia to not show emotion. That was bad because it was flowing out in full proportion.  
  
Link didn't go to her when Malon cried, he looked over to her sadly, and reached for the bag she had with her, pilfering through for his clothes and materials. When he came upon him, his eyes brightened at how clean his tunic was, how shiny his weapons were, and how much she had salved to get his satchel and side pack back to normal. Giving a slight giggle, he pulled the materials out and went behind a crate quickly changing down into his old clothes, throwing the towel over on the box where the bag was. A few minutes later he came out, clipping the strap on his shield back on, reliving the weight of what his arsenal was, and somehow feeling naked without it. Crossing his arms across his chest, he walked over to Malon, surprised to see her covered up, and spoke.  
  
"Thank you Malon."  
  
"Y-you're welcome, L-link."  
  
"Malon-san, what's wrong?" He, without warning, pulled the cloth off of her face and looked down at what was being concealed. Malon automatically moved her hands across the scene on her face, but the two had caught the disfigurement of her face, looking at each other puzzled. Upon her cheek were some bruises, as if she while she was walking, somehow she had tripped and hit a hard piece of wood. Several times she must of hit, for they were all over her cheeks, having happened within the hour, each was still light so it wouldn't turn a dark purple or sickish yellow for quite a few days. Her eye was blackened; they hadn't noticed it before, but in the light they could see where she might have run her head into a post, or something. It puzzled Link, but from the look on Navi's face, she had gotten the mystery long before he ever would, so she would have to explain it to him.  
  
"Malon, did he?"  
  
"Did who?" Link interrupted Navi, being slapped across the face, and ducking down painfully.  
  
"Did he hurt you, Malon?" Link remained quiet this times, pondering his guardian's words.  
  
"Not anymore than usual." She whispered out, whimpering at the gazes she was receiving from her old two friends. Yes, from the gazes of Navi the secret was out, but from the naïve fairie boy, he was still left in the dark. It wasn't that he was stupid, Link just wasn't aware of certain things that were going on in the world, certain things normal Hylians would know about, but he had never learned. Now Malon would have blamed it on the forest, being too innocent there, but Navi knew the real reason, a reason that they should discuss with anyone. That wasn't Rauru's rule, that was her own, so she might have to explain it to Link if he didn't catch on whenever it may or may not have been brought up in another conversation. Wincing at the thoughts of it all, she listened on, speaking sternly.  
  
"Usual, he does this to you daily?"  
  
"Well, no--he does much worse."  
  
"What's worse than beating you?" Link spoke out, dodging the slap this time, only to be slapped again (harder this time) for dodging the last one. Wincing, he didn't quit there, he wondered what was worse than being hit all over, and from his own guess they were talking about Ingo hurting Malon, for he knew about that. Link had known about teasing his own life, if anyone would name him, he was a master at that sort of thing, not many people knew the stories of his childhood except him and Saria. He explained a few to Navi, aside the one in Jabu, but she would nod off to sleep in the sheer boredom of his conversations. Guessing the others weren't as exciting as the others, for the only people that were every interested in them remotely were Saria and himself, for Saria always saved him those times, making her look like the hero and him the damsel in distress. With diverted roles, he didn't seem to care about it, liking it back then.  
  
"There any many things worse than hitting me, Link, think!"  
  
"I know that, but did he server a limb or something? I mean, I see some bruises on your face, I know since you are a girl you are more delicate than a boy is, but that isn't something to cry over. Why don't you just beat him up, you can take my dagger and take him ou--" He stopped in the middle of the sentence, disgusted with himself. What was wrong with him, this wasn't some malicious creature, this was some human being they were talking about, at first his conversation had been about protection. Somewhere along the lines of pulling out the dagger had it turned from pure self-defense to cold-blood murder. Flushing softly, he whispered a sorry to Malon and stared down to the ground, those keen ears still staying open for conversation. Something was much worse than taking an appendage off, and he wanted to know exactly what it was.  
  
Malon seemed to turn on him. "Are you dense! There are things ten times worse than just beating me up; there are more private things he has done to me, things you should have understood when you were twelve years old! I know I did." She let herself calm down, breathing out heavy sighs, grasping the edge of her dress and burying her face deep within, sobbing louder than ever, Navi patting her back (glaring at Link) and then staring back to the girl with a comforting look. Link was flabbergasted; not that he had been verbally assaulted, but the fact that she had said these things to him for no apparent reason, the gazes of Navi making him every bit uncomfortable. Well, there was only one way to solve this, he wasn't alive when he was twelve, so it was better to tell her about this, he did feel a little crazy for telling he was frozen for seven years. Then again who wouldn't think so, but Malon was his friend, if she didn't believe then no one else would. It was hopeless if friends abandoned you.  
  
"Well, Malon I've never heard of this because when I was twelve I was trap-- mm-mm!" Navi grabbed his mouth; shoving her fingers deep within it and making him gag a little. When their faces were pressed up together she mouthed the words 'don't tell, secret of ours' to him, winking a little. Nodding a little, the boy stared off to the side, licking his lips for where Navi had been, getting her taste on his lips again, and with a smile he shook his head and patted his head as if to say that he was being dense. Malon seemed to accept this, for she began to tell the story of the things that were much more worse than fighting or getting bruised."  
  
"Ingo-san was such a sweet man up until my sixteenth birthday, that was a few months ago. When I turned sixteen the whole world seemed to be cursed, my father lost his job and ran away from the ranch, leaving me behind to fend alone. You see the farm was Talon's until the Great Ganondorf saw how lazy my daddy can be and gave it to Ingo, cheating us out of the farm, not evening paying content to us, liking Ingo for his jealously. No, don't look that way he came back but I had to stay, if I didn't the animals were going to be treated poorly. Yea, the sweet Ingo was replaced by the black- wearing man you see today, his eyes always looking tired even though he doesn't do anything all day, except talk to the troops and hold bets. Ingo made a deal with me that if I stayed behind he wouldn't beat the horses or mistreat the cows, so I have been working him for all these months as a stable-girl, cleaning from sun up to sun down. I never even stop for a break until I am almost dehydrated and then I get a few ounces of water." She smiled a little, looking over to Link with pleading eyes, and he seemed to catch the drift and dug through his satchel, throwing the canteen at her.  
  
Catching it with little ease, she gulped down the water that she had drained from the stream for him, having drunk some early, but feeling that raspy feeling in her throat. Handing it back to him, she continued. "Then about two months ago he started getting violent. Y'see, at first he was just verbally mean as in he would call me names not as bad as last night, but they did hurt my feelings, but when the violence started that was when I wanted to go. He would verbally assault me like you heard tonight, and punch me around for his own enjoyment, even letting some of his workers go up and." she stopped for a second, biting her lip and pointing to her body. "And feel me down there, touch me and grope. That wasn't the worst of it though.  
  
"No, the gropes were bad all right, I would sometimes cry in my room for all the hands that had fondled me, sobbing uncontrollably for someone to save me, but after that was when it got worse. His men would grope me and leave, and then he--himself--would start to fondle me the same way, getting the same reactions as the others." Holding a large lump in her hand, Navi looked down silently while Link looked off to the side, trying to figure out what that was, smiling weakly, she picked back up. "Well, that was when the big trouble started, for a few nights after he started to grope me- -he'd also been drinking ever since the ranch was sold--he then started to want to do more than just grope. All I did was protest, telling him that this time he had gone too far that nothing would make me sink that low, that I knew he was being deceived. All he would do was chuckle and continue groping, asking when something more was going to happen.  
  
"This went on for a few more weeks until finally he got fed up with my settlings and went down and took me." She was interrupted by the silent boy who had pondered the story with some question, knowing most of the terms, but confused by what she had just said.  
  
At first Link hadn't gotten it, but now piecing it together he had a quick idea what she me meant by the groping and the pinching and all that. It did disgust him truly that a man would do that to somehow, why would anyone want to pinch someone in those secured areas, anyway? The problem was that by the terms when Ingo wanted to go beyond that, was going to take her, all those things didn't quite click with his brain, you see he still had the mentality of his ten-year old. He thought like an adult, but when in those areas it was still innocent.  
  
"He took me, broke me, Link."  
  
"Broke your bones?"  
  
"Navi, please explain to me why he doesn't know this stuff, he is seventeen, right?'  
  
Navi stammered out loud, trying to think up a reasonable excuse for Link's behavior, she had expected that ever since she saw what Ingo was going to do to Malon, it was sad, but the truth was she wouldn't put that past Ganondorf. Crossing her arms across her chest, she was thinking as they talked about what those things such was breaking her were, when Link and Malon talked she was already thinking up an excuse. Of course Malon would question her, there was no doubt about that, why wouldn't she question her about him, she was his guardian. Smiling, her face beamed up at the perfect lie, for now, it wasn't that she did trust Malon, or anything. She just didn't want the girl tortured to give information on the two.  
  
"The forest, I'm sorry, but they are strictly forbidden in the forest, such taboo subjects. Yea, no one else grows up in the forest, so it's not a big problem until now." Slapping Link across the face, she held his lip shut, smiling to Malon sweetly. "Please continue, no more interruptions will be expected."  
  
"Heh, thank you, Navi." Malon was actually getting cheered up, but of course the next part was going to depress her and everyone else, and while the young girl described it in details so vast they made even Navi blush, the girl didn't stop once for the heeding Link. Malon explained that Ingo had gotten a little too randy and decided to drunk her up then seduce her, but that hadn't worked. The farm girl had tasted the alcohol in the food that Ingo fixed, throwing the food aside and then proclaiming she wouldn't do that ever, no matter how bad the man wanted it. Fear entered her eyes when he burst out, slamming his fist into her jaw and knocking her out of consciousness. The next thing she remembered was pain, sweat slackening from her body and the grunts and groans of people all around, she didn't dare open her eyes when it was over, yet she explained what she thought had happened.  
  
Her theory was that Ingo had tried to move Malon (who was taller than him) up the stairs and into his bedroom where he would do the deed, but he had not been able to do it, so he got his buddies over. The buddies were the Ganondorf guards who guarded the gates every now and then (only back then, Ganondorf didn't see much in Ingo now so it wasn't happening anytime soon.) The men heard of the young harlot who was about to be tied down and raped, so they wanted a piece of the action in too, so as it turned out four people had her that night: Ingo, and the three guards who guarded the gates. Malon had awoken when Ingo was having his first turn; her hymen broken was what woke her up from the pain. Each of them took turns on her for all night, leaving her in her bed that morning and a wheezing Ingo explaining how she was kidnapped and raped.  
  
A total lie, Malon did her work the following days, every night moving a little and little more stuff out of her room upstairs and sleeping in the stables with the horses. Ingo wasn't able to get up in there so he finally gave up in touching her, that was until he broke in the stables while she was asleep last night and had her again once more. Desperate to leave, Malon was begging for someone to come and save her, and that was when she ran into him. Someone to save her and the horses from this evil, a hero of some kind, not necessarily a great her, but any kind would do, for Ingo wasn't that hard of man to take care of. After the story was told, she was in tears, wiping herself quickly and looked up at the duo.  
  
"Please, can you take care of him."  
  
"Sure, I can just knock him out and--"  
  
"No, Link! Cure him.I want him cured so he won't hurt the animals anymore."  
  
"Malon, are you stupid? You care about animals that much, the man has done such unhealthy things to you and you worry about the animals, if I were you I'd go and get Talon, I am sure Talon would wring Ingo's neck for what he did too you." Malon smiled and agreed with the hero, letting her shoulder drop in confusion, it was weird how she acted, she knew that, but if only Link had ever had a pet then he'd know what she was talking about. Clasping her hands to her chest, she actually looked up and face the two, seeing the determination arisen in Link's eyes, the courage that held out to her from Navi, probably because she was a woman herself. Link wouldn't understand the human and animal relationship until he had a pet of his own, but on the road was such a bad way to travel with a pet, if only he had a riding one.  
  
"Don't know where daddy is, if you ever see him, point him home. Oh, Link, I don't know how you can do it except if you bet him." Yea, a race was the ting, and the bet was what Ingo loved. Drinking, betting, and sex were what the man loved, you couldn't help feel sorry for him when It came right down to it. If maybe he was healed, Malon thought he might not remember these bad deeds he had done and then she would forgive him for it all. False hope, maybe, but what else were they keen on getting nowadays? There was nothing else to live off of, only false hope was alive in their hearts and their minds, it kept her strengthened, made her feel not so dead on the inside.  
  
"Bet, as in staking and winning?" Link spoke up, he knew about bets, he'd seen them at the poker games sometimes in the Kokiiri, and he had never done that before, of course.  
  
"Yea, at a horse-race. If you were to beat him at a horse race with the farm as the stakes, then maybe you'd win it back, and then it would be yours. You could sign it over to daddy and we'd be back to normal, but the only person who can beat Jiu is Epona." A horse race was impossible, even if Epona did remember Link; he had probably never ever ridden a horse before. The Lon Lon's were the ones who introduced the horse to the Hylians, no one else had heard of them until Malon's great-grandfather came from across the sea with some of these horses, claiming they could be raised as battle steeds. Lon Lon had always supplied the King's horses, now it supplied Ganon's there were other farms out there in today's world, but none so great as this ranch's.  
  
"Jiu?" Navi spoke up, interested.  
  
"Ingo's horse, it belonged to the Great Ganondorf, but he gave it away a few years ago."  
  
"The one that we saw when we were shot, remember Link!" Link's hair stood straight up, nodding a little as he pictured him in a horse race with that man and the evil horse of Ganondorf, it would be a real treat to win at it, teach them no to mess with the Hero of Time. Yea, maybe it was growing on him, it was a lot better than being called a boy by the older men, and Hero of Time seemed to suit him, he was going to change the time and defeat Ganondorf once and for all. Grinning at Malon, he looked up to Navi with an approving look, her eyes as determined as his, so he accepted that as a challenge, yea they would accept the reasonable bet with the dreaded Ingo. "I accept, so can I see Epona tonight?" "Yea, alright, we shall beat him! No, Link-chan, need her to have her strength. But she has grown up quite beautifully, I think you'll like her, and she will probably remember you. Hero, I want you to go to sleep now and rest for the night, you need your power for the race. Ingo maybe a drunk, but he are an excellent racer and leaves potholes in the ground tonight. I'll go fill them up now and then I will turn in myself, I hope you have a pleasant night." Smiling, she went to the door giving a wave to the boy and slipped out into the land, her bag behind her as she jobbed onward to take care of the business of getting rid of the evil being inside Ingo. When she was gone they talked about how brave she was to stay here with a man who had defiled her, what Epona looked like, some training techniques they might need on the race track and hoping that Malon got all the pot holes picked up. Finally ten minutes after she left, too lazy to touch the candles, they blew out and surrounded the place in utter darkness, Link gathering himself up in the hay with the aura of light bouncing down right at his chest, laying down a dimmer version that slept with him. It was pitch black in here, so soon he was drifting off to sleep, smiling to himself and praying that when his time with Ganondorf came he was half as brave as Malon. Brave or stupid, it was the quality you see it in, there is no way to determine which is which, there is only the way one thinks from perspective, the way one lives in another society could be different from the other's opinion of the same theorem.  
  
--------------------  
  
Bright and early the next morning was, spraying out sunshine for all of those who would listen. Birds were chirping their song loudly, the place was barren of Cuccos, and but then again the horses' neighs let go of that as they were let out to roam the fields inside the fence. Ingo didn't mind them inside there, they were always saddled incase a potential buyer arrived, so it didn't matter to him. For that Malon was relieved they could be on their own, even the lone horse Epona, the most beautiful mare of the entire bunch, sporting a perfectly framed body. Hair that had been white as a child--a mane really--was now much longer and the beautiful shade of white (a rare hair colour for a horse.) Strong as an ox, the creature could handle anything past her size, but there was a down side to all this beauty and power in one horse: she was so difficult to train. No one in the entire place could train her except for Malon, yet she didn't share that knowledge to Ingo, so he thought the horse was interminable.  
  
Just as nine o'clock peered around the corner, Malon having been awake for quite some time, Link's mind decided to awaken him from his internal slumber, leaving him to sleep late on the grass as long as he wanted, but he felt it better to get up now. Stretching before those lids pulled back to see anything, he could smell a new smell around him, one that seemed so foreign, yet so familiar that he couldn't help but notice it. Not yet leaving those eyes open, he searched around the room for Navi, finding her resting on the hay next to him and a sigh of relief came out. Sometimes he feared he had slept on top of the girl in his new form, it was a scary thought to think that you accidentally killed your best friend caused by your roughness in sleeping. Glove-less hands (he took them off when he slept) were moving over to those eyes wiping the sleep from them, as they blinked open he was met face-to-face with a creature.  
  
Backing up against the crate, only having seen a huge nose and deep black eyes, it took him a few seconds to notice the smell and place it down with the creature that had been leaning down to stare at him. It was Epona! It had to be, this grown up mare resembled everything that he thought would be the enlarged version of her, the body so much bigger that it was funny: last time he couldn't ride the horse, now the horse could crush him. Pulling himself to his feet, leaving the gloves down and the Triforce symbol opened (it had stopped glowing after his second day on the adventure, he guessed it glowed because they were near the Power piece) up he gave himself a shove and stared up. Yup, it was her all right, the rustic colour upon her skin higher than ever, the hooves down at her feet were sprayed with a white fur right before they came up and blended from black to a dark rust. The horse didn't move though, she was examining him as he did to her.  
  
"Hey girl." Extending a hand to her, he touched the tips of her mouth and petted it softly. Maybe someone should have told Link about horses, it wasn't a good idea to put stuff close to their mouths, especially when they didn't know you. Yes, this could have ended in disaster, she could have taken off some fingers with her flat teeth, but in the end Epona seemed to trust the stranger and began to nibble on his fingers. Letting out a chuckle of mixed feelings, he let her gnaw on his finger tips a few more times before bringing his hand away from her mouth, running the fingers delicately along her coat, brushing through the mane every now and then.  
  
Epona wasn't done with her own examination, the horse stood a few inches above Link when she was on her four feet, so while he got in to give her a close rubbing. While he did this, she rested her head upon his neck and began to nibble around his ear, biting not hard at all, but a gentle nubbin. Shivering from the feelings as she nibbled, the boy rested his head against her, letting her continue to sniff and nibble around him (his ears were sensitive, give him a break!) Finally when she pulled away from the ears, he began to stroke her more fully until at last her examination was done with her and the verdict was clear: he was accepted as someone she knew long ago. But he didn't think she knew exactly who she was, that could be a problem in the race, they would have to get to know exactly who he was.  
  
"You don't know me, now do you, girl?" She whinnied in return; as if saying she wasn't sure, or that was the message he caught. Giggling a little, he bent down and grabbed his gloves, while down feeling the muzzle of the horse's nose right under the tunic and between the legs of the jump suit. Leaping back, he slapped her playfully, a blush forming around his face while he slipped the gloves back on, fastening the straps and sitting down on the ground to awaken Navi (he didn't dare bend again.) While he bent, the boy realized a quick idea, he might as well kill two birds with one stone, so it was decided that he yanked out his ocarina and quickly played the song he had mastered over the months he was traveling. This song was so simple, the one Malon had taught him that had been her mother's song, yes it was the song of the horse Epona, the way he killed two birds was he reminded Epona and woke up the unconscious fairie at his side.  
  
It worked both ways, at least as he could see, for the young fairie limped away from the hay, drifting in the air and going behind a box to get her awake, something she usually went in his hat to do most mornings. Glancing back at Epona, he sort of gave a signal to attack (at least that's what Epona thought) not an attack signal, but one to come see her old friend. Whinnying louder than ever, she trampled over to him, standing so he was way above her and bent a head down to rest near his, lapping eagerly with that long pink tongue at his face. Gasping, he caught some of the tongue in his mouth, grasping away when that happened, catching the rest in his cheek and on those ears. Flushing deeper, he went under the hay, the stubborn Epona pulling the covers away and continued to lick on his face.  
  
Eventually the timed hero just gave in, keeping his mouth shut all the way, but that didn't discourage the mare to stop licking, the tongue sometimes getting in-between his lips. By the time Navi returned from the post he was on his back, the horse lent down even more to lick his face, her tail of white colours swishing back and forth along the ground. Epona may have not known Link long enough, but she sure seemed very happy to see him after all these years, nothing seemed to stop her from getting a kiss in. Probably because the only good person she has seen in months was Malon, plus the fact that I am a guy. No, not that way, but she probably felt nice to be with a big strong Kokiiri instead of a weak Hylian girl to heed her around with, that seemed reconcilable, or the fact she smelt adventure on him and yearned it.  
  
"Navi, you see this, it's Epo--" He gasped, feeling the tongue once again slid down his mouth, and letting out a growl he hit her tongue playfully, making the horse yank it back in a bit of panic. Seeing the way he grinned, the mare let out a whinny of her own and continued to lick his face, bombarding Link's plan of scaring her away. Whining himself, the boy looked over to Navi, turning his head and receiving the kissed and licks in the cheek and ears, holding back the urges to grab her and kiss back, the ears were quite a turn-on for the Hylians. When he looked at Navi the look that he got made him growl with fury; she was laughing, yea his guardian was laughing at his own torment for this beast that seemed to not get enough of him.  
  
"Mm, Link I guess I don't mind her messing with you, just don't hurt him, Epona, okay?" Epona stared up, as if understanding and let out a breath that sounded like a chuckle.  
  
"Navi--mm stop that! Navi, please, help, she's pinning me down!" Yup, the first time he tried to get away, she backed him up so he was against a wall and had her weight pressed up against the wall so she couldn't escape his grasp. Quite a smart horse, that was for sure, but beauty was a bad thing when she was being so formal with him, not quite understanding the mares intentions, they were scary. Finally the seemingly helpless Navi fluttered over to the horse and flicked her between the eyes, causing the mare to back away in surprise, but before she could see who hit her his fairie had gathered him up and pushed him away from Epona. Back on his feet, the boy brushed off the hay, seeing the desperate Epona coming for him and yanked open the barn door, running out into the morning sun.  
  
Taking a few glances around the room, he didn't get to suspect it for he felt that muzzle down between his legs again, and about to yell at her, he suddenly was airborne. Coming to a halt on her back, he saw what she had done: the thing had thrown him up and caught her, yea she was very smart for a horse. Noticing that she had a saddle upon her, wrapped around her neck for support and seated at the center of her back, he looked down at stared at the inscription. For his own sake there was no Ganondorf symbol upon it, he would have trashed it if it was, but the insignia actually surprised him. Gold around the rims, and with a small golden flap that fell on each side, on the left and right side of where his behind went were two small Triforce symbols, nothing malice or evil about them. Where he saw was also stitched blue, looking a lot like the colour of the Ocarina of Time. There were no reigns to hold on, so he simply rested his hair in the luscious mane as she walked across the landscape.  
  
"Navi, you with me?" Looking behind his shoulder, he saw she was sitting on his back, nodding a little. "You're quite, what's wrong? You aren't usually like that."  
  
"Oh, it's nothing. I am just surprised on how this morning is going, I don't see Ingo at all." Truth was, she didn't want to race at all, she just wanted to take this horse and leave, jumping the fence or whatever it took, the place still gave her the chills. Epona was okay in her book, the kisses had annoyed her at first, but she realized it was a horse (a female horse nevertheless) and she shouldn't get mad at the way horses showed their affection. The horse was beautiful, strong, a lot bigger than Link, and would probably wipe out any of the stallions she had ever seen working for the knights of Hyrule, it was good to have someone like her on their side. Jumping off of his back when Link laid his head down, she laid her own body in the mane, looking to Epona incase she got wired up. She didn't so she turned to the fur, facing him.  
  
"Ingo, I don't feel like racing him at all. Maybe there is a way to get him clean?"  
  
"Beat some common sense into him." She suggested.  
  
"I like that idea, don't think Malon would go for it. I sure hope Ingo is gone or we'll be ca--" He was interrupted when the scream of fury came out of no where. Jumping up, the horse coming to a stop, Link looked over ahead of him and caught wind of Ingo, yea he was there with some of the men from Ganondorf's crew. Actual men, they were, the men dressed in crude armour that looked like it had been stolen from the Hylian knights and just painted black instead of the normal white, changing the insignias and all. The men had their swords drawn, only a few feet from Epona, the reason why she stopped, and because she didn't want her friend walking into a trap full of people like these. Standing on Epona, Link jumped ahead, coming off and waved his hand for Epona to go off, and when she did he reached for his sword.  
  
"Just who the hell are you! And why did you have the Great Ganondorf's horse, I am training her just him, I would appreciate it if you would leave!" Did he plan on letting the boy leave? No, that was simply out of the question, Malon had helped him somehow last night and for that she would get another one of her sessions, the things that he and hid friends loved the most. Grinning at the thought of it, he stepped back away so the guards could come up (Ingo didn't have a sword.) He wasn't going to take care of Malon yet, he just wanted to watch this boy be slain by some of his guards, even if they were goons, they could kill a simple kid, couldn't they?  
  
"Me? The Gods sent me, believe it or not. They call me the Hero of Time." Chuckling, he yanked the blade all the way from the sheath, one he had been born with when awakening from his seven year sleep, the sheathe was probably a present of the Sage of Light, among other things he was yet to discover. Squaring the blade out all the way, it seemed to give off a gleam of pleasure when awakened to the light; the others were staring down at the sword in silence. No, no one had ever seen the legendary Master Sword except how it was described in the legends, forged by all the Goddesses seeking to repent any evil that would ever haunt the Sacred Realm. Now evil was at its worst and the only one to stop this atrocity was the thick hands of one named Link.  
  
"I-Ingo-san, that's the Sensei Siiu we don't stand a chance against that!" The two guards rambled on together; a schoolboy of Hyrule knew the legend of the Master Sword, also called the blade of evil's bane. Yes, the thing was powered up and ready for action, seeming to glow non-stop, so it worried the men when a young boy had yanked the blade out of a sheathe, displaying it for their attention. It wasn't that the blade was so huge that it could miss, no it looked like a normal double-edged sword to some, but to the keen eyed it was more than just a double-edged sword. This was a power that seemed to stop evil, it wasn't really magic at first, and with the medallion powers it would develop powers.  
  
"Idiots, it is a replica, this isn't the real thing, there is no Hero of Time. Destroy him!" Ingo wasn't too sure himself, the blade did look very much like something out of legends, and the glowing made him nervous so he took a few more steps away from the blade, now ten feet away. Looking around desperately for the horse, Ingo couldn't catch any wind of it, he was gonna try to ride it so to trample the boy to death, but that was impossible without the taming abilities of this horse. Nothing seemed to work on her, but how was that boy riding her, he even stood up and jumped off her. Hell, she stopped so he wouldn't run into an ambush, it was so weird, as if that horse were some sort of human trapped inside of its body, it would indeed make a fine gift to Ganondorf.  
  
"Come on, take a good shot. I'm out-numbered." That seemed to influence their courage, for soon both of them took out in a charge at the same time, seemingly showing Ganondorf's knights had no code of honor, not that it was thought he had. Chuckling a little, the boy grabbed the hilt of the sword and swung forward at the first sword, dodging the second sort with some ease, when the two swords collided the sword of the man's shattered on impact, the remains going everywhere. Quivering in fear, the man without a sword took off, while the other man licked his lips, tasting the blood he had resigned on his sword.  
  
"L-link your hurt!" He smiled too her, stopping her when she was about to charge up a Ki blast to hit the man, it wasn't that he didn't need her help, he just wanted to do this on his own. Navi seemed to understand him, not giving a complain or anything, all she did was float away from him heading after the malicious Ingo who seemingly was not ten feet away from them anymore and somewhere out to the field. As if reading his mind, he waved a good-bye to her silently, grimacing at the pain that echoed in his shoulder, because you see he had ducked and went to the left, but had been nicked by the blade. Now he was bleeding a little at the shoulder, hissing at the pain, wishing he had a tonic to put on it to stop infection, but doubting it would help much. He needed a fairie to help heal this.  
  
"Just because you drew blood once doesn't mean you will again, I will allow you to leave unharmed, I will not go easy on you like I did your friend, you did wound me after all."  
  
"Shut the hell up and fight!" Gripping the broadsword, the man took off in a leap, trying to come in for an attack from above, Link rolling out of the way and striking the blade as it sank down into the ground. Nothing seemed to happen for the next few minutes; the man's sword was still in the ground, along with Link's resting a few feet beyond it. When he tried to pull on it the sword didn't slide out, but neither did Link's own blade, so it was sort of like a stalemate match, to see who would out-last the other the longest. For a long time it went like this with no conversation, why talk to some one, it really didn't help to know someone you were about to kill anyway. Little by little, though, conversation began to float out seemingly.  
  
"You're bane of evil isn't so tough now, huh!" The man was getting cockier by the minute, pissing the young hero off. If we wait just a few more seconds then we can do it.  
  
"I guess you are right, I think I maybe finished, or this could end in a draw."  
  
"Ha, I doubt it, I just don't carry a sword, I carry other things." Reaching into his pocket, he produced a dagger eyeing it on the tips of his fingers, smiling down at the man as his hands remained on the sword, now beginning to hum silently to himself. Link was concentrating, but with some madman with a dagger after him, it was hard enough to keep himself secure. Now the odds weren't exactly in his favor anymore, nothing really had ever been in his favor, but now he didn't see that much of a bright future for him anymore. Staring at the dagger, he knew he had one of his own in his satchel, but the odds of retrieving it and throwing it right at the other dagger were out of the question. Plus he had to keep his hands on the sword if he wanted to kill the man. It was hard, this spell wasn't even his own, it was if he was spoken to grab the sword and slam it into the ground, and wait for things to happen, that was fine by him, no skin off of his hands.  
  
"I see you are very cowardly, it's sad when you have to fight with a dagger." Link spoke, buying time.  
  
"Oh and you don't have one, give me a break!" The knight protested, grinning with the twirling blade.  
  
"I do have one, I just chose not to use it." I wouldn't use it; it's too risky anyway. Link didn't have a knight's honour that the Hylians had, but he wasn't going to go and reach for his hidden blade when he was being preyed upon. Okay, so maybe he didn't think that losers used daggers, he had beaten three main monsters of those palaces with the help of a dagger, and he loved them. Using them as this way sort of made him mad, as a secret weapon it was harsh to use it that way, it gave it its own bad name, something he did not want to do. Smiling at the man, he shrugged a simple shoulder, one that suggested just to throw it and get it over with, there was nothing else better to do around here. At first the man stared at him when he winked, confused for a few seconds, before his tiny brain gave in.  
  
"All right, say good night, 'Hero of Time'!" With a loud laugh, the man launched the dagger out of his hand, chuckling deep breaths as it flew across, not ever taking his eyes off the deadly weapon, even when he laughed. Link gripped the hilt of the sword, landing both hands on it and mumbling a prayer of release, as he suddenly spun around, not all the way, but to the left to expose some of his back. That would have been a bad mood, the back was weaker than the chest, but something was there that the knight obviously hadn't seen--a shield. Yes, the Hylian Shield was in place and deflected the dagger off to the side, falling down between Link's feet. Smashing the dagger into the earth, he pulled the blade from the terran earth, holding it up and speaking out words he didn't know he knew.  
  
The piercing face upon the man was not enough to be described, he turned around and began to take off, but there was a little problem with his hand. During the anticipation, the man had tried to lift the sword out of the ground, resulting in the earth to sink in more and hold his hand in place when it sank down to the hilt with no acknowledgement from him. Now the knight stared down at his hand, jaw-dropping to the ground, looking up at the boy pleadingly, as the boy proclaimed some words. Words that typically wouldn't scare him, but in this case they sent tremors up and down his spin, relieving himself in his pants at the fierceness in Link's voice.  
  
"Terran earth! Bring upon the grain of sand!" Yes, he knew those words; just not that those were the translated inscriptions of what he had been murmuring for the past few minutes. Since the sword never shattered, it resurfaced out of the ground, earth holding the knight's hand in place and seemed to melt down inside of the ground, as if being eaten by the earth itself, but it didn't stop there. Link's own blade slammed back into the earth, staring down at her and looking down at the earth as the land began to change from a beautiful grass to a swirling quicksand pit (only under him, though.) Giving out a small grin, he watched the earth swallow the terrified man, the hole disappearing after he left and the land reverting back to normal. Ripping a piece of his tunic off--near the sleeve--he pulled up the huge cloth and wrapped it around the wound on his shoulder, cleaning it up when he walked a few feet near the stream that Malon must have washed the clothes in the night before. Fastening the cloth around the clean wound, he bit his lip at the stinging.  
  
Brushing the dirt from his sword he pulled out, the boy sheathed it back in, looking down at the grave of the former knight. No despair was taught, no pity was left for the man, he knew the promise he had made to himself and Navi that day in the alley, that promise didn't count when they were apart of Ganon's tribe, those people were already half-way dead and deserved to be killed. His only worry was when he went against the Gerudo, then he would leave them alone and maybe just Bon them upon the noggin when he ran into then, he didn't really want to kill a woman. Speaking of women, Epona came up from behind him, throwing him on his back and racing towards the beginning of the land, which worried Link that something was wrong. Navi was supposed to get Malon and Epona, watching Ingo too, but what had happened? Gripping her main sweetly, he rested his head into it, letting her ride off to whatever was next.  
  
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While Link went on his Farore rampage of the knight, Navi had slipped away from them and trailed after Ingo, leaving her barrier low and following him down as fast as he could. Apparently he was after the horse or something, because he started chasing Epona, getting a kick in the head a few times, finally giving up and taking off back towards the barn. Reaching the barn, the man went back to where he slept and rummaged through the place for something, while this went on Navi peeked through a rotted hole in the roof, seeing that Malon was fast asleep in there. Surely she did her work and went back to sleep, forgetting about them or wanting to race another day or some other time. A feeling that racing wasn't ever going to happen went over her body, seeing the axe that Ingo had when he came back.  
  
Damn Hylian, he won't hurt her this time! Fluttering to the man's eyes, he blinded them as he took the first stroke, hitting the air on accident. Now that the man couldn't see, he blasted a full hole inside of the barn, hearing the man yank and scream out curses to the Gods for help on the kid of blindness they were penetrating on him. Her spell didn't last long on Hylians, or humanoid creatures, so she only had five minutes to awaken the kid and get her out quietly away from this man before he came back, she would zap him again, at the expense he may have gotten an immunity. Peering through the hold just big enough for herself, the girl went all around zapping small holes in the places where windows had been barricaded, letting her see for herself the sun that would penetrate her eyes.  
  
"Malon.Malon, wake up!" Oh, boy, she didn't do anything after the second term, so Navi began to shoot the other parts of the room, missing around the area where Ingo could get in, but hitting all the other possible areas. By the time she finished, the whole place had holes all around lights astounding her eyes, but not doing it and waking her up for the fairie. Growling softly, she counted the seconds knowing only three minutes remained, and yet it felt goof to be in a 'now-or-never' situation. Prepared her for the real life, helped her deal with the circumstances of the reality that was his own life, and letting out a long frustrated growl, she yelled inside the young Hylian's ears.  
  
Overcome with the exhaustion of chores the following morning, the maiden's eyes poked open, only to see a hovering blue aura before her eyes, illuminating brighter and brighter. Recognizing it as Navi, she pulled herself up, hearing the cries of the infuriated Ingo, gasping with fear, but then she didn't worry about it when the sun streamed down in her eyes, causing her to whine softly. Jumping up from the barrel of hay she had been sleeping on--a place she had slept for the past few months--she stared around at the once shadowed room in amazement, there were hardly any walls around. It was like a fire had started somewhere outside of the barn, hit the walls and only burnt them down, some holes in the other walls near the entrance though. Taking a quick huff of breath, she glanced at Link's fairie with confusion plated on her face, what was going on here.it was so strange.  
  
"Malon-san!"  
  
"Navi-san, who did this to by stable?" Navi giggled nervously, pointing to herself.  
  
"I did, but I had good reason, Malon-san! It's Ingo, he found out about Link and sent guards after him, and I think he's trying to capture Epona!"  
  
"L-Link, is he okay?" Staring the fairie deep in the eyes, her own was filled fear, fear that the boy who was supposed to be like her knight had been killed by some of those dreaded guards. Probably the game guards who did that to me. Wincing, she pushed those thoughts from her mind, focusing on something else, anything else to take the pain away from there. Of course she still ached down where he had done that deep, de-flowering her and letting his buddies take turns touching and loving on her, while she was unconscious and later in constant memory, pretending to be asleep for her own sake. Gripping her fist, having stared down as those thoughts swirled about, she placed her orbs back to the girl again, only to see that she was laughing, yea, she was laughing.  
  
"What's so funny! He's dead, isn't he?"  
  
"Oh, Goddess know. You don't know Link, he has fought monsters, and a couple of amateur guards aren't any match for him. Malon-san, you really need to get out more, no two guards could take care of him, he already took out when I left, and now I am sure the other is dispatched." Really, Malon can be a little dense at times. At least that would be the message coming from her, it was hard for anyone who hadn't been around Link to think he was weak, it was so strong to her and so unfamiliar. Now no one had been by Link's side through so much danger as her, the danger seemed to get harder and harder as it came, and then these two puny guards show up who maybe physically stronger looking than him, but in anyway more powerful? Hell, no, that just wasn't going to happen, she saw to that it would never become true. Truth was the first one had run away, but why couldn't she spice it up for the effect of the drama, it was good to do that, let the legends of him from years to come maybe expanded further.  
  
"Wow, h-he did?" She seemed to be a little starry-eyed, showing she was quite impressed.  
  
"Yea, now we need to hide, Malon-san. Ingo is after you--shit! We need to go, the blindness is probably wearing off." Yanking her hair a little, the girl gave out a screech and followed her blandly as they went out the side wall, nearest away from the entrance, pushing through as Ingo slammed his body into the lock, crying out for some help. Proclaiming that he wouldn't harm her, that they had a problem, but she didn't hear it, the two were gone out in the field, soon took glance through the entire field. When they came to the center of the field, that was when they ran into the hilt of a sword pushing out of the ground, and Malon fell to her knees, groping the hilt and trying to get the blade out. Staring down at the black hilt, the girl was beginning to sob softly when Navi chirped in.  
  
"Malon! That's not Link's sword, you may not have noticed since it was dark out, but the hilt of his new blade is violet and has the handles spread out like eagle wings." Chuckling a little, she pointed down at the sword with pity and described that that was the blade that the guards had owned, it seemed that something absorbed them into the earth, but Navi couldn't answer the question of who. When they had trained together and separate Link never said anything about this technique, it was if he knew nothing about it and just came to him. Maybe it did, that was a reasonable explanation, for when they trained together for most of the day the attack had nothing to do with the terran earth, this was just not working with the explanation with her describing it. Finally she just gave a shrugging shoulder, figuring this attack either blended the guard defenseless, or killed him (some blood was around the hilt.) Summoning up some voice, she called out loudly for Link.  
  
A long neigh escaped to their right and when they stared over the horse appeared from the west, Epona the mare of Malon's escaped through atmosphere and road towards them, followed by another horse right behind it, gaining on its tail, yea, it was the one that made Navi shiver. Ganondorf's old horse was right on the tail of Epona, each of them bearing a rider while Epona had Link geared on, the now un-blinded Ingo mounted on the black stallion. All the armour was removed from the older horse, so it didn't quite look the same as before, but still the menacing yellow eyes penetrated through their marks, focusing on ramming the young mare out of her mind, taking down the young boy and finishing him off. Sitting on Epona, Link had his sword out, sitting backwards with the reins wrapped around his waist, the Master Sword bared out to take out the evil Ingo. Meanwhile the middle age had he a sword, trying to get ahead so they could rap swords, only being able to swing them at this time.  
  
How this happened was the young man had been riding the horse, passing over the blinded Ingo unsusceptible over and over until the man awakened, caught wind of him and gave a long whistle for his horse to come. Epona took off in a gallop, leaving them in the dust, but soon the evil horse was there by his new master and caught up with them in time, racing on time and time to get out of range with each other. Ingo knew he didn't stand a chance if that teen had taken out those guards together, so he was prepared to try to stomp the boy instead of waiting for the sword to get close, it was better than going the other way and hoping he'd drop the sword. Taking the blade was something that he was unconscious of doing, grabbing it from the pile of swords that guards left whenever they left for the knight, or the quitters or executioners. The blade he wielded looked like the one in the ground, a black hilt, and a broadsword.  
  
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"Navi! We need to get out of here!" He bellowed from the horse, passing her, but when Navi started to come towards him, he shook his hand and pointed to Malon. No, he needed her to guard the maiden so that he could take care of this problem, with her alone the evil Ingo could scoop her up and take her hostage. That just wasn't happy in his book, so as the horse and he passed them, the boy balanced himself on the saddle of the mare, holding the sword out towards the man named Ingo, pointing it at him with the left arm resting down at his side. Throwing it upward, resting both hands on the hilt of the blade, Link prepared himself, staring down at the man with determination washed in his eyes.  
  
There was no stopping this, the true fact was that Ingo needed to die, there was no way to save his corrupted mind from this evil that was named Ganondorf, and he simply couldn't take the chance of leaving this farm with him on the loose. It's not like he could take Malon on his journey, if they headed to the Kokiirish forest, she would turn into a miniature Deku Tree like in the legends. She wouldn't want to come; anyway, I have to dispatch him. His heart did sadden at the thought of taking out a man who had been so sweet, but the simple fact was that man was dead, replaced by an evil abomination. Maybe he would have been cured once Ganon was dead, yet that too long to take the chance of keeping him along, and he knew his promise was being deflated. Simple fact was that stupid pact he made to himself was long dead, replaced by the courage to survive the determination to succeed.  
  
"You have been tried by the court of the Gods, and the verdict is guilty!" Slashing the blade vertically from the left to the right, a small beam of energy emitted from the power of the sword, the lone technique he had been working on, this was indeed the Master Sword version of his Rhiu-Kiyto, an old technique he used as a child very much. Chuckling a little, this time it was a little different, direct Ki bounced off the sword, so it didn't even have to touch the man, a devilishly wicked long-range attack, showing off he knew what he was doing. As the beam hit the inside of Ingo, the man burst out in screams, crying out in pain, his flesh disappearing yet never leaving that horse. The determination in the man's eyes almost made him sigh out, maybe cover his ears, but he somehow thought that he needed to hear it, so experience death with his own eyes. Bowing his head down as nothing remained on the horse but a spurt of smoke, he slowly slid down off of Epona, approaching the horse.  
  
Navi and Malon was quite a distance so by the time he was halfway to the horse, Navi was by his side in panting breaths. Looking up at her, he bowed his head sadly, she nodding with improvement and relenting herself on his shoulder, easily rubbing one of his shoulders with her little hands. The blade laid down in his hands, only retrieved in one of hands, the right one curling up and uncurling in tight embraces, rubbing the embedding off of his new gloves, and stopping those enlarged Kokiirish feet. The man- child looked up at the horse to see that the smoke hadn't yet cleared, it baffled him a little, giving him the chills that maybe it was still alive. Funny, it's not gone, he thought but dismissed it as maybe he hit the horse and it was dead and standing up, the skin maybe smoking.  
  
"She's crying." Navi spoke out sadly, the horse coming in view over the mountain.  
  
"I expected as much, but I had to do it."  
  
"Oh, I agree, he would have been a nuisance, I know you had too." Smiling over towards him, the smile wasn't false, it wasn't disagreeing, because when he looked up to her with concern plaster on his face, he saw the look and nodded back, staring forward. It wasn't that she was saddened by his death, there were emotions there, just the mixed feelings of the arena. So weird that he was dead, so strange that he had been taken out by a young boy whom he hadn't really liked at first, not showing much concern for him at all. Malon would mourn, but she would get rid of it, there was nothing wrong with the mourning, it was necessary with all the closeness they had had. Navi was still amazed that no bitterness was between the two, why Malon didn't feel hate for the man who raped her.  
  
"Did I.did I do wrong?" Link somberly spoke.  
  
"No!" No hesitation was in her voice as she extremely diverted the question to an explanation. "Listen to me, Link, you did nothing wrong. Nothing at all, you are the Hero of Time and you were taking justice, and as you said think of yourself as the judge from the Court of Gods." "Court of Gods? What are you talking about?" He didn't remember what she was talking about, that was strange, he remembered shooting the beam out and killing the man, but he did not remember yelling something out about the Gods. Why would he do that, he was far from religious with everything those accursed beings had done to him, you think he would ever worship something like them? Ha, that was a laugh, they weren't worthy to be worshipped, if they were so special they should have made better defense for the Sacred Realm or had a monster that guarded it so that Ganondorf wouldn't have been able to gain access to it. Shaking his head and muttering out lowly, the boy stared back to her with confusion, taking a look that she wasn't joking, her face was stern.  
  
"Wha--you don't remember?"  
  
"No.did I say that?"  
  
"Yea, you said it. I heard if from all the way over there. You said 'you have been tried by the court of the Gods, and the verdict is guilty'. Then you shot out that beam, was that the technique you had been working on by yourself?" She guessed as much since she had been working on a technique of her own for such a situation, nothing was going on yet with that since there was no access, but she did happen to notice how he limped in his steps. Of course! His shoulder was still wounded, and with all the strain on his body he was probably ready to collapse, and giving out a whine, he searched through his satchel for something to heal himself with. Nope, all the healing elements had been removed that milk strengthened, but there was no way to stop the blood he had already lost. Looks like he had fixed it, but it still worried her that he was hurt, the pain he must of felt wasn't that much yet he would need some medical care before they left for the Forest Temple.  
  
Breaking out into a run, the boy ran the rest of the distance to the horse, agitated that the smoke still hadn't dissipated out of the smoke, leaving around a thick gray smog cloud in his way whenever he trudged forward. Running into the smoke, he had to hold back the urge to cough and gag, but soon his dreams were realized as Navi turned on her aura. Watching the smoke disappear away from the aura, a smooth path led forward down the path, a cool little trick from his fairie, something they may need in future missions. Glancing a smile towards her, the boy ran the rest of the way, stopping dead in his tracks when a lump was still sitting on the horse.  
  
The lump wasn't slumped at all, but still standing up in full stance. The blade should have severed him in half, he thought jumping back with the sword readied back up in both arms, and standing there he noticed that the creature wasn't moving, the creature was simply looking away from him, blackness turned away. Shaking those tendrils back and forth, he simply couldn't believe it, and so throwing the blade forward again another one of those beams went out and severed the figure again. Funny thing was the creature did split in half, reconnecting itself just as quick as possible, but it seemed he had gotten its attention this time, because it turned around, glaring at him with those reptilian eyes.  
  
"I-it's a mutant!" Navi screeched, flying up and down, throwing Ki balls at the thing, it was definitely a mutant, the same structure on the same as the creature they had fought those few days ago. Only thing was that this creature didn't look like the other one, it wore the same black clothes as the man he had just killed, had the same height and bone structure as the man his blade had taken care of. I-is that Ingo? Yes! Ingo was back, he had been possessed by one of those mutants and when Link took out the first form he had awakened the host of the mutant, or that was his own theory. Gulping, he flipped back, moving out of the smoke and into the grassy fields, not taking the chance of stealth this time, his mind even caring if Malon saw.  
  
Damnit, right when we were through! Looking up at the daemon, the boy sighed deeply and attacked with his sword, throwing it directly at the man's face, only to be blocked in an oh-so-familiar way. Maybe this thing had training from Shiek, because this one had real claws and used them to hold the sword down, both of them holding the blade down with little effort of letting go. Cursing his luck, the boy let go of the sword, surprising the villain and watching the sword fall off to the side, landing in the direct behind the man. That was bad, the mutant didn't attempt to go for it, but sort of winked an eye at Link, daring him to try something, daring him to get past those dreaded claws of his. The smirk was intense, showing off all the malice that Ingo had possessed over the years, this was something of a fixated ghost, the soul of Ingo couldn't part unless this monster was put to death.  
  
Link didn't move for the blade, he simply grabbed a hold of his shield, strapping it to his stomach and looking much like a turtle with its armour. Nothing covering his back, though, which was bad for that was a very delicate spot to be rummaging through, but harder to reach than where his heard was located. Cursing his luck, wishing he had gone and retrieved that special took before coming here, the boy searched through his pockets for something, crazed to believe that the monster was allowing this. Halfway through the satchel he came upon the dagger, the Kokiiri Dagger he had so long treasured, holding it to his face and staring down solemly. Somehow it had lost its power over the years, even as he grew, the sword looking more and more like a projectile weapon everyday.  
  
The monster couldn't talk, but it sure as hell could laugh and gasp with that sound it did when he held out to dagger to himself, the beast catching wind of it. Laughing that came out of it was hoarse and raspy, like the thing had a bad head cold that would never going away, age making it worse and worse. The monster turned back to glance at the hero, shaking his head softly (as if understanding) and scraping those claws together and the truth was Link couldn't help laugh too. Funny how he was supposed to be going against a monster with two claws with only a dagger at his disposal, there was no way the dagger would work against the monster if they attacked head-on. Luckily this tyrant wasn't all that smart, the intelligence went with Ingo, so it had no idea of any other way to attack, and holding the chuckles away from himself, Link shrugged a simple shoulder, holding his hand forward to form a sign for 'come get it.'  
  
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Rebellious rage overwhelmed it as it charged towards the boy, claws raised in the air and ready to kill, and they would have killed if a sudden pain hadn't entered around its field of vision, blocking out all sensors in the left region of its brain. Seems the young boy trapped in the older form had decided to pick his luck by launching the dagger like a projectile, slicing down into the bottom of his eye and protruding all the way through until it stopped through his brain. Now half of him was numb, blood flowing down the left side of the face of it, clutching the dagger and trying to yank it out, seeing it was lodged in pretty deep. Roaring louder than ever, the right side of the creature turned towards to face that boy, only to find he wasn't there anymore. A trail of footprints led away from the scene, stretching forward five feet ahead of him and circling the entire three hundred and sixty length of him, leading right behind it. A spin of the structure revealed a slinky looking Link, sword in hand, grinning devilishly.  
  
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It was quite a simple trick, the dagger he had been practicing as a projectile, loving the way Shiek threw those Shuriken and wanting to throw things just like him. This was his first shot on a living creature, the luck in mind when it got his eye, even though he aimed for the middle instead of the lower region. If it had hit the middle region it would have pierced the middle of the brain (if it had one) causing it to shut down for good. This was only a theory, the brain could have been not used, but when he saw the blood and deterioration of the left side from the monster Link knew he was right on the rubies. Sure it wasn't a sure thing, the bet had been if it didn't work that death was in store for him, if it worked luck was on his side and the other would face death. Looked like Lady Luck loved him all night long.  
  
Going in a sphere pattern behind the monster, he couldn't help but laugh to see the thing dance around in pain and frustration of the place, taking a peek up to see his fairie wasn't with him. Groaning, he spun around the entire area to glance about for her, not inspecting an entire area where she was. She may have gone to comfort Malon that's good, I don't need any help in this battle, anyway. Resting his hands on the sword of banning evil, the boy broke out into a grin, slashing the blade in the air, awaiting the return to the thing from the underworld. His blade was embedded with the powers of Farore, so there was no way to pull the dagger out, it was stuck like that as long as it wanted to be, or until he pulled it out himself. Sometimes it seemed the dagger had taken on a master, so it would obey the Goddesses and the Hero of Time to command it down, and leaving it there, he awaited for it to spin around.  
  
Finally when the monster spun around, the eye spit on him since the other one was out of commission, it charged at the young boy with claws raised in the air, ready for anything in the world. Thinking that no blow would land it out into a knockout, and that seemed to be the truth, for this was the time when the tables turned. This time Link aimed for the side, the monster claws catching the sword, throwing it up in the air and back a few hundred feet, while its eyes were set on the human. When Link took off for the sword, the monster had him on the ground in seconds, salivating over the creature while thinking what to eat it with, growling out softly and sitting upon his back. While it thought up the plans for dinner, or returning the creature to Ganondorf for some experimentation (after a few nibbles) the prey's thoughts drifted elsewhere, the spit from its mouth dripping down and falling upon the prey.  
  
All right, so maybe he did need help with this, maybe he didn't have this in the bag, he was so scared though that crying out for help was useless, plus the fact that next a hand went forward and clasped his throat. Not in a strangling mode, just to stop him for crying out to his fairie, not that he thought that Navi was strong enough to perform an attack to kill this creature. Claws were so much, shoulda gone when its back was turn, gone for the neck.I was stupid. A stupid idiot was what he was, the cockiness of finishing this battle long and hard was ultimately his demise, the sadness of not being able to see Saria one last time drifted through his mine, hiding his face in the grass as water rained down. No, not water, because when he stared up he saw the creature dripping spit down on his head, the boy retching out in fear, knowing that in a few seconds it would all be over.  
  
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Mutants were kind of like zombies, they had normal-sized mouths so if they wanted to eat flesh it would have to be in the old fashioned manner: cut it up! Now, however, it seemed this particular mutant wanted to just chew on the creature, putting it in extreme pain before returning it to where it was wanted, to Ganon's castle. Even though the creature had changed its appearance, it still feared Ganondorf, he was ultimately more powerful than him, but it had no impression of the new hero. Not really having the fashion of an it, rather throwing off the appearance of a male, he still had all the sexual parts in this form (that would be put to good use on that little wench when it was time to get her.) This was after the dreaded hero was dead, if he could have even be called a hero, from his impression the so-called Kokiiri was just some stupid Hylian in disguise, looking for a quick fuck.  
  
Everything would be settled once the being was dead, once everything was back to normal of him having his way with the young maiden, deflowering her more and more each time, then using his powers to resurrect the pureness. Quite a beautiful power for him, loving the spaces he ripped open overtime he did it too her. He wasn't able to hurt her often because the mutation couldn't be triggered, barely received, but now since he had awakened the access was pure simplicity. Laughing at the fool's stupidity for coming here, according to his sources was no need in his travels, he would die for his foolishness, suffer for trying to stop them, the death being slow and painful. Why shouldn't it come that way, didn't he deserve it, this stupid hero with a sword thinking he could take him out. Oh, how he loved the surprise that filled the boy when the man had reawakened as not Ingo, but Ogni the daemon whose master struck down good. Ogni was a title the human form had deceived for him.  
  
Granted it wasn't the best name to give to someone (it was Ingo's name spelled backwards), but it was the thought that counted, plus the name did have sort of a nice ring to it. For in the irony of it all, he was indeed someone reversed from his previous roles, giving out for good and pressing evil causes. Ogni was not the title that Ingo had presented for the daemon (he had no idea he was a mutant until just now), but the funny thing was it was what he called his alter ego. Something he wished he could be, something he hoped would happen to him, a sort of pact with himself that one day the wishes would come true. Oh, if that soul could only see it now, only view the terror stuck down the boy, from the immortal being that could not be stopped. How he would gloat along with him, how they would rejoice, but he was dead. This corpse belonging to the soul of a daemon, the original Ingo was lost in the darkness, never would it ever return to its original body.  
  
Eating the creature was out of the question, Ganondorf wanted him to himself for all the time, plus he was rumored to be the Hero of Time. Wait, the great King had said he just needed his hand! Which hand was it, though? That was the question when he held down the struggling beast with one hand, the other yanking off the brown gloves a fury of light engulfing him in the eyes. Covering his eyes from the blinding light, he pressed the knees down in the boy so he wouldn't escape (he wasn't that stupid), glancing forward to catch a peek at the dreaded Triangles. Yea, that was the one that needed to be concealed, so first he would nibble the hand off, throw it aside and make work on them, who cared if Ganon got mad, it had been so long since he tasted flesh. Eating the girl was out of the question, she was too much trouble, and the guards were now infected with their own mutants, so attacking them was cannibalism.  
  
Leaning his entire body weight on the boy--which wasn't that much but intensified by the dark energy--the man yanked up the arm with that Triforce upon it, taking it down into his mouth, licking upon it. While examining it, his eyes went down to the young ones fact, not speaking, just shrugging a pitiful shoulder before taking a huge bite. If that had happened, then the boy would be dead; the energy from the Triforce was his life force in this state, the fighting form. So he would have died a horrible death, fast and painless (to the Ogni's disgust.) Suddenly, however, a light came out of the anticipated darkness, the darkness in Ogni's mind crying out in pain for help. It would have been horrible if a beam of energy hadn't sliced down into the monster's skull, making it leap off and slump to the ground.  
  
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Link recollected in his mind his memories, the memoirs of the past, what had happened in the adventures, the people the met and relationships that were built. Everything was on its own, nothing surviving if the bite had ensued, and somehow he knew if the monster sunk its feral teeth in he wouldn't just lose a limb. There was nothing he could do, however, it seemed his fairie had run off a coward or to get some help, either way their technique was useless with him paralyzed like that. No way to reach for a Deku Nut, his only regrets were that he never got to see his friend one last time, that Malon would be tortured for helping him, Navi be abandoned, Zelda (if alive) living in this hell. One last regret was larger than the others were. This regret was that he couldn't fulfill the promise of death to the Evil King, and yes it seemed weird this one was the largest, maybe that was how he worked?  
  
Cockiness killed the kitten in this case; curiosity also had a factor since he wished they hadn't come to this place entirely. It had been his idea, so he couldn't blame Navi (as hard as he tried, his will told the subconscious's it was no one's fault.) Nobody being blamed was a good thing, so he blamed himself more than anything else did, not wishing to hate Navi when his dying day had come. Besides, she can't help me; her Ki balls didn't affect him. Ticking on with the power of the insanity, he saw the fangs draw in, getting ready to slam down and pierce, not even able to hide the shame and frustration that was blamed across his mind, hoping that it would be quick. Maybe it would, or maybe something strange would happen, what those people call miracles, they were rare in this day, but they came now and then. Always in a distant land so no one knew if they were real or not, most of the time ridiculed by critics for their existence and naturally labeled a fable or urban legend. A miracle is what I need, or some more power, whichever you want to give to Farore. Either you or your sisters, I don't mind whom.  
  
"Fuii Jui!"  
  
Lids fastened shut, Link gave out a squeal of angst when he felt the blades come down, the blades sinking down and himself imploding. Then twenty seconds later he was still there, the whole thing seeming to have happened in his mind the saliva a quick matter that it was not a dream. Blinking rapidly, the boy sat up with the realization that he had heard words that were fairish, something he didn't speak, but head heard. Jumping up to his feet, taking a quick peer around to find that the monster was twenty feet away, his hands placed on his head, blood gushing from where a wound was. Shaking those bangs stealthily, he checked his tights for some wetness (sighing with relief when none was there), but took no heed in glaring for his protector. There was no one standing on the ground next to him or for as far as the eye could see, yet someone was hovering over his shoulder, shaking a little.  
  
"N-Navi!?" He capped out, seeing that most of her chi was gone, rags torn where her body was, the rips revealing tiny bits of flesh around her legs and abdomen areas. Sinking down with those gliding wings, he leapt forward and caught her in his arms, slinking south at the ground, grasping her down in his hands, fingers holding her gingerly. With a slight grin, the boy nodded to the semiconscious girl (who grinned a little, showing some signs of fatigue and chi-loss, a normal state when one is so depleted that defense isn't an option.) Instead of sticking her down in his hat, he bent down to retrieve his gloves, placing her right above her nose while he searched for his blade of truth and justice. Receiving the blade some distance away, the chi off of the monster was still active, meaning that breathe was still active in him, something that would have to be taken away.  
  
His hypothesis, while he slowly walked to the beast in its final seconds, was that she had been working on a technique that was used as a last- resort. Where you concentrated all of your energy into one Ki ball (usually using small amounts when you fire a normal one) then blasting it forward with your spirit seeing somewhere else. The spirit having left the body, it purged the Ki ball not just forward, but seem into the belly of the beast (or head in this case.) A technique Link had no idea how to do couldn't guess how she herself did it, but was glad for it. After the technique is used a weak person would die within the hour, almost like a kamikaze, the strong surviving the attack after some bed-rest. Something like this surprised the boy, feeling shameful for not trusting her enough to think that she would be around, when intact she was summoning up the chi to attack.  
  
Sliding her on the tip of his ear (shivering from the touch) the boy neared the body that had started to slump up, not yet able to rise. Another theory of his was that she hadn't been working on this technique at all--he had never seen this before, so he had no idea how it worked--so maybe it was based on emotions. For an explanation, there was the possibility that the emotions in her were so immense for some sort of power-up that her own adrenaline had caused herself to go into a trance. Into the state of mind, the emotions would have taken over, conjuring the power up from deep within the soul (not the spirit--the soul) giving out enough power to incinerate anything. The spirit was what guided the body through life and disappeared when the person died, but the soul was what kept the person on forever, existing in the life and after-life, something not yet explained by science. This was just a theory, however, there was no probability she would even remember doing it, let alone how it was preformed.  
  
Stopping a few feet before the being, the pity of his own soul shown inside of the blacks in the monster's eyes as he turned him over with a foot placed on the thing's chest. Applying pressure to his chest, the monster began to tighten up, showing fear of suffocating, but that wasn't Link's plan, he was just toying. Placing the sword down onto the Ingo's chest, Link spotted that relief of being let go was inside of the creature's eyes (it could heal with medical attention, or a very special fairie.) That, however was not in his place either, the sin was unforgivable, he felt in the position as the judge of death, dealing out the cards and punishments as they came. He still didn't know if he really said that phrase only today, nor would he ever unless there was pure proof, but all he knew now was that the words were echoing from his throat. Words of the same meaning that had been repeated, something that was able to show himself off in full proportion.  
  
"You have been tried by the court of the Gods, and the verdict is guilty!" Leaping up in the air, only four feet, he aimed with his foot right down for the side of his skull near the temple. Struggling to roll out of the way, the monster realized the sword was holding him down with some sort of barrier, showing that escape was not the option, death was the only answer. Grasping and curses in another language rung out of the hero's ears, the ears literally bleeding from the contents of the speech, hoping Malon wasn't around to hear the words. Did it hurt? Nope, the words had no harm, his mind didn't compute the idea of it, but it was like the ancient language of religious tongues, they were felt with feelings. Ignoring the pain from his hearing receivers, the boy planted the top of his foot straight into the temple, grasping out in desperation of the air when the sickening sweet crunch of the head exploded down into pieces, brain matter going in different directions. Shivering from top to bottom, the boy collapsed to his knees, braying over the death of the man until the maiden came to the crying man and soothed him.  
  
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For the next four days the two heroes stayed at the ranch, Navi spending the following three days inside of the ranch base where as Link went on a little adventure of his own: something that would waste no time, but an essential that they needed. With strong protests from Navi, she was finally subdued to stay down as Link went on his own journey to look for the prize of the village, leaving Malon to attend to him. Link left the third day to get the Hookshot, staying the previous two days to attend from the well being of the village, or cope with himself in that way. After the incident, the village seemed to return back to normal, the carts didn't visit the place, none of the troops even came by to check on the late Ingo, it was if they had known this was happening and didn't care.  
  
After he had been found by Malon, he spent the following day asleep in the bathe, alone for Navi was being attended, not listening to any sounds of the earth and loving the nightmares that followed the death. Not the normal ones he received, but images of an old person he knew as Ingo, the person crushed by the souls of his feet. He--himself--didn't know why he used his foot to smash the man's head, yet he remembered the words this time and they did seem familiar, showing that he had indeed caught remembrance of them. Crushing of the head still rung in his ears, hearing it every time he tried to crack something, like a top or a nut of that sort. The blindfolded Malon, hating the smell and sight of her former friend cleaned up the entire area where the battle for the horse had commenced (a name Link had mentally given the place, right near the old Cucco shacks.) Malon explained all the Cuccos had died out all over; the armies destroyed the feed, so there wasn't a single on in Hyrule anymore.  
  
Finally by the time he got himself back to normal he and Malon went on a rampage to fix the sheds and wagons, her beginning to get trade in from the old Kakariko Village. The first route of business wagons was sent on Link and Navi's third day here, deciding to go there at that fast pace alone. During the days before he left the Kokiiri and Hylian went on and pained up the signs, planted a sign outside towards Kakariko that said the original people and back now owned Lon-Lon Ranch in business. Word of that was long and hard when a long runner warned the village that milk was back in business, the place overfilled with joy that things were getting to normal. Ganondorf didn't protest to this, it was as if he didn't care at all for Ingo, the horses. Not more encouraging was the matter of Ganon not giving a single care to anything that went on here. How the great leader hadn't a care for his people, thinking they were mere tools for his own well being, a thing not mattering.  
  
As soon as the town was back in business, telegrams sent to the place (a burial laid for the late Ingo) and the horses let free on the fields for all days of the night, that was when Link made his leave. He wasn't leaving forever; of course; he was coming back on the following trip that came the same night so that he wouldn't be gone long. Then again he would be gone a total of two days, a day there and a day back, not much time to find out how to retrieve such a special item. Danpte' was his only clue to go on, that's what worried her that he wouldn't be back for another week when the next journey went on, delaying the medallion quest even more. What Link thought the real reason was that she didn't want to be separated from him for that long--the thought of her thinking that did make him weak in the knees and a little uncomfortable--but overall he liked the idea of someone caring that much. It was nice to be loved by so much, the feelings he had been getting from Malon not that encouraging while they worked, making him uncomfortable.  
  
Truth was, Link still didn't care about the size of his faire and his own bodies, and he still adored Navi as much as he did Saria, saddened that they would never be able to bear children, but nevertheless still loving her. Did that mean he loved her in the other way or as just a friend, would he get to love someone else instead of her? These questions popped up when Malon began to request little nights out where they talked; she mostly talked about her life before the incident and what she had been doing these past seven years. Navi was always asleep so he talked about himself, what he had been doing the past seven years (sleeping) and what was in for the future. In some occasions she had sat down right beside him, resting those locks in the bundle upon his lap, or hugging him tightly for the night. One major occurrence was when she wanted to sleep by him, he didn't mind, except when she started to rub against him in her sleep.  
  
No idea if it was intentional or just an accident, he knew that going to get the Hookshot was the thing that very next day. So after that night, he decided to take a ride on the milk car that was loaded with six mares ready for the ride of their lifetime, an adventure in the making. Usually on foot it took a few days to reach the Kakariko Village because of the bridge you had to cross, the river being so wide and steep, but for them it was a quick fix since the mares were so strong that they trudged against the river quickly. Reaching Kakariko in less than twelve hours at high speed, they reached the town just as it was closing down for the night, letting them in and handing them the gate key so they could let themselves out the night when they were done. A larger gate than before, the monsters that he had seen on the horses quite mysterious, and those ghosts that had appeared guarded Kakariko. There was also a charm on the gate so that the Poes couldn't enter the town, recognizing it as one of the same marks on the sign near the Lon Lon farm.  
  
The people said that since they had made good time that he had a day to spare on his free time, from six o'clock this night until the following day at the same time, when they would venture back to Kakariko. That came the lad a full day to go get his Hookshot, visit an old friend and call it all on his own until he was ready to call it quits, gloat in glory, or simply walk off with happiness hidden. Quits was not an option, he would call for Navi if they didn't receive the Hookshot, and it was an essential element in their quest, the Forest Temple was needed to reach it unless he could fly. Since it was six o'clock that night, he decided that first thing to be accomplished tonight was to visit the gravedigger Danpte', since he slept during the day. Link snapped his fingers when he realized what Shiek had said when he mentioned the guy, he said the late Danpte'.  
  
The Hylian people had visited the little Shiekian village, sprucing it up since there were none of that race around but two members. It did remind him of the Hylian market when he walked in, surprised at the low chatter of the people, no Cuccos around to cheer people up from their depressions. Poor Anju! Flushing deeply, he buried his hands at his sides, walking past the people who viewed him as some hick farmer from Lon Lon. When approached by a milk-buyer, he tried to explain who he was, finally after ten attempts directed them back to the truck until he was a distance away, where he pointed pack. After about a mile away from the cart was, he passed into the middle of the town, glancing forward at the tree where he had met the old man once before (Anju's father.) Sitting where the man had stood was a hideous human, disfigured and a pale white, bony abstractions were tainted around his body, obviously not given the beauty of normal people. Not even blessed with hair, the old man stared forward into space, ignoring all.  
  
When Link came over and tapped the poor fellow on the shoulder, the man looked up at him, growled loudly, then stared back down. He wasn't old at all, he was a man about a few years older than him, the wise look that was on his face gave off the reflection that he was old, showing wisdom wise beyond his own years. Link peered at his hand for the Triforce of Wisdom, disappointed to see none, yea, he had been doing that to people he met everywhere. If a person was wise or just wore gloves he would ask for them to remove their gloves, if they refused, he would usually wait at that time when they slept to peek in, this was an occurrence with a guard in the buggy that he rode here. No one really wore gloves except maybe the Hylian guards (resistance groups) and himself, so it wasn't that big of a problem.  
  
Leaving the muttering man alone, he walked up the left staircase of the town, seeing that the old empty houses to the left that led up to Death Mountain were now shops that sold weapons and medicine supplies. Closed for the night, he saw the Bazaar from Hylian town, a medicine shop, an accessory shop where one could buy supplies, and a tailor, which he may need before the night's end. Marking their locations, he fraught the urge forward, catching a glance at the entrance to Death Mountain that was pouring open, no guard present. At least there's that. Not getting a mask for a weirdo after seven years weighed heavy on his heard, glad the man was not here to comfort him, probably killed in the battle against Ganon and Hyrule. A really uncomfortable thought for him to die without receiving the mask for the kid, Link shrugged a simple shoulder and went down the stairs, leading down back into the middle of the town.  
  
Back at the market place of town, noticing it was just not as full as Hyrule had been, his wandering led him to shops and houses he had seen before, not even bothering to follow the paths. Just noticing them all around, seeing that the well had dried up, Anju's house was still around but a candle was out for the night, and not wanting to disturb her he went on with his ways. Passing the empty Cucco pins, a shake to the head left the pity for the birds, seeing how they met their demise in his own imagination, a shrug to the shoulder all he could give. Staring up, the man caught a glance at the wind-mill, nodding at the sound that came out of the place, it was an ominous tune he couldn't quite think of, a tune he may have heard of before. Taking out his ocarina sheet, he jotted the song down, leaving a small question mark by the title. Placing the sheet-paper down in the familiar spot, he glanced down at the dark entrance to the graveyard.  
  
Black as ever, his footsteps did echo on the way to the graveyard, keeping a hand on his blade for the reassurance he was all right in this place. Those Poes were around these areas, especially graveyards, so he would have to watch himself for any clues of them lurking about. Usually these were laughs, bright burning lanterns, or the shivering you feel as if something is right behind you, and then of course the sight of them. In the cart Link hadn't actually seen the Poe, only heard that one man saw it, he sort of shrugged his shoulder at the thought of a ghost. Having heard of them before, so it was no big deal with him, but combat with one seemed ridiculous. How could you hit something that wasn't solid, maybe magic? Poe was the term he created for it, hearing the knight say the same thing, or was it just something that went around that he had thought up on his own. Could be another language for ghost.  
  
The graveyard path really wasn't as long as it had seemed the time when he was a kid, but that could be his legs were so much longer than before, and back then he wasn't moving at the incredible trampling speed as before. Glazing through the path of the graveyard in less than five minutes, he came up to the sign of the graveyard a few minutes after leaving the path. Poking up with notice that the sign up there hadn't been changed in at least six years, wood rotting and a stench of wood that made him gag. Going past the wood rotten sign, the boy caught wind of the graveyard, noticing there were twice as many graves about, so weird how so many people had died these past years, or how many had been found. His theory was that most of them were dead a long time ago, the newer ones added and the others turned to Stalchildren--ones not found in the limit of time, if there was one. It was like the entire Graveyard had expanded in size, but it was still the same size as ever, some of the graves only marked with sticks, no tombstones.  
  
To his left he caught wind of the shack that the former Frankenstein had resigned in on the days that he spent sleeping, probably not allowed in town from his ugliness. Probably that idiot's father in town. Quite a possibility from the judges of their skin and crippled fingers that the man had had, remembering that Dampte' was the same way in finagles department. Finding the shed door unlocked, he ducked in the five foot high shed, squeezing in the cluttered seven feet it stretched across, staring across the place for any sort of clues. A clue of a strange smell might have been considered one, for when he smelt the scent he automatically gagged and slammed his hands on the dark for a way to calm his nerves. On impact, a small hole in the wall-slid opened, revealing a small book that was the size of any other book; this one was special because it was marked journal.  
  
"Ho, if it is around here, it's in there!" Grabbing the diary, the boy came out of the house and slammed the shack door shut, a small tremor echoing through the house when he hit it, biting his lip and moving over to a tombstone to sit down. Sure it was rude but was there a place around to take a seat, any chairs or anything? No, there were none, so as he skimmed through the journal on for the next three hours (reading, really, not skimming), his brain tired at the babble this fool spilt out. First he talked about his dreaded childhood of being abandoned by civilization and raised by wolves, how he was never married but raped a young girl when he was fifteen and she was six. Shivering at all cost; he held back the bile around the part of being in love with a woman named Aiiu, guessing that may have been the man in town's mother. He did even mention the boy, saying he was a child that was as ugly as he was, never to be scoured by the beautiful Aiiu's door.  
  
Slamming the journal shut at the last place, he came upon the back of the book and saw a small latch where you hid secret things. Clicking the device open, he found a small red button, clicking with eagerness, the ground below him giving off a screech of machinery, beginning to move. Gasping, he thought maybe he had ended the world, so he leapt upon the ground, seeing that the tombstone he had been sitting on was all in all the stone of Dampte', where he rested for all of eternity. The stone being barren and rotted, he took the small Kokiiri Dagger, writing his name on it and the title of 'Hero of Time' under it. It really wasn't defiling, just honouring the man with his presence. Trusting his look at the deep hole, the boy plunged himself down into the ground, holding his breath as the familiar warmth overcame his body, telling him the light of the rooms where he had gotten his shield were familiar here.  
  
Stepping off the large step, he glanced around the completely white room, seeing a figure that was about ten feet away. Shadowed by some sort of mist, the boy walked the entire ten feet, no arm touching the blade, for he felt no malice in this spirit or whatever it was. Whenever he came within one foot of it, the being turned around, mist disappearing and revealing the clear image of Dampte' his ugliness was still there but shadowed by a white mask that looked like the Keaton character that everyone had been talking about was the rage those years ago. A probability was that maybe the mask that the guard had wanted, so maybe they were linked in some way. Whatever the case, the man removed the mask as if to show that he was the former gravedigger, although it wasn't necessary with the tatter clothes and messed up fingers.  
  
"Greetings, young one. I guess you have received my notice in my journal, and you are here for the reward."  
  
"Yes, sir. May I have it?"  
  
"Of course, but first we shall play a little game. A game where the stakes are high and the rewards greater than you ever imagined. How about it?" The grin on his face showed that Link wasn't going to get out of her until he defeated this ghost in some magical way, or won his came. Feeling too tired from the fight with the evil spirit from before, the magic hadn't yet returned to him, so that option was out of the question. Running a quick hand through the ghost's body showed that he wasn't a Poe, but was indeed very clear for him to not even weaken his invulnerability. Sword strikes weren't going to work against this creature, so he would have to take the little bet against the man, besides, what was the worst he could do to him? Smirking a little, he took a seat in the air, being caught by a chair that appeared, and looking back towards the ghost, the gravedigger nodded and explained.  
  
"You have heard of Janken, right?"  
  
"Yea. Ja nk en, it's the old Hylian language for the game of rock, paper, scissors. Sure I've heard of it, we've been doing that for choosing in games since I was a kid. We're doing that?" No, the other boys had done it, he did it with Saria when they decided what to do for the day and disagreed.  
  
"Precisely, and if you win you get the Hookshot, a free ride back to the village, and I shall rest in peace. But, if you lose!" His voice made Link tremble. "I shall claim your soul, resume your body and live out my days as a human, while you remain in this stupid palace waiting for a fool to challenge you, just as I have."  
  
"I don't have a choice, do I?"  
  
"I don't see any right way to answer that. You do have a choice to forfeit, but I win automatically if you do."  
  
"Thought so, all right, let's go." Dampte' counted to three, the both of them hitting knuckles the two times before the third call (well Link going through the other man's) shivering at the thought of someone on his shoulder. On the call of the third one, the boy slammed his fist down into a Ja, giving off the sign of the rock, the man calling out the same one at the exact same time. Gasping a little, they did the call once more, giving off another call for some other sign, knocking back the sign of nk, or paper. He must have been a mime because he also formed that again, the time before each of them doing 'en' performing the sign of scissors. Growling in humiliation at each other, they tried different variations of the signs, always coming in the same places no matter which modification they did, even doing it behind their backs once. Throwing his hands up in the air, Link looked at the man.  
  
"Are you reading my mind and doing this to trick me?"  
  
"No! Damnit, this is so frustration. All right, we do this one more time and if it is the same I'll give you the Hookshot." A deal of the lifetime, Link smiled a little and shrugged a simple shoulder, giving out that that was fine with him, he hadn't mentioned any strings attached so there were none present. Link was a real fool, because it came out that they did indeed match up again, Dampte' handing out a small puff of magic where another one of those large boxes from before appeared. Giggling with delight, the monster disappeared from the area, leaving the boy alone with the chest, but also a large slam appeared when Link went up to the chest. Ignoring his own demise, the boy presented up the lid, holding open the lid and peeking inside for his treasure, something he had thrived for.  
  
"Look, Navi it--" Cutting off, he sighed a little in despair, wishing he listened to his companion and brought her along--it was just so hard to be alone like this when they were inseparable. The hookshot was from the bottom to top a small ring that one could place their hand too, made of steel that came up to a four inch base made of a pure sapphire, letting it most indestructible. Where one could place there hand was a silver trigger in the middle, probably what sent the spring-loaded machine going. The crooked base lead up into a small blade that rested at the top, attached just at the area of the top, where then he pulled the trigger and a blade shot out all the way, stretching a long link-chain thirty feet across the room. Cheering with pure relief of the weapon, he put it down inside the top of his side pack, moving supplies over so the new weapon could go there (not much to move with weapons so limited, though.)  
  
Turning towards the beam of light to come back up the grave, his face locked in despair at the light. Where it once stood was now a large pillar of rock, stretching up as far as the eye could see and blocking him out of the room. Now he got it, the man gave him half of the deal, but also took half of it for himself; he was free now, and didn't have Link's soul, Link had a soul, the weapon. No way out what was he didn't have, so he was trapped her until he starved to death, when he would become a ghost and haunt this place like the man he had said. He was screwed over like a bitch in heat, screwed over like no one had ever done to him, this evil little idiot had molested children, committed adultery, and now messed him up bad. Stomping his foot on the ground, a single tile sunk in and down to his immediate south was where a wall began to slide back revealing another room in which something was contained. Not even bothering to grab a weapon, the boy jumped off the platform where the chest was, leaving the bright room alone and emerging in darkness.  
  
The musical instruments from before echoed through his head as he waded past the darkness, covering his eyes as light surrounded his eyes seconds later, covering his face until they adjusted to the bight candles in the room. Taking a gander around, he came upon a room inside the windmill, the mill at the top where he was (near the roof, but still inside) stopped twirling like when the blades were moving around and around, creating water as they had years before. Link remember because he had commented on them on his first trip here, never having heard of this place before, let along those beautiful mills that rescued the place. So soon if the Zora river were to ever dry up they would die of thirsty, now only drinking water animals paraded in, the Zoras clean water miles and miles away. Maybe that's why some people are dead, besides from Ganondorf's battle, they had suffered the aftermath, much worse than dying quickly.  
  
Catching wind of the blade that would normally turn; he tilted and shimmied down the wooden staff of the windmill's main room. Glancing around and seeing an angry man playing the song that he had heard from the outside of this room three hours ago, the strange tune he had caught off from the centerpiece of Kakariko. Nodding to himself, he didn't dare speak to the crazed person, but wrote down the title of the song as the 'Song of Storms' because it sounded like something you play when you were in the sad and depressed feeling, and plus it was just likable. Sneaking of the man's windmill without making too many ruckuses, the boy slid down the forty feet of stairs, landing down at the ends of the town's, his eyes gazing forward at the house of where Anju was. Nine o'clock was now around the corner, kind of tired from the journey he had made, and with his new found weapon in hand there was nothing to do but catch forty winks.  
  
Would Anju even remember him, he barely visited her but one time, never ever speaking of his presence again. Well, he remembered only one time, maybe he visited her back when he came back from Death Mountain, it was sort of a blur even though he thought it happened less than a month ago. Maybe the realization that I am really seven years in the future is finally kicking him; he pondered as he went over the events of Anju. A pretty woman who had bathed him after he had been in the dirty grounds of the earth looking for the song of those composers and the shield, she was also a Cucco lady and her father a mean old man who ran a team of carpenters. Not much else was known about her, she played a small role in his quest, but she was overall a great person to be around, even though he knew hew less than three days (with the song's help, that is.) Approaching the house, he gave a loud knock to the door, watching the lights as a slim silhouette entered the door's place.  
  
As the door peeked open, a woman he had known appeared before him. Age hadn't affected her at all, he had to guess she was in her mid or early twenties so nothing really had changed much able her, the same beautiful red hair he admired, even the same tone of voice and posture. Somehow her hair was different from Malon's maybe the fact hers was a tad shorter and the only person with long hair he liked was Navi. That could be true, but when he looked up at her, she about an inch taller than he did, she glanced down at the teenaged boy, a look of fear overwhelming her. Link stared at her with a confused look on his face, noticing the expression, but with no reason why she would feel that with an old friend. Grinning sweetly, he went forward and picked her up, burying his head into her shoulder, nuzzling softly when he received a whack upside the head, pushing his head back and muttering her name out sweetly.  
  
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Poor little Link, he was just peeking at the door when a woman he had picked up bopped him upside the head, noticing that her name had been called out before he collapsed. Anju wasn't really one who dated; not many men went for the plain look anymore with makeup out and everything, so she wasn't used to attention. When a young boy appeared at her door--a handsome young man--dashing smile given off as he picked her up like a sack of potatoes, she couldn't help but cry out in fury and whap him upside the head. When he collapsed she called out his name, the words ringing through her mind as she sat down and checked him over; sure she had seen this face somewhere, just not this way.  
  
If only she had a Pictograph, then she'd be able to see who it was that she could compare pictures too. Unfortunately, she had lost that machine a few years ago in the fire that burnt down he house, this new one a little later in town and this time she lived by herself, no pesky parents to peek on her now. Having dated a little, Anju was experienced a little in sex, more than this boy from the looks of it, but nothing of a master was, as some would call them. Dragging her down into her new house, she lifted him up with a grunt and threw him in the guest bedroom (conveniently the bed right next to hers, it was a cheesy one-room place just like her other one, but hidden away from most people. No one visited the windmill so it was hard to find her, especially how close it was to here, hidden by allies and all that, but sometimes gangs would try to use her house as a hide-out, resulting in herself being armed with that spatula. Yup, she had hit Link a good one with the old egg cooker--if it could be called that--no Cuccos were around so they weren't used for much else unless cooking up some bacon.  
  
Saving one of the things from the fire--the pictograph album--she went through the pictures to spot someone who had worn clothes like these, she wasn't forgetful or anything, it was just so hard to place a face when you had gone through all this stuff in the world. All pictures were alphabetized, so when she was around the letter 'L' was when she spotted the person who she was looking for. No names were by the pictures so she could remember them, but the clothes sparked her up. Just some old ones of a little kid in green with a small blue dot by him (and her) some of them he was dressed as a little girl. Chuckling at the pictures, her mind flashed open, as if the memory had come back in no time, remember who it was who was sitting at her bed. B-But, he's supposed to be little, never growing up.  
  
About the time she had put up all the albums, grabbing the pictures of Link as a child without the makeup on, she went over to the bed and was about to take a rest down next to him when he awakened. Almost on the ground when he sat up, a yawn escaping from his lips and coming out into the open. Growling silently in the process of awakening, he smacked his lips, grabbing where the pain was and cried out softly, eyes still shut and watering a little. When they watered, Anju couldn't help but put a hand on the bump, moving his hand away and kissing the bump sweetly. Weird doing this to such a sexy little, she flushed as the thoughts cut off, shaking her head at no one in particular, waiting for the young one to open his eyes. Obviously he remembered her, she was sorry she didn't remember her, he was one of the liveliest people she had ever met, staying good and heard in her house. Link and his little fairie Navi, the fairie wasn't with him, so she guessed that maybe she had died or at least moved on since he grew up.  
  
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Moaning softly in his sleep, the boy was groping for a part of the pain when a large hand pushed his away and then a kiss was planted on the mark of where it hurt. No, the pain didn't cease, but he imagined he was still an infant where Saria cared for him, being much bigger than he at the time was. Grasping with reaching arms, he took a hold of the body, kissing the head a little, nuzzling the shoulder even softer and moaning out a name in the Kokiirish language, something only she would understand. Instead of being greeted by the cute voice of Saria, she was held by the feminine voice of a woman, breaking him away from her and slapping his cheek hardly. Shaking his head hardly, the corn silk brushing back and forth, he cleared his eyes and looked deep into the pools of blue of Anju's.  
  
"Anju?" She looked sort of infuriated, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson, also looking down at the boy who sat on the bed, while she towered over him with arms crossed around her bulging chest. Bulging? Why did I never notice that before? Maybe it was just one of those things you learn in life.hee, bouncy! He knew touching there would result in a slap, being as it may have been cute as a kid, but now would be considered perversity, the boy held his tongue and looked onward to the girl. No, not a girl, she was more of a woman now, maybe a teenager when they met, but now having matured into a young woman as he went from a shrimp kid to a full-blown teenager-- almost adult.  
  
"Anju."  
  
"Link, why are you big?" She peered down at him, letting her guard down and sitting down right next to him, where his head laid down right on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck softly and glancing up at the woman. Mm, she had a fragrance Malon didn't have, a smell that Navi and Saria had, the complexion that they only had, something was weird about the way Malon had come. Because while Link was asleep the invention of make-up was created, being used throughout the world now, exploring the way females could look-- actually it had existed years before by the Gerudos, since they took over it was introduced to the general public. From being so long with Malon, he was glad to have the smell back in his nostrils and took a deep whiff of her scent, gathering it down on him.  
  
"I dunno, I think it was leaving the forest." Nothing really happened between the two of them that night, they slept together in the same room--Link on the floor while she slept in the bed--wondering why he didn't offer to come up here. Guys were so forward nowadays it bothered her that she may have not been beautiful enough for him, it was strange, but she did spend the entire night thinking up way to make herself beautiful without the horrible use of that dreaded makeup. Techniques she had read from those magazines were one, ways to make herself look younger for him, wanting to interest in his tastes, wanting to aim to please for him, not even sure why she was doing this, not even sure if this was possible.  
  
During that night Link talked about how he left the forest, all what she had heard before, then when the recapping was over he went into great detail of what happened. Explaining the other nights when he traveled up the Death Mountain, Zora's River, the incidents that had happened so far, all the stuff at the Lon Lon Ranch and what had happened with the ghost. It took all night for the details he used in the stories, so when they finally did go to sleep at five o'clock that morning, he was happy to see that the day would be gone when it was all over. He loved every moment of that night, more than he admired the days he spent with both Malon and Zelda placed together. It seems he did like her very much, such a sweet woman, asking her how she had done these past few years.  
  
He was filled in on her history of her mother, Aiiu, whom Link watched with fascination and some other emotions on his face that she couldn't describe. Her conscious was clean when Link explained how those weird smells that those people with shiny faces gave off, loving the fact that he didn't like makeup. It was a good thing because as she lay awake that night, her thought did come back to maybe makeup was the answer to her problems, not sure of what her problems were now that the makeup issue was. Thinking that he could be a shy guy and since she was older she would have to make the first move, which was logical since sometimes men married girls and women married boys and the older one was usually more dominant to the other, it was only common knowledge. In this day and age, even before Ganon's rule, there was no shame in marrying at eleven or twelve (usually whenever the girl hit her puberty, the guy sometimes married younger than eleven did since he needed nothing to start.)  
  
If spent time with Link, Anju may have married the younger boy when he was smaller, but he was an adventurer and had the jealous fairie (whom she found out was injured in battle and resting at the milk factory.) So whenever he went to sleep that night, after her wanders, the slid off of the bed and down on the palette, laying her head down next to the boy and embracing him tightly, not wanting to do anything but stay with him forever. During the night she tease the young boy in his sleep, daring not to wake him for from his past he was so young as a child he wouldn't understand, nevertheless it didn't stop here from having her fun with him. No--not that fun, but more of a fun that involved her hands and mouth, while he just sat back and dreamed memories of this, probably having his first wet dream. When it was all over, she thought maybe she was a pervert, maybe a weirdo, but the fact was he needed this done too him. No one else would dare do it, and besides, it was high time that a pretty girl did make love to him (or at least get halfway there that was good enough for her.) No one could take his and her special time together, which was just for her to know, and if this crazy past ever got fixed then one day she would show him.  
  
Redressing the young boy, she cleaned up and changed the sheers, pulling him up into the bed with her and slipping down around him, hugging him with such bountiful mess. A quick kiss to the lips was all she needed before she was back in the dreamland, wanting to tell him that in the morning she put him up here because it was too cold for him. Sure it was a lie, but the truth may have made him a little bitter at him, it was sort of rude to take young boys virginity without their permission. In the customs of marrying the young, the female that was older always did do it this way, or so she had read, her grandma had married a little one, so she explained the rules to Anju she was young. It really was the way she said it was, so soft and sweet--the kissing--and everything about him was so innocent. Falling down into sleep, she thought she had done a good thing for him.  
  
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The next morning the groggy-looking Link was up around two o'clock, which where he showered for Anju's approval, dressing down in the tunic that she washed and received all his weapons. That is when they ate the supper at five thirty that afternoon, the young boy eating much more than he shoulder, but after all he was a hero and deserved a hearty meal every once in a while. Promising that he would be back eventually when they went searching for the Fire Medallion, the boy gave her a sweet hug and kiss on the cheek before running off towards the shadows where the milk cartons were. Where they kissed was the area where couples kissed, most thinking that Anju had something a much younger boy, none of them saying anything (probably green with envy), and some muttering madly.  
  
Anju also ran into the man that Link was talking about, Talon, having seen him around here, advising him to return back his farm to reclaim his daughter. When the man explained what had happened, Anju told him simply that the boy Link had stopped the evil Ingo and ended the evilness in the land. No, she didn't mention the parts about the raping, which needed that, him in his depressed state, so she left it be, and just couldn't muster it out. Maybe it was because she felt like she raped him, not as severely as Ingo, but maybe a little more than she should of, flushing at what had been done was done. There was no changing the past, the mistakes was her own, no body knew besides her, and no body really cared if he had been seven or seventeen.  
  
An area Link didn't know about was the couple's spot, so it was all right with him when whistles and chants came back from the outside as the milk carts took off. At exactly six o'clock, so that he slept through the trudging twelve hours of river-crossing, Poe dodging even though there was a curse on this cart, and rushing so the milk didn't spoil. Somehow the young one slept through the entire thing, always mustering a few words of wisdom to those that tried to awaken him to fend off the Poes. No one was killed so the semiconscious boy never interfered with the affairs that weren't his own, only happy that he had received a weapon and a ride back. Some of the resistance groups tried to get him to join, not for seeing his sword skills, but the fact they had no members. He replied he was his own resistance, getting ripped off in laugher, then leaving the side where he was to return to his sleep, not needing that anymore.  
  
Six o'clock that morning rolled around the corner, the cart coming to a rest at the base of Lon Lon Ranch, reloading the place off and throwing him down onto the earth as when he was still asleep. The sun was what woke him up at ten past seven, the early sun rising in his eyes as he crawled up the hill that led to the Lon Lon, they were inside the ranch, but the hill led to the place. As soon as he entered the ranch, he caught wind of the make-up stuff again, it wasn't that he hated it or anything, the smell was sort of new to him so it would take him a while to get it introduced as normal. Being with Anju was quite a change, even surprised that he let her sleep by him that night, especially after the slap he got that same night before. Standing his ground, he saw that the tanks had already been loaded and unloaded, the place was gone from the milk people, already making another delivery somewhere else where people drank milk.  
  
"Link!" Spinning around to meet the voice, he was slammed down into the ground and slid across the earth, looking down at the blue aura that was right at his chest, kissing and nuzzling the bruised marks. Giggling at his fairie, he picked her up and watched her continue to show her affection towards him by giving off all the signs that he needed, before he gave in and kissed back at the signs. It took a few minutes to calm her down back to speed, she explaining about her full recovery and how she had done on her way around her (only being up since last night) how she had devised a deal with Malon for a horse that they could have. When Link asked what the deal was, Navi shrugged a shoulder and said it was something at that would never happen, giggling a little at him and continuing to kiss him.  
  
Sort of understanding what she meant, he nodded and explained on how he had met Anju, did the Janken with the evil ghost, the diary and that was all that went on in his time gone, which rewarded some more affections. Chuckling, he pulled himself up from the once-gloomy ranch, seeing that the entire area was sparkling with beauty, the grass back to its original colour while the sky around the place was a beautiful azure. Quite breathtaking were the right words for it, giving off the intense moment of silence, his fairie even calmed down to watch the uniqueness in it. Each of them was startled at the neigh of the horse when they both spun around to see that Epona was standing infront of them, Malon at her side and looking over to Navi. Navi nodded back at her, giving her a wink before Malon shrugged and shoulder and walked off, pointing to the fairie.  
  
Link felt sort of better when Malon was gone, thanks to the winking and everything. Upon Epona was a saddle of the same kind from before, but in the center if was branded the name Link into the saddle, but also on Epona's foot were the branded words "Hero of Time." Shaking his head, he sort of watched the cruelty in his head of how that must of felt, seeing that Epona could feel the way he was feeling because she nipped at his nose, neighing at him too. Nodding his head understandably, the boy peered over to his fairie, the head going between his legs and yanking him up back on the saddle of Epona. When they were branched together, Link saddled him straight and looked over at Navi who now had a smaller bag that would connect somewhere. It was snapped onto the saddle, linked to the reigns to Link had easy access to the bag, containing a sweet source of food for someone.  
  
"What are the conditions."  
  
"Oh, she wants you to come visit more often, and well see her." Navi nodded, smiling.  
  
"And I get Epona? Damn, I like that deal!" He flushed at the use of the bad word, Navi either ignoring it, not minding, or just not noticing. She didn't seem to care if he used bad words, but hey it was a good time to use a naughty word, was it not, I mean he had just received the horse of his dreams. Grabbing for the bag, he dug through and grabbed out a carrot in the bad. Actually there were carrots, some horseshoe repair kits and instructions, a bag for feeding her when on the run and a bowl that should be filled up with water. They didn't need supplies since Anju had filled up his canteen with water, giving him an extra one, loaded in some bread and dry meats for the trip, and fresh fruit that was all gone since it would have spoiled in the hours before he reached the ranch.  
  
"Food for me?"  
  
"No, dummy. Epona's food, she has to eat, y'know."  
  
"Ah, yes." Reaching down below, he patted the white mane, which received another little squeal of joy before resting back down to a calm. Smiling towards the mare, he looked back up at the fairie. "We go now?" Eagerly he sat on the horse, like a tyke at a ride that was so much fun that they didn't want to go off, just ride again and again. Yea, the horse was a good treat for him, he knew it would be good, he would also take care of the horse, digging through the bag and finding what was a brush to take care of the horse and keep her pretty. Digging deep, he handed her a carrot, which she chopped up and licked him a little, letting her neigh loudly and begin to walk, answering the question he had asked Navi. Maybe she was eager to go too, maybe it was time to start the journey too, funny thing was she was headed for the back of the place, running at full speed.  
  
"It's early, so yea." Navi smiled sweetly towards the boy, shrugging a mental shoulder at the other part of the deal, something that Malon just wasn't going to get from her boy and that was the simple truth, why did she want something like that anyway? Yea, the visits and everything were true, but she wanted him to take her out and probably take her hand in marriage, not that that was going to happen anytime soon. He was to return to his normal self when this was all over, and they would never leave the forest, so there were no worries to keep with her. Only problem was that Epona was charging at the back fence, herself moving at a chugging speed that would take her as fast as she could. Seeing the young boy put his hands over his eyes, the horse sailed over the top of the smaller gate (not really made of rock) moving down through the hills and across the landscape, letting out a neigh or triumph.  
  
Both of them stared at her in utter amazement, feeding her three carrots a piece and then letting herself take them on the ride, it was as if she knew the way for when night-time would come. Around this time they all would have to feed her some carrots, brush her hair some, talk with her as they walked at night and only wait for the morning to come before they walked. Epona usually only slept a few hours a day, usually around five to seven o'clock, so it was all right as long as she didn't run at night, if she ran at night then she would tucker herself out. At this pace they figured Kokiiri forest was only a few days away. During the days Link showed off the Hookshot to Navi, they spoke of the future, played with the beautiful mare and did stuff that friends do. It was shorter than they expected, actually, for when they entered the temperate of the forest it had only been two and a half days, a day shorter than expected.  
  
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It was so funny being placed in the same environment again, the forest spinning around him--making him dizzy with anticipation--as he stepped through the gate with the lone fairie by his side. Epona had protested to get inside the cart, so he laid some carrots and poured his canteen water down inside a little trench that was near the place where her reins were tied, telling her simply to make this last for a few days. That horse just nodded her head, no confusion in her face, then nipped at him sweetly and closed her eyes to rest.it was funny how smart she was sometimes. Almost like a human in so many ways than others, her appearance was that of a mare, but then again appearances weren't everything in this world--he was always intimidated by a large size, often discriminated for his own height as a child. Chuckling out loud, he looked around the area arms bound to chest, sniffing the forest air.  
  
Exact area where is happened. Those cheeks brightened with colour, remembering the exact event as how it happened, he couldn't tell how many months or days (not counting those seven years), but he had stopped counting after so long. Link hadn't packed a calendar with him, nor did he feel like fooling with the days, all he knew was that it had been close to two months when he finished the belly of Jabu. Before that, however, was the area where he stood, the area where that beautiful and sweet kiss had done--one he still remembered. Other kisses he received were just innocent or being playful, this one throwing them off and showing him what he wanted: true passion. Yes, he could still feel the warm trickles of their tears mixing as she lashed her tongue in and out of his innocent mouth.how beautiful she radiated that day, how long he ached for the quest to end so he'd return for another one.  
  
".ink! Link!" Turning those eyes upward, he caught Navi looking at him strangely.  
  
"W-wha?"  
  
"You've been sitting here for like five minutes, let's go, sweetie."  
  
"Hee, sorry, I was just reminiscing." She giggled a little, patting his head as he gave off a little nod and continued forward past the wooden bridge that stretched from the first tree hole right to the next that would enter the forest. Navi also knew how important this place was, this was their home after all, and a place that would remain in their hearts no matter how long they were away. Seven years without so much of a visit, a memory of the place, and now the place was in danger (according to that man), but the funny thing was that Navi felt she could trust him. Sure he was underhanded, looked like he was disgusted about his race having been killed off from before, and yet it was so easy to believe him, as if he knew it all. Well, it was natural that the forest had been affected, just like the time before when Link and she dispatched Gohma, Ganondorf had sent the creature.  
  
Gripping onto his shirt as she came down, the girl placed her behind on the shoulder blade with a snap, gasping in the forest air as they tumbled inside of the tree hole, absolute darkness hitting her eyes, never feeling afraid in the least. This place had something about it, an energy that gave off friendliness to them a sort of satisfaction that nothing would ever hurt them, that the world was pure. Yet she knew enough to guess that this was false now, just a memory, the forest may have at one time been a place of purity, but now it had been defiled. Ridiculed by that bastard Ganon, the man whom she would see to it paid for his crimes, someone she detested even more than Milo. That man was the cause of everything; she still didn't understand his true purposes, why he would want to ruin this place, why to do something this evil. She could only guess that he had gone mad with power, nothing stopping him from achieving the true extent.  
  
Out the hole they popped, the sparkles left by fairies moving around (they didn't disappear like in Hyrule, they remained around so long that the air always was full of dim sparks), but no fairies were about. The entire place was stone-deaf quiet, no chirping from the crickets, croaks from the toads near the waters, the humming of fairies working around or the children singing. Kokiiri loved to sing they even had a festival every year to celebrate their race, a festival where they played together with instruments made out of wood. Sometimes ocarinas, sometimes flutes, violins, even an occasional clarinet was around, and away they would played to the Deku Tree, pleasing him to produce seeds for more trees in the forest. The festival was a while off from now, but still there had to be some people about, it was only eight o'clock in the morning, the Kokiiri always arose with the sun (at least all except Link.)  
  
"Why's it so quiet?" Link asked, tearing his glove from his hand and shining it forward, it was so dark for this time of night that they couldn't see, and the rule was you could always see in the forest. Sure it wasn't pitch-black, but Link was doing this as a precaution so that none of them tripped over each other, stepped in a hole that hadn't been there, or smashed a sleeping Kokiiri. The Triforce symbol lit up, allowing him to cut a square hole in the glove and pull the hand back in so a small thin beam stretched out like a lantern, without alerting too much trouble. Something about that leather was strange, it probably an abnormal material confined to hide the light of the Triforce, because he had tried other cloths to conceal the beams, failing in attempt. She had tried sitting on it, but that just came off as the beam passing through her--it was harmless light, not energy absorbent--although it was illuminating out towards here. She guesses it was because they were near a temple that had to be the case, or that the sage was trapped inside and it was reacting to him.  
  
"I dunno, this place is so calm, it's never been like this."  
  
"Wasn't it daytime when we came in!"  
  
"Yea, it still is. I guess a black cloud is surrounding the forest, blocking out plant li--"  
  
"The forest is going to die that way!"  
  
"--fe. So that the forest and Kokiiri will surely die." She concluded, nodding and staring forward as he leaned his right palm forward so that the light could see forward.  
  
"Damnit, there is no way we can go through the town, how about we just go straight to the woods, that's where the temple of the forest is, right?" It was a stupid question, Link knew what it was, and he was just reassuring himself.  
  
"Mmhm, I would advise that too, I mean since the Deku Tree is gone enemies might be around, that is probably why all the Kokiiri are hiding, they aren't dead, I can sense their presence."  
  
"Me too, but I can sense some have died, some of the minor ones." It was a cruel statement to say, the 'minor' ones as in no one was important, but he meant it to say those he knew well, like Saria for example. Saria's presence was alive and well, deep in the Forest Temple, he could only sense her because she was Kokiiri, anyone else like Hylians or monster were totally undetectable, this was because he'd been around them his whole life. Smiling over at her, she gave off a frown at his statement, automatically lowering his head and whispering out a simple sorry to her. When receiving a pat on the back, he craved at his sides, one arm leaping up still in the air, holding out the way towards the Lost Woods, turning from the north direction towards the left, where the vines stood.  
  
"Link, don't be like that." But he was right, Mido and the triplets, those twins that he knew were all alive, some fairies had died too, a few of them associates of Navi. Navi really didn't have friends, you guess she could be considered just like friend, except in her case it was the girl without a Kokiiri instead of the boy without a Fairie. No one really liked her because she could be snobby at times, stubborn, and didn't really want a Fairie at first; she had been assigned a child, but declined and kept on the mission works. Having a child to guard was a special honor that no one but the select few were given (there were virtually more Fairies than Kokiiri) and when she declined it, she was rejected. It was like being knighted and not accepting the invitation, just giving up on an honorable condition that no one had ever turned down, a job so beautiful in its own way. That was when she was ignored, not teased like her boy, but ignored virtually on the verge of panic; he being her first partner, one she was glad she took.  
  
With his back turned to the veins, about to head towards them, he never saw the thing coming, hidden so stealthily in the ground that no one could have seen it. Coming out of the earth was a Baka, a Deku Baka to be more exact, the creature looking a lot stranger than before, the monster looking like it had mutated. When he bared its sharp teeth and blundered forward, the monster slammed into the back of Link's shield throwing him forward--and saving his life--landing on the ground out of the Baka's reach. The shield had been hidden under the mass of satchel he had, not shown to the Deku so that it thought it was going for the back, an attack that would have wounded the boy. Quick thinking, hidden shields, and pure luck is what saved him from having his back torn open and being lunch food for a sadistic little plant that came out of the ground.  
  
"Link!" Navi squealed as she saw him disappear from her side and throw himself down into the ground, a groan escaping his lungs. Her quick reflexes hadn't worked this time, spinning around only to be caught with a sight that size did indeed matter in some places, some mattered so much that is was scary. The regular Deku Baba would have come up to adult Link's chest, not very big and with a thin and weak body having been easily dispatched. This one was at least eight feet tall, the stems of it thickened with harden muscle and the chlorophyll added in for the colour of green. A giant drooping mouth of violet streamed over, teeth bared for them to be gobbled up in, the teeth sharper than ever, probably sharper than the blade of her boy's, too. It was much more larger, maybe to be dubbed a Giant Baba, instead of the Deku Baba, that name seemed to fit this one more so than the latter. No arms were kept out, that was a relief, but that mouth was enough to send more people running.then again, they weren't most people, were they?  
  
Spinning to regain his strength, the boy stared down at the monster, being super-sized to the maximum, knocking all the limits away from what simply used to be a Deku Baba. Something had happened to this particular creature, more were hiding, as he suspected all of them were somewhat infected. His answer was knocked clear out of the park when four more Babas appeared out of reaching distance, and Deku Scrubs popped up for the adventure. The red ones, the ones that ran when hit, but they were unaffected by the dark magic of Ganondorf, or at least that is what Link guessed it was. Who else could produce a chi so powerful that he could barely stand the smell of the creature, sensing it he could not do, but the smell was enough to drive him up the wall. No, it didn't give off a bad odor or anything; the aroma must have been what he suspected as seeing the creature's dark energy, something that wasn't there seven years ago.  
  
"Ganon's creatures?" He mumbled out loud, the sword prepared for the initial assault.  
  
"Of course, the original Babas weren't his, but these seem like mutations of them." Either that or something very strange was occurring, a thing that frightened Navi, the power of this so-called King of Hyrule must have been spreading like a wildfire. Babas used to be much smaller than this, smaller than the ones he fought as a child, yet her theory was that when Ganondorf first cursed the Deku Tree his own powers made the Babas rise at a new level. Now with the Triforce of Power in his hands, the theory was blown out of proportion. By her calculations, the monster was now four times as big as the ones from when Link was a child, which meant that Ganondorf's power had multiplied by four. All she hoped was that these medallions they were collecting powered them up, or the sages, whichever ones had to do it. Shaking her head, the small fairie began to shake up a little, emitting a yellow light around her veil.  
  
"Navi.a new attack, Eh?" He grinned, the sword prepared for the assault, but seeing the look on Navi's face made him loosen his grip upon the sword, like it were going to be all right and no need to fight. Even with the veil upon her, Link could now see through it, peering at the determination she emitted, and nodded pushing the steel back into its teeth. Eyes widened when the yellow light surrounded the Deku Baba, it turning a complete blue and sitting still in a state of paralysis, sort of like what the nuts did. Yet this was longer, because the nuts lasted for a few seconds, while now Navi didn't warn him to high-tale it or anything, she just sighed from the power drainage.  
  
Link gripped the bag of Deku nuts on his right side, peering at them and launching all twenty in all directions, taking off in a leap for the vines while the rest of the monsters got in their small-second state of paralysis. Now with an empty bag, his load was more secure and if he ever picked up something new, he could stash it down into there. Pulling upon the hardened vines, the boy climbed the menacing twenty feet to the top, pushing himself on the new area and scanning around, dismay splashed on that face. All around were huts being burnt, or having been burnt (ashes smoking and simmering down), corpses slain all across some of the fields, blood matted in all the grass. Reaching back, he flicked the sword out, staring down as the monsters danced around the corpses, vowing that when he came back.they would pay.  
  
Navi stood silent in the commotion, her own eyes aghast for the moment, not even realizing before that someone could do this to a town--no their home- town. Hometowns--no, places like this wasn't meant to be treated this way, why hurt the innocent children from them, why hurt two beautiful races. So what if they were ignored or teased in the place, this was still the place they were born and raised, and no one destroyed a hometown of theirs. While Link swore his own promise, she made one silently to herself, pushing the blue veil back on and resting upon his shoulder for support from the paralysis attack. Sure it wasn't hard to do, she would just have to practice it to get better and better at it, eventually she would be able to do it without hassle. Watching the boy turn around and head down inside of the tree trunk (having to duck now), she escaped with him from the carnage and into the unknown.  
  
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The woods were the same as seven years ago, no monsters inhabited the areas leading up until the Sacred Forest Meadow, that was good, this scenery was so beautiful that he did not want it to be spoiled. Smiling at the scenery, he chuckled to himself when he had to duck under or climb through a small hole on his hands and knees, it was such a remembrance, he couldn't help but chuckle. Maybe he sounded crazy right then and there, hell, maybe he was crazy after going through so much, but now wasn't the time to go insane--not was the time to get revenge for those sweet children. Innocent souls, whom had never killed before, never would kill, and sure they could be a hateful bunch at most times, but that wasn't reasoning enough for them to die.  
  
"What's funny?" Navi whispered, a little spooked out about this place, Saria's song wasn't playing anymore, so it wasn't as lively anymore. "I don't hear her."  
  
"Probably too sad to play with all that's going on, the meadow is the safest place for her, glad she made it before the attacks started. Mm, I am laughing because I am afraid I might turn into stone or a Skull-kid, y'know, the legends?" An old Kokiiri urban legend was that children who got lost in the woods turned to Skull-kids (Hylian children, mind you) and adults would turn to stone. Link had no idea if he was considered an adult now, Kokiiri, or even a Hylian child, that gave him the feeling the Goddess of the Forest was watching him. Hell, maybe he was being watched and if he was, wells, by Goddess he was going to show that old hag what he was made of, no one was going to stop him from winning. Navi smiled at him, and fluttered up to his hat as he entered the last door.  
  
"How come you didn't get lost, Link.this place changes every time."  
  
"I can sense Saria.somehow, I don't know how, but I can."  
  
Navi was about to speak up again, but the gates of the Sacred Meadow were locked shut, guarded by a single Kokiiri, one with the freckled face and the curly blonde hair. She heard the boy gasp out loud, as the Kokiiri came into the light and stared at him with a concerned look upon his face, the fairie fainting nearly herself as Mido's face showed the blessing of concern. Link, himself, was all right and dismissed it as just something that always happened, his former boss nodded a bit, his hands going to his chin and inspecting the man, seeing the fairie also. She had to admit that they did look weird to the Kokiiri, Link was still wearing their clothes, had a fairie, and would look like his former self to them. Of course last time they saw Mido, he was chasing them with a pitchfork.  
  
"You wear our folkish clothes, but you are no Kokiiri. Who are you and why do you have a fairie?" No harshness was in his voice, just one of pure curiosity, he sure had changed over the past seven years, that was for sure.  
  
"I am a Kokiiri, it's me L--" Navi slapped him on the cheek and shook her head with concern, it was just too weird to reveal his identity to them, so it would be best if they were left alone.  
  
Link got the message from the slap and shrugged his shoulders a little bit, winking towards the little fairie, if she wanted them both a secret, then a secret she would get. Keeping his identity was a nice thing, for Ganondorf could be looking for him and happen to torture people he knew seven years ago. Of course they would squeal because they would be just innocent people, no harm would come to them this way, and everyone would win. Already Link regretted telling Malon of what was going on, yet he felt good of her safety since Talon was there with her, guarding her from harm. Clearing his throat softly, the boy began to think up and place and shot it out at the Kokiiri, the lie coming easily. "I am Leonardo, sorry for posing as one of your own, may I happen to pass by here?"  
  
"Hell no! The great Saria told me to never let strangers in here, she has gone onto the Forest Temple to pray the Farore, hopefully she will help us in our peril, but I am not letting you in here. I bet you don't even no Saria, the clothes may have fooled another person, but it is very easily to get the colour green from other places, I bet. Luckily I am in charge, no one else would be suitable to get peasants like you away." Of course Mido was shaking in his knees, he saw the Master Shield and the arsenal that Link folded, hoping the man wouldn't resort to violence.  
  
"Maybe this will refresh my presence." Mido's eyes squinted, waiting for the blows to come, but instead he heard the sound of an Ocarina, the beautiful instrument that Saria played. Gazing forward, expecting to see the girl, he only saw the man with a brown one, one of Saria's custom-made ones, and the tune that came out the her own tune that she named after herself. Saria's song was the name and beautifully he did master it, as if he had known it for years, releasing the fact that he didn't get it from a hidden Kokiiri. When the tune was finally finished the man slipped the rotting Ocarina back into his pocket, a blue one with some symbol on it was seen in his pack from the boy's eyes. The Boss' mind was made up then, there was no doubt about it.  
  
"Y-you know Saria's song?!" "Yup, and this Ocarina she made for me seven years ago, I think I can pass now?"  
  
"Sure, sure." Slamming his hand into the wall, the gate-slid open with a slit, no need for Link to fight and Wolfos this time, the feeling of winning was pressured in his mind. It was what Mido said next that got the boy thinking, more about his true nature than anything else, a sort of surrounding sentence he repeated, something that couldn't he bought. Mido saddened his face, staring up at the man with gracious eyes, those hues watering with a few tears, trying to keep them away from the man's vision, so he looking at the trees, he did. Link was on his way to see Saria when Mido stopped him with a small little yell, something that seemed to foreign to him he could swear that he never sounded like that, but it was what was said that broke him.  
  
"When I see you.I think of him, mister. If you ever see him, a boy with your colour hair and eyes and clothes, tell him--tell him I'm sorry, for everything that I ever did to him." Smiling softly, the boy was about to jump in the air for joy, telling him to go on and see Saria, but he couldn't, for his words were cut short. A long blade on a piece of wood sprang from the trees, sliding down into his head and killing him instantly, the brain matter pouring all around everywhere. Mido's eyes widened, then collapsed as the shock faded away, with his life leaving there was a long and merciless chuckle from the air, that of a Poe. Not one of the ones he head viewed on his travels, he never saw the monsters, but somehow he could tell that this Poe would be faced later on, a sort of foreshadowing in the back of his mind, the revenge for Mido would be extracted.  
  
Navi gasped, her eyes not filling with tears, but compassion for the boy, while Link just stared down sadly at the young boy, wishing he could do more for him. There was no shovel, so burying him was out of the question, and the best thing he could think of was a ritual burning with his own Fire magic. Placing the body in the center of the room, Link slammed his fist down on the body, igniting it with the power of Din's fire, gasping as the fire tore through the body and reduced him to ashes. As soon as Mido was gone, he picked the ashes up and spread them across the Sacred Meadow, whispering a silent prayer in the Kokiirish language, before turning back to his fairie. Now she was in tears, trying her best to hide him, yet Link said nothing but held her within his hand, kissing those tears away and staring forward.  
  
"We have a new mission."  
  
"Yes, that ghost shall pay for killing him--so innocent, but are we to expect this." Navi whimpered as they walked past the gates of the Meadow and came to the old area where the maze went on and on with all those stupid Deku shrubs. Listening well for the shrubs, Link nodded to Navi and tucked her on top of his hat, leaping over the land of water that was a few feet across, landing on the other side. Never did he expect what he saw when turning around, because when he spun around the boy came face to face with a giant dog, clad in chains like a knight and wielding a spear pointed right at him. There was no time to do anything, no time to block, no time to jump over its head and knock it clean out, there was only two solutions and he was making the right one.  
  
Navi screeched his named as he leapt back into the water back-first, the spear tearing around the front of his tunic and cutting through the material like ribbons, shedding some blood upon his new chest. Hitting the water stung the new scrape wound, but it was better than a gouging wound he would have expected from that stupid mongrel. While he contained the stinging, Navi flew around the monster and studied it, giving the information out to him as clean as a whistle. It took a while to calculate the data because it was so big, but by the time the dog was on its other route (or turned around) the boy pulled himself out of the water, grasping his blade when she shook her head.  
  
"What, Navi?"  
  
"They are called Moriblins, dog demons from the bowls of the Hades. Use your Hookshot, the sword is close range, but you can hit it now in the back and it'll die."  
  
"Like, automatically?"  
  
"A metal hook in your back really hurts, Link." She smiled a little and nodded for the instant kill comment, fluttering over to the monster and throwing down another one of the paralysis spells, feeling a bit dizzy afterwards and wishing Link hadn't thrown all the nuts out. Link grinned back at her and walked within distance of the hookshot, aiming the beam and pulling the trigger upon the machine, the first time having been used in combat. A spring-loaded snap hit the air, the monster trying to turn around, but being so slow wasn't in time for the hook that sprayed into the Moriblin's back, it falling down on its back and squealing in pain. When it didn't die automatically, Link jumped in for a slice attack for the head, wiping the green gunk off both weapons when he was done.  
  
"Thought it was automatic."  
  
"You have to give it time, dummy!"  
  
I am impatient, but instead of speaking his mind the boy smiled and raced through the courtyard, keeping his ears trained for the heavy breathing the Moriblins gave off, they looked more like mutated Bull-dogs than those demons from hell, something he couldn't believe. By the end of the maze they had faced three more of the mutants, each one becoming easier and easier, and they did die on their own when you hit them in the back. Or in Link's case, the back of the head was one of the most tender spots he aimed with the Hookshot, making sure his aim never missed. Such good aim he had with that thing, he could maybe become a lead archer in the army, and that hand-eye coordination was what could make him such a great warrior.  
  
At long last the last Moriblin was finished, and just so be it he was at the foot of the stairwell that lead down a long highway, opening up into the part of the meadow that was most sacred (the area Saria was.) Getting ready to give a skip and a jump, the boy's happiness was interrupted with a girl's scream of terror, a fierce calling of the Moriblin, except ten time's louder, and the smash of what sounded like a tree. Link and Navi exchanged glances recognizing the voice as Saria's and before she could protest or say anything Link was out like the wind, racing down the hall way and seeing at the entrance was a buffed up Moriblin. This time was twice as tall, had twice as many muscles with those chain link around it stretching more than enough to pop off at any second. The ugly beast was turned towards the area Saria was in, not being able to fit through the doorway, but using his hammer to stir some shit up.  
  
"Hey, ugly!" Link bellowed out, Navi slapping her head in dismay, the creature spinning around in confusion, anger for the resentment to his face, and sour from the spoil of his fun. Just like the Moriblin it looked the same in the body-wise, wearing a high piercing armour, where the other one just wore a chain-link. This one had it on too, just some golden armour was protecting its shoulders and chest area, and the back area was clean, though. Getting behind the creature was the hard part; it took up the entire space, so no one could get around it unless they went up in the air. That gave Link an idea and he dove right for the monster.  
  
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Navi's approach was a sneak-attack, from her data this thing was called a Monblin, this creature the father or higher species of Dog demons, and when Link called out to it, she just could have slapped him. Its back would have taken three attacks, it had a stronger support system, but it wouldn't have been able to turn around. Goddess knows how it turned around this time, but the marks in the walls where its muscles had been were a pretty good way to guess the power of this monster. Too weak to muster up any kind of paralysis attack, the really did wish he would have kept the nuts, seeing him dive for the legs, she got the idea right away and nodded with approval, coming infront of the monster and buzzing infront of its eyes.  
  
The monster did take the to the bait, swinging at her profusely, which she could dodge it easily, and when she was ready, she shot a clean chi shot right in-between its eyes. The Dog demon grabbed its face and cried out, falling upon its back, but that was the last breath it had, for when it fell, Link left his sword right where it fell. Taking out his entire rib cage, the sword struck right in the area where his heart was, taking the need of three slashes away and eliminating the boss from extinction in a matter of seconds. Link's biggest problem was the bloody sword which he retrieved from the guts, wiping all the gore off upon the matted grass until his sword was clean, not sheathing it until it was cleaned properly. Turning towards Navi, she was staring at him with eyes a wide.  
  
"Didn't expect that, huh? You just planned on me going for the head, well, I know where the heart is and its calculations from the distance of his height, how he falls and where he lands. Fighting takes arithmetic, or you can't calculate how to land the blow."  
  
"T-that was good, Link. No, that was awesome! U-unfortunately I don't seem able to exert myself anymore.tell Saria I said hello." Then and there the girl passed out on his shoulder, he picking her up and laying down inside of his hat with a small pat on her before he let her inside of her bed for the night. As soon as she was secure, the man ran from the stairs and deep down into the middle of the room, dropping the sword when he didn't see Saria. Where could she be, he pondered to himself, but he figured out that she must be hiding from the monster, since she hadn't heard him, but the monster's cries and rampaging outside. Leaving his sword where it was, he wandered to the tree near the platform that looked the same as the one in the Temple of Time. Imprinted in the center of the Triforce was a leaf, symbolizing the Temple of the Forest. Getting on his hands and knees, the older boy stuck his head in a hole, feeling a knot replacing the sense of relief in the tree, instantly. Sticking his head out, he gave out a long cry, passing out.  
  
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Who was this? Tendrils pushed back in confusion as the Deku nut she used to hit the young man lay at her side, already regretting acting before she thought. What Saria thought was that was some sort of monster, and so she hit it, but what it turned out to be was her protector, whoever it was. A young boy about seventeen clad in their Kokiirish clothes, wearing their boots, some weird undershirt, and carrying a long sword with a Hylian shield. Not wanting to be very nosy, the girl went through his pockets anyway finding some materials she had never run into, inventions that weren't really around in these forests. Setting all the weird extensions aside, the young girl picked all the pockets clean until just one of them remained, one secured with a big snap that took quite a few minutes to clean off. Finally, she snapped the lock off, groaning in pain at the physical strength she had to do (it was quite hard for a young girl) and peered inside. Clad inside of the pocket was a solid blue ocarina, made of a cremation material, something of glass or what not, but behind that was another one, so she moved it.  
  
What in Farore? My Ocarina.how can it be! Saria shook her head in a confused manner, looking over at the older boy with concern plastered in his face. Just who in the world was this boy, he wore their clothes, but he sure wasn't a Kokiiri, they never grew (even after seven years.) Confusion plastered the young girl, wandering just what in the Hyrule was going on around here, and why all these terrible things were happening to them. Mido was guarding the post, thank Goddess for him, but most of the other of her race was hiding under trees, under the ground, or dead from the monster's reign. Before they could have taken care of them with their Deku sticks, but now they couldn't and what's worse, Link had taken the Kokiiri sword with him! Mentioning that, she opened the boys' eyes, peering into the blue hues, her face breaking out into a blush, shaking her head in confusion once more.  
  
"Just who are you, older boy?" Taking his hat off, a sparkle admitted and the fairie sunk down inside the cap, making Navi drop it and cry out in confusion. How could this boy have a fairie? That just wasn't possible, I mean sure you can dress up like the race, but the fairie is what separated the fakes from the real ones, yet this one wasn't running away since the man was asleep. No, this creature was sleeping under his hat, a weird gesture, for Fairies never did that, so it couldn't have been held against its will or anything like that. Poking at the veil, it released and a fairie like she had never seen appeared, it was much longer than before, almost four inches while their regulars were in the two-inch department. So the fairie had grown up a little too, so the fairies were children just like the Kokiiri, which meant this must have been a Kokiiri. It was silly, but a Kokiiri must have left the forest and the Deku Magic must have worn off of them, meaning that they started growing like the regular people, but who could it be?  
  
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The muffled voices echoed through his head, feeling himself being searched and searched over and over, until finally his hat was removed, which he spent a few minutes trying to wake himself up and remember where he was. After destroying that stupid Inu-warrior, the boy had gone to search for Saria and stuck his head in a tree trunk, which turned out to be a mistake. Whatever the hell was hiding in the tree conked him out with something hard, then he heard a flash and passed out, probably one of those damned Deku nuts. Now the paralysis had disappeared and here he was laying on some soft material (like the grass) with his head propped up on some hard material, probably a stump.  
  
"Just whose there." His voice whispered out, pulling his lanky body up from the ground and peering those eyes open all the way, glancing in all directions. Well, there was nothing around, he was still in the Sacred Forest Meadow, found his armour and arsenal all on the ground, and growled out loud. Flinching, when he heard a small girlish whimper, he turned all directions, looked up, then when looking down he caught view of that girl. The green-haired girl he had always loved, fright sprayed in her beautiful brown eyes, she was looking in all directions, trying to look away from him, yet all the more intrigued. Link looked down at the ground, seeing the reflection of this body in the gleam of his Master Sword, flushing with content, collapsing down on his knees. As he fell to the ground, she fell down on her behind, screaming out in fear and began to back away from him, as he landed down on his knees and stared at her.  
  
Why is she so scared--oh, the blood! Yes, he had blood sprayed all over his body, from the fight with the Monblin and Moriblins he had taken care of, that was why she was so scared. Looking down at her, he reached around for his hat, picking it up and settling it back on, pulling the Ocarina she gave him, and blew a small tune, her own tune. The tune floated out like on air, letting it blow from his lips, while watching her expression over and over with eyes, as it changed from confusion, to surprise, to utter delight. Somehow she knew who he was, because once he put the instrument down, he was tackled and thrown across the ground, Saria's small body thrown up against him, the boy letting out a long laugh, wrapping her up in a tight embrace.  
  
"Link? Link, it's you!" When he nodded, again he was awarded another shriek, this one of pleasure and those hands wrapped around his neck tightly, pulling him into a long and hard hug. Letting his own hands run over her, afraid he might hurt her fragile body at first, he did eventually pull her into a long embrace like her, hugging her to him as tight as he could. Mm, it was so nice when she pressed her head on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck sweetly, while he ran those fingers throughout her hair, proving in advance that he truly was the one named Link. There was no doubt in her mind now, this just had to be the boy who kissed her all those years ago, grown up into a handsome young man.  
  
"You've changed." She pulled back away from him, sitting in his lap, but no longer lying her head on him.  
  
"Y-yea, and you haven't." He smiled nervously at her, flushing and examining her over again. The young girl had changed her attire a little, going from the shorts to a beautiful short skirt, which quite surprised the boy; she used to be so modest. Now the skirt revealed more of her legs than he had ever seen before and even though he was seven years her senior, which didn't hesitate to cause a blush to form from ear-to-ear. Taking his attention back to her, he noticed she was looking at his changes, which he didn't mind, for she never expected him to grow like this. What she expected him was to be the same size he was seven years ago, yet that just wasn't going to be, it was the exact opposite. Staring at her now, he just couldn't help himself, leaning forward and pressing his nose against hers, watching her deeply, and then taking a breath, kissing her cheek.  
  
Saria's own little cheeks went back in response, and she kissed his cheek, yet looked off to the side as if something was bothering her. The truth was it was bothering her about their age, they were just too different together to do anything at all, kissing was all right, well sort of all right (if anyone was watching they would gasp and point.) The funny thing was that no one was watching now, so she didn't feel as bad as she would, yet there her hands wrapped around his neck tighter and pulling the older boy into a deep kiss. Yes, just like the ones from before, he let himself is pulled into another kiss like before, causing himself to break out and kiss back. It was weird, the kiss, the lips were different sizes and all, I mean it was just so strange, yet at the same time both of them felt it was right. Link hoping his fairie didn't pick this time to wake up and come out, for she would be steaming mad at him for this act, even if it were right.  
  
Saria was the one who broke the kiss, letting her blush show all the more, those arms stayed wrapped around the older boy's neck, just staring lovingly into those eyes, so beautifully it was almost sick. Well, it was beautiful that they were reunited for the first time, time and space had kept them apart, yet now with all odds against them, and they triumphed and met again. Nothing could ruin this moment, nothing could spoil their fun together, and nothing would ever separate them from this place. Sure the world was scarier now, the monsters coming out were all the more frightening than the ones from years past, yet that didn't stop the fact of her feelings, how she felt in the small beating heart. How this boy turned into a man was beyond her, she thought Kokiiri grew up to be the size of her and stopped, yet the case had been broken with him. Maybe the fact of leaving the forest made him grow, that was a good possibility, one that made the most sense, really, one that didn't shame anyone.  
  
"Why are you so big?"  
  
"I dunno, I was trapped for seven years, they possibly could have made me grow." Chuckling lightly, the young boy's smile disappeared when the body of Saria disappeared from his arms, appearing above in the air with two long shrieks appearing. Glancing up in fear, his worst fears were answered when a giant Poe, adorned in a purple scarf began to waver the little girl in its arms, tempting to drop it. Link picked up the Hookshot, aiming and firing the hook for the thing's head, which went through the abomination, another shriek of laughter erupting from it. The other shriek had belonged to Saria, whom was now muffled by the claws upon the Poe, holding her against her will, the slime.  
  
"Prove thyself, and the child shall be saved." It's voice wavered on in a monotone voice, the shrieks disappearing as the ghost disappeared inside of a purplish-black portal, disappearing after only a few seconds, the screams still in on his mind.  
  
"P-prove myself? Beat the temple, they mean." He began to laugh, the laugh disappearing after a few seconds and turning into a stifled little chortle, the tears rolling down his eyes. H-how dare they take her, how dare they take a hostage, when they knew he was coming anyway, it wasn't just wrong, it was his personal feelings that involved the situation. Now he was all right with the situation before, Mido being killed was not so great, his hometown being burned really ticked off, but now they put her in the middle of it. Curse them for getting smarter, the Temples were obviously run by Ganondorf himself, so they wouldn't at all be like the dungeons, he would have to deal with that slime even when he physically wasn't there. It just made no sense in this needless torture, why did that idiot destroy the land he ruled, why does he want so much destruction in the land he owns!  
  
"T-those bastards! Those fucking bastards!" Well, the words came from his mouth, yet he didn't know whom they were from. A slight sound made him jolt around, the sword ready for that Poe who had come back, yet it wasn't him, it wasn't him at all, just that stupid Shiekah from the other day. Dropping the sword upon the ground, the young boy collapsed upon his knees, waving for Shiek to come back, he just was not in the mood for any of this now. It was so unfair how this all happened, they hadn't even gotten the chance to take, not the chance to re-communicate again, and something separated them again. It was everyone else's fault, first he was sealed away, and now something dealing with the sealing away kept them apart, why couldn't it just leave them alone. Fate!  
  
".I know you are upset, I haven't come to train you, I have come to teach you a song. With the passage of time, things come and go memories are so sweet to the children, so sweet to the flow. Listen well, young warrior, for the song I am about to teach you, the Minute of Forest." Shiek could understand the boy's pain, he knew exactly what he was going through, the loss of a loved one was very hard, yet there was no time to grieve, there was only time to learn the song. Pulling the harp from its strings, the older boy began to play the Minute of Forest out from the harp, stringing a beautiful melody, soft and slow. Knocking Saria's Song away from the upbeat pattern, this song gave out a nice loss to it, it threw the peace from losing someone and Shiek hoped it would heal him, help him.  
  
Link gulped, hearing the tune, barely able to retrieve his Ocarina from the satchel, he opened it up and blew out the tune incorrectly the first time. Not wanting to be scolded by the older boy, Link quickly wiped the tears from his eyes, recomposing himself back and blowing the tune out once more, this time just as beautifully as the harp played. Retrieving his paper, he wrote down the title of the song, pulling the notes down, and stared up at Shiek who smiled and pointed up at the sky. Pulling the sheet and the Ocarina back in the satchel, he looked at the place he was pointing, seeing that the long tree extended up all the way to a sort of area he'd never seen. From up there, he could see the branch led up to a hole that led in somewhere, maybe the Forest Temple, or maybe just another one of those holes.  
  
"Shiek--I--" But when he looked down, Shiek threw one of those little things that made the air dissipate in a cloud of dust picked up in the air, the Shinobi staring at him with that one red eye only glistening, a tear running down the cheek. Before Link could pick up anymore to say or do, the dust cleared, the young boy disappearing like the wind, not even sure how they did it, for he should have seen him running off. Heading for the area over where the dead Monblin was, he saw nothing and looked around for his sword, retrieving it back to its place, pulling it back in the sheath, blowing a deep breath of air before going back towards the temple. Whatever the song was, it did make him feel better, gave him some courage to fight on, some sort of healing song, it may have been.  
  
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Navi awoke a few minutes later, curious for the dry tears upon the young boy's eyes, he just explained that Saria had been taken from them for the time being, the same person who did this had killed Mido. It was a sad fate they suffered, hostages being taken and people being killed for no good reason at all, or better yet just to get to them. How could they be responsible for so many lives, how could they know people, if they were just going to be knocked down when it was his time to face that specific monster. Who knew how far Ganondorf's powers extended, who the hell knew how long it could possibly go on with out a calm of peace, a time for healing. Had they no mercy on each other, and if not, who would show it to them.  
  
Well, it turned out once more that they were actually after his own fairie too, for as soon as he told her the news, something came streaming at the both of them. Link heard first, his ears bigger and hearing a bit sharper, so he threw her across the floor, an arrow zipping right where she had been. Preparing the offensive, he stood infront of her with the Hylian shield pumped up, ricocheting the arrows off of there until, the fifteenth one that hit the shield, spotted back and slammed in the shadows to the carrier. A screech and a few curses in a weird language went into the air, the thing disappearing in another one of those portals, Link knowing just by the scent and sound of it. Checking to see if his own fairie was hurt, the boy sighed deeply, letting her stay in his hat while he searched around for a way out of here.  
  
As it turned out, Shiek was pointing at a branch that could have been linked with the Hookshot, and with a deep breath, the boy aimed for it and let the spring-loaded shot go. For the first time that day, it went his way and hooked up in the wood, dragging him up the thirty feet, then throwing him on the solid path that led into the darkened hole. Above the hole was that symbol of the leaf, letting both of them believed that it was seriously time to go in, to venture in the first temple of Ganondorf. Where the tricks were different, the rewards were all the sweeter and the stakes were much higher than before, the area where people would die just to get out of this place. Blowing some of that blonde hair back, the boy raced for the darkness, not caring what came up, only caring that the beautiful Saria was all right.  
  
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"Link, we must be prepared for this place, we have to be on our guard." Navi instructed the boy as they wandered in the first part; the long hole that was leading to the temple entrance, yet Link wasn't really paying attention. Nodding his head that he heard it, he didn't let it go inside and comprehend, and the words were just there, floating between his elven ears. The temple would be hard; he knew this, yet he was prepared for it, his body had been asleep for seven years, but it wasn't like he was rusty in battle. Sure he had been asleep but maybe his mind was being trained in the art of tactics and battle skills, for he felt himself being smarter in fighting than ever before. Brushing those blonde tresses back, the young boy turned to his faire, the words whispering out on his tongue, trying to hold back the harshness as he asked.  
  
"Navi, can you be quiet, I need to think."  
  
"Hrm, sorry, I am babbling on here. So, I know you are sad that she's gone, but don't let it affect your power."  
  
"I won't, I know that my feelings could mean my doom in the battle." He felt the hurt in his fairy's eyes, flushing a deep crimson from frustration, yet there was nothing he could do at the time, there was no time for comfort. This place had to be taken care of, the sage had to be awoken, and then he was to extract revenge for his homeland and take Saria back to this place. Nothing could stop him now, and as the light peered open out of the cave, his eyes widened as the place was transformed into a garden of some sort. Trees were thrown all around the place, vineyards leading up tens of feet into the larger, dead trees, the grass all around giving a blooming feeling to it. Right ahead of the pair was a large stone structure; the door made of the Deku wood, with another insignia of Forest above the head, probably the temple.  
  
Two long howls escaped the air, breaking the silence, and causing fear to panic both ways: left and right, but it was too late when Link dodged to the left. A slash tore at the shoulder of his tunic and sent him flying up against the wall this boxed room was in, the large place seeming smaller and smaller. Blurred vision picked up, the boy looking forward to see two Wolvos were around now, dancing in all directions, their claws headed for his pretty head. Picking up the shield now, he launched the Hylian protector at one of the beasts, it knocking it right in the head and sending it off into unconsciousness. When it was time to grab his blade, his realization went into panic, realizing it was on the other side of the room and with that it somehow his Hookshot slipped out, so he covered his face.  
  
This was the time whenever Navi came into save him, a giant ball of Ki energy frying at the Wolvo's face, the one whom tried to attack Link. Cries of pain escaped the creature, it clawing at the air, the fairie already over at Link's side, whom had realized his predicament and rolled for the Blade of Evil's bane. As soon as he went to attack the monster, she turned her attention back towards the monster whom was out, that seemed to have woken up again. The beasts had no honour, which she didn't approve of, so a yellow light erupted from her, the girl sending out another one of those energy-draining paralysis attacks, feeling the aftereffects for now. Slinking down to the ground, the veil disappearing so she wouldn't be easily discovered, she watched the Wolvo battle it out with Link.  
  
Link was no amateur in the fighting manner, not even waiting for the poor creature to get its balance back, he hacked at the rib cage, the blade sliding through the monster at an excruciating slow rate. Wincing at the shrieks and cries, the boy turned around, ready to be slashes or defend, when he saw his fairie lying upon the ground, her opponent trying to move, only the tail wagging. Smiling down at her, he couldn't help but cheer up having her for a partner, learning skills that fairies just didn't learn, all to help him on the quest of his. No-no, it was their quest, he was the Hero of Time, and she was the Heroine of Time, that was the way it would stand--if only in his eyes, then so be it. Clinking the blade handily, the boy dashed right at the monster, whose paralysis had just given up, waiting for it so a hack-and-slash appearance occurred.  
  
The claws of the creature went up when the Master Sword slammed into the blade, feeling the toughness of his enemy, as they faced each other, snout to nose. Giving a yell of fury, he sent his foot into the wolf's stomach, sending it back and letting it's guard down, the mistake that would cost it the battle. So what if it was dirty, if they survived then that was all that mattered was what he told himself as he hacked away at the beast, slicing it in half just like its own brother. The blade stank of wolf now, his weapon dripping in blood, so he launched it forward at the small pond in the right-hand corner, so it could wash it's self off, looking upon his old prey. Wrapped upon the Wolvo's neck was a small necklace; attached to that necklace was a link that led down to a key, a small silver key. Ripping the neck-lace off, it put it around his own neck, inspecting the key for a few more seconds, before he blinked in surprise and came back to Navi, but retrieved his sword back, drying it upon the grass.  
  
"Navi, you okay?" When she didn't awaken from the exhaustion, he shrugged a shoulder innocently, placing her back in her current residence: his hat. Checking the small patterned door of the front entrance, he saw there was no key-lock, wiping his brow with relief that he would have to use his newfound key so quickly. Pulling the door open, a faint stench penetrated his nostrils, causing them and his eyes to burn with perspiration, almost gagging from the exposure. Thank Goddess Navi was in the hat or she would have felt it also, glad that the smell couldn't penetrate his little friend's nostrils. Walking through the door, as he got two feet from the entrance, it slammed shut, revealing that this just wasn't his lucky day, especially when try as he might; the door was locked.  
  
No keyhole meant no way to unlock it, so he kept down the long entrance, enticed how the inside had vines and small little bugs scurrying around, almost reminding him of the Kokiiri Forest. In the middle of the commotion, he heard a scuttling, sliding to the left as an old friend of his, the Skulltulla, came down to play. Yup, the beast was back (the same size though) and now not as scary as he had thought those many years ago, the spider sort of annoying when it turned around. Giving him such an easy target, the boy almost felt sorry for it when unlinking the Hookshot down into it's soft belly, the hookshot actually easier to reach and much quicker than using the sword. Keeping the Hookshot right down at his side, cupped in the easily held handle, not letting the thing go for a second, he kept on walking until another unlocked door appeared, sliding it open and taking a way inside.  
  
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The screech of laughter sent Navi out of his hat, scurrying by his side as the boy sat staring in complete fear, the room around him shaped in an octagonal shape. A small square at the north entrance, but besides that the brick place was as normal as this place could get, having the vines spread in all directions. In the center of the room was a large fifty-foot square, insignias all around it and four torches upon each side, and then in the center of the square was a long hollow rectangle, that resembled an elevator. Each torch was lit with the colours red, orange, purple and blue, well they had been until the laughter came out and each of them disappeared, a Poe of the matching colour appearing in its place, holding a torch of the colour.  
  
Navi fluttered above the boy's head, trying to hold her composure, but it let out that both of them were afraid of ghosts, especially ones that attacked you with torches. Shivering a little, the Poes didn't say a thing, they disappeared one after another, the last one looking at both of them, screeching out loud before it spun around into nothingness. It also seemed with the torches unlit that the elevator was going down towards the bottom, already too small for them to slide into, even if they got there at that moment. Sighing with depression, she sort of knew that they were gonna have to search each room for the specific Poe, destroy it, take the torch and re-light it so that they could go down there, possibly the boss' lair. Her attention turned towards the Link around his neck, looking over at the key and the necklace, amazed at what happened while she slept.  
  
"What's that key for?" Navi questioned.  
  
"Wolvo had it, thought we might need it, so where do we start?"  
  
"I say the front entrance, I mean it's better than checking from left to right, if we try north we can at least have conquered that way. Ah, you see we are gonna have to kill each Poe, get the lamp from it and then re- light the torches, I have a feeling that leads down to the boss, whomever that is."  
  
"Kill a Poe, but my sword goes through them!" He imitated using his sword with his finger, making a swishing sound when it stopped at a certain point.  
  
"Link.something in the temple will help, remember that since we are in temples they have ancient items to help kill the enemy, like maybe a projectile weapon or something, I dunno, maybe a magical power. Yea, if you run into a Poe you can just use Den's Fire on them."  
  
"Wait, what about using the fire now?"  
  
"Din only produces red fire, the fires are orange, purple, blue and purple." With a smile, she patted his back, taking a glance around the room at the different structures around here; like that they were sitting on a pair of stairs that led down to the platform. All around the room were four different rooms, five counting the north one, each one blocked with a few things like from what she could see was that one held a blue block, something she'd never seen before. Another of them was held by one of those eyes that used to use a slingshot, but now he couldn't hit it since his sling was back at the Temple of Time, too big for him. The other two were covered with keys, one that they could use now, yet it would be bad to use it at this time, not until they got another to replace it.  
  
"On, northward then! Come, my partner, let's venture out and kill these ghosts!" Letting out a small childish giggle, the boy hopped down from the small two-feet jump and ran across through the square, stepping upon the elevator that had once been there, seeing that it was a maroon colour, while the rest of the stone was a grayish-tan. Easy to tell them apart, he ran onward past the center of the room and up another flight of ten stairs, leading straight up to a door that was unlocked. Smiling towards his fairie, they nodded at each other, already getting used to the new smell, so opening the door and getting another whiff was already in good hands. Slipping back into more darkness, he ran forward, his sword prepared for anything, incase something attacked them while they were onward.  
  
"Link, crouch and cover!" Navi screamed when they entered the next room (which was exactly just another hallway that led to the next room), yet when he crouched down on his knees, pushing the shield against something, the impact pushed him back a few feet. Getting adjusted to the dim light, the candles were burning out in the top left and right corners of the room, the boy looked over to see what looked like a skull, this thing wearing some black wings around its head. The giant skull was gnashing its teeth at no one in particular, laying upon its back and trying to get those red eyes to look at Link, whom simply walked up to it, smashing the skull in. A pillar of smoke appeared, puffing the small creature to ashes, his fairie flying up to him with the information stored in her data bank.  
  
"Called a Blue Bubble."  
  
"But it's just a skull."  
  
"It had a blue aura around it earlier, but when you blocked it you exploited its weakness, that when touched the barrier disappears, if it is on, you can't do damage to it, you see."  
  
"Ah, I see, so I had better watch out for those little runts, they could run right into my shin." Navi huffed at the remark of something bigger than her being a runt, the boy walking the rest of the dim corridor with nervousness raised on his face, the shield not raised as high. Exploring the dark so much, as if to get on his hands and knees, the boy followed the trail of the Bubble, making sure that nothing else would surprise him. There seemed to be nothing else, the carcass of the old enemy wasn't getting back up, either, so he decided to stand back up for the time. When at last it was safe that nothing else was in here, for the Blue Bubble made a barking sound, as if it was a dog's skull or something, the boy rested against the door with hand on knob. Nodding to the fairie, preparing his sword since they knew this couldn't have been a hall, the shield was infront of him when he jumped forward into the first room of the Forest Temple.  
  
A fierce roaring sound entered his sound waves as he stepped in, standing in another octagonal room, this one seeming to consist of nothing but four pots at each corner or so. There was another surprise, indeed, for when he took a step forward, something fell form the sky, maybe a higher room, but something did indeed crash to the ground infront of him. Spinning around in a panic, the room seemed to get brighter, probably the works of the Poe, and which gave the entire room a burst of light, letting him see just what was infront of him. Curled in a ball, the creature began to unchain itself from whatever it was in, the chains breaking with easy power given to it, the monster spinning towards prey.  
  
"A.a Redead?"  
  
"Nope, those are zombies, this is something else!"  
  
Reminds me of the Stalchildren. The boy looked up at the monster that measured in for a full six feet, the size of a regular human, yet this was no human at all, for there was no skin, flesh or muscle on it. A pure white skeleton, it was, dressed in some armour on its shoulder blades, while the matching metal aligned with red metal was on the shield it held in its right hand. Deep piercing red eyes were staring at him, the droopy little cap was assigned on its head as some stupid little amount of protection, only the size of Link's fist, yet it was more than his hat. Where the monster's waist was, seemed to be a ragged pair of shorts, since cut up when its time through the great beyond, the matching socks were down there too. Well, iron boots were upon its feet, seeming to give it a slower look than more warriors, a big disadvantage do when against the Hero of Time.  
  
"Stalfos, the grownup version of Stalchildren, that must be why they aren't in Hyrule Field anymore, Ganondorf has corrupted the souls and turned them into warriors, skilled ones, also. Be careful against them, Link, they don't seem to have a weak-spot, except that they do have honour and won't attack you in packs, it is against their code."  
  
A stupid soldier, Eh? He smirked a little, nodding at Navi's warnings, when the thing with the sword, a jagged red sword that was several times larger than the Master Sword was coming at him. His own sword rose in the air, the evil's bane blocking that stupid sword back into the owner's hand and baffling the monster, whom didn't seem mad, but interested. A sword fight was what it wanted, after so much search, so why not give the monster something to have some fun about, so the shield went back behind his back, the monster throwing his aside. Smiling towards the monster, he nodded, flipping back away from the monster, moving against a wall, so he easily repelled off in a tornado fashion.  
  
Buckle-slashes were all right with Link, just not as good as winning, so the monster was quite surprised and defenseless when the Master Sword (and Link) came crashing through the rib-cage of the Stalfos, the monster falling to pieces in a matter of seconds. Before the creature could rebuild itself, which he heard skeletons could, he smashed the Stalfos' head with his sword, the jewel glowing when he did so, not even noticing. Shrugging a small shoulder at the applauding Navi, he took himself a bow, taking out his own shield and preparing it, in case anything else decided to join.  
  
"How did you get it to do that!" Navi flew up to the boy, her eyes glistening with amazement, the veil since off from the incident with the Wolvos. Yes, she was all right now, just keeping the veil on for now seemed kind of pointless, only monsters around to see her anyway, and they were gonna die! Peering at the remains of the monster, which seemed to disappear into dust of bones, just like old bones would after being dismembered. Seeing this, she just stood in amazement at how the boy got the monster to throw down the shield, which it could have easily blocked Link's torpedo attack and gone ahead and slashed him in mid-air. It was some sort of warrior's code that they were doing, Link cheated and won the battle, but he wasn't a knight anyway, he was a hero.  
  
"I told him a real sword-play.not told, but put my shield up to show it. These guys used to be old Hylian guards, I guessed and that means they are from Ganondorf, died that way, at least some, so they were very honored to find a true swordsman, kind of stupid it you ask me, yet it was a good plan." He just smiled a little, looking over at the admiring Navi with a sort of gushing feeling coming out of her, liking how this hero thing went when you won, or did something cool. Cheers were knocked aside when another thump hit, next to where the previous one was, this time it a bit heavier, the chains snapping off in more directions at a more frantic speed. Spinning around with the already weapons adjusted, he saw the Stalfos was looking at him, this one obviously a husky man, where the other one was just a normal man. Carrying the same armour and sword, it let out a roar, pointing for it to join him, yet that wasn't what made him come, he had another one of those keys around his neck, just like the Wolvo.  
  
"Wanna fight?"  
  
The monster seemed to understand, or at least get the message form the way Link's words rung out in a sort of determined manner, one that just couldn't be broken. So, yes the thing roared with excitement, slamming its sword down into the ground, before yanking it up, this time catching a small worm by the spine. Sticking the meal into its mouth, the boy looked away as it chewed the thing up and spit it out a few seconds later, the remains crawling back into the dirt. Shivering at this act of manners, the boy looked over at the monster, his shield raised into the air, the sword drawing low for an attack at the rear, the monster seeming to understand and went for the movement as well.  
  
You'd think that was Link's plan, but it wasn't for as soon as the thing came up to block the upper region where Link was supposed to strike. The cunning hero threw the shield in that direction disgruntling the fellow, giving Link an area for the head, which he took and in one quick slash, his blade went into the monster's head. Now in pure pain and fury, he threw the boy aside; grabbing onto its head, yanking the sword out and throwing it into the metal wall, yet it was too late to do a thing. Already too late was faster than expected, because the monster spread into a blue fire, all the bones disappearing from the scene (along with the other warrior's) the remains no where to be found. Yet the key did appear there, with a hook ready for him to pick up and secure on the link, having two of them now in his collection.  
  
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Link did claim the key of the monster's now; clinking it upon the necklace to add two keys to his collection now and with glee the young boy left the lonely room. Before leaving, the boy checked the pots on the sides, to make sure that there weren't anything that he may have needed for the room. Smashing each pot, he came up with a small little magic pot, two heart containers and a few bombs, stashing each one in a slot he had established was easily done. With that part done, the young boy kept his hands at his sides, blowing a sigh out, maybe of compassion for the young warriors, whomever they were. They now were resting in peace in heaven, they were with the Three Gods and not in the reign of hell, not having to deal with this torture.  
  
"You ready?" Navi spoke, fluttering near his face.  
  
"Mmhm, let's do it." Turning his eyes away from the area, the young boy did leave the place entering back in the hall he had dubbed the name 'The Great Hall.' In the Great Hall he decided to go to the nearest place to his right, the block which he had seen in the old grave-keeper's hall, one that could be moved with a song. Making his way fully over to it, sliding down the stairs in a swift motion, he couldn't help but shrug a shoulder at this dungeon, it didn't seem to be hard. Nope, it sure wasn't as he entered the hall where the block was, nothing there was something in the way of the block, another insignia of the block, an equal's sign was on there. Shrugging a small shoulder, he was interrupted by the fairie, whom pondered a question.  
  
"Link, what is this block?"  
  
"Saw it where I got the Hookshot, it is a sacred block that goes with a song."  
  
"A song?" She whispered, as if it was secret.  
  
"Yup, now watch." Pulling the Ocarina of Time out of his pocket, since this was a magical song, the boy began to blow out the Song of Time into it, the chiming melody causing a blue light to emit from the block, yet it didn't disappear. Goddess, it wasn't like last time, the boy wandering out of the room, remembering the equal's sign and trying to make some sense of it. What could that sign have meant, maybe it meant that he had to do two things at once or play the song again at another pace. Well, it was weird, yet when he turned back in the Great Hall, he looked to his left, seeing that the block was in another place: on the left this time.  
  
"N-navi it's on the left also, now!"  
  
"Is that supposed to happen?"  
  
"No, when I did it in the graveyard the thing disappeared out of thin air, but there is an equals sign now."  
  
"On the block, oh I did see that. There is this new block, so maybe we should play the Song of Time on the second one also, that might make them both disappear and show us a door?" Link let out a sigh of relief, pushing his fairie towards her and kissing her forehead for a reason of a thank-you for clearing his mind. Smiling, he raced over towards the other block with the ocarina at hand, stopping right before it with his instrument in hand and a nod at the song. Having mastered the Song of Time was good, for he wasn't a master of the ocarina yet, but he was getting there, only messing up once more this time, playing it once more. When the tune was played again, this block disappeared, but there was no door behind it, no door was behind it at all, well maybe the other one?  
  
Navi was way ahead of him, fluttering over when he played the tune, seeing that they disappeared, she went to the other block that was covered with no door. A gasp of confusion hit her voice, causing the boy to turn around in frustration, racing for the middle of the Great Hall, right in between the block-holders. The middle he was still in when he turned towards his fairie, looking at her with eyes ajar, those eyes glancing in all directions for something. Nothing was coming; nothing was going to happen, they just wasted the few precious minutes that they could have spent searching. Not that it was their fault, searching behind the blocks was so impossible, and falling to his knees, the boy slammed his gauntlets fist into the ground.  
  
"Link.it's not your fault, it was worth a try, I mean, I didn't even know what those stupid things were for." He nodded along with her, he knew this, he knew that it wasn't anyone's fault, but who the hell were they to blame, then? Just as he sat there with his hands open, something fell from the top, the boy feeling the clinking in his hand, turning towards it and gasping out loud. Blinking at what was in his hand, he let out a small little scream of joy, jolting Navi's attention towards him, eyes ajar also. "Navi, look!" A key was standing there, plain as day in the reason where his hand had been, looking up to catch the blur of something, whatever had dropped the key. Link had an idea that it was, and as he got up, looking at Navi and showing her the key, he said his own silent thanks to the Shiekah.  
  
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Heading for the right, not the near right, but the right way that was secured with a lock, the young boy took the recent key he had just received, sticking it in the lock. The lock was wrapped around the entire door, with a giant lock sticking in the middle, so finding the lock wasn't one of the hardest things. As it sank inside of the hole, the metal upon the door disappeared, sucking the key from the boy's fingers as it melted away into nothing. Looking at his fairie, the boy shrugged a shoulder and grabbed upon the knob, seeing that it wasn't hot at all, given the fiery temperatures and the circumstances. Pulling the door all the way open, he peered inside of the next room, seeing no hall at all, which meant no more nasty Blue Bubbles to deal with.  
  
Navi was at his side as they explored the room, seemingly empty from the beginning; it seemed to move up to a second floor, the first part of the floor very bare. As they walked into the center of the bare floor, she floated around and started to explore finding that just ahead was sort of a maze, where there were arrows all around. Following the arrows, the yellow ones painted upon the ground, she ran into a giant block, squeezing behind it and continuing onto it until she saw that there was a slot for it to be pushed into. Having the same sign as the blocks in the dungeons, she thought that if punched it would move automatically, so this was some sort of block maze. Fluttering back towards her partner, she discovered that to get the block in the deep slot he had to move around the area, some areas were covered with walls, so that they had to maneuver past them.  
  
Before she turned back, she followed the area up all the way, finding another block maze where the block was blue now, before it had been a maroon colour. Yes, and above that was even another floor, this one wasn't a block maze, but she saw some Blue Bubbles (two of them) guarding a locked door. Blue Bubbles were a problem when they were in pairs, not at all like the skeleton-warriors, they would attack him if he were to take one out. Since the door was locked she couldn't go on anymore and flew back down towards the ground, heading back to him now. Moving back to Link now, she could hardly contain the information she had burst down inside of her, the information that would be valuable.  
  
"Navi, where were you? I turned around and you disappeared!"  
  
"Ah, well I was exploring. Anyway, the place up ahead is like a block maze, you have to push the blocks following the letters and then you have to go around another way. Push it another way until it slides into a slot, then you climb a level and find the similar block and another maze. When that is over I found that there is a door on the third floor, this one guarded by two Blue Bubbles, we might be able to take them out if we work together." Taking a deep breath before, she had to catch it, spilling out all that information, watching the boy's eyes light up again.  
"Man, you are good, don't know where I'd be without you."  
  
".Lost, that's where."  
  
Chuckling a little, he shrugged a simple shoulder and took off for the entrance, making his way into the deep maze, while she was ahead of him, guiding him. The maze wasn't that hard to figure out, especially with all the arrows to help him out, the place not really wanting him to fail at this, it seemed. Well, he punched the rock with the crescent moon one time and it slid ahead until it reached the end of the area, stopping before it smashed. Leaning upon the maroon rock, viewing the black letters of the moon and other insignias, he couldn't help but feel how easy this was. Viewing this, he was looking around for somewhere to go, finding that each passage had another place to slide through and find a new way through here.  
  
Slipping through a few more passageways, he found the other sides of the rock, slamming his fist into the middle, loving the painless feel as a mechanized whirl began to go off. The thing pushing back until it stopped yet sunk down a few feet before it stopped completely, giving off the feeling that it had sunk in the hole. Running the few feet to the hole, his fairie was letting out some nods and remarks of joy as he reached the end of the run and stared up. Standing onto of the brick gave him room to jump the few feet, hands latching onto the stone ground and yank himself up to another area. This time he walked a few minutes more, the arrows reappearing in the same colour and another block of the blue colour was replacing the red one.  
  
"Mm, and after this the Blue Bubbles?"  
  
"Yup, and then there is a locked door so you can use your second key and we can see what happens."  
  
Giving a wink of approval, the boy slammed his fist down into the area again, this time it slid another distance, the room flipped in a way. It was turned around to confuse the person, yet he just followed the same path as before, in another direction and ended up at the other end of the block. Punching it once more, it slid again and slumped down as it sunk in, Link's own mind going off in pleasure, he had done it with his own thinking. Leaning over the block, he sat upon it, catching his breath from the while he had gone off, it had been a while since he had taken a break. Leaning on the block, sensing the Bubbles weren't gonna go after him, the boy reached for his satchel, pulling the canteen and a few salted crackers out, beginning to munch upon them.  
  
"A break..Link, you are lazy." That didn't stop her from gulping down some water and grabbing a single cracker, beginning to munch on it.  
  
"I know this sounds cruel, but Saria is their bargaining chip and they won't harm her, besides if I am out of energy when I reach the exit, then I won't stand a chance against the spirit of the Forest Temple."  
  
"You have a point there." She remained quiet for a little bit, not wanting to talk about anything, there were a few things like the deaths of their fellow races and the kidnapping thing to speak of. No, she didn't want to depress the boy anymore, he had that entire burden on his shoulders, they didn't expect anything out of her, but they did Link. If they didn't, no one would be relying on him, hell no one even knew of him yet, he would get famous among the Kokiiri and whatever races he were to save next, if any. She gulped down the rest of her cracker, not beating Link, but eating a lot for her size, washing it down with the water, glad they got some supplies earlier. In Lon Lon was when they got them, well and Link picked up some meat from the town of Kakariko when he visited there to get his weapon.  
  
Speaking of the meats, he just happened to pull them out at this moment, making himself a sandwich with a slice of meat, some crackers in- between. "Link, stop being so selfish! Gimme some!" She grabbed a slice from him, getting only a little bit, yet gulping it down with the crackers, while Link spilt the crackers down on his shirt, eating it all together. With the meal finished, the boy reached inside of his satchel and yanked out an apple, cutting a large slice off for the fairie, handing it to her while he ate all the rest of it. Within a few minutes the boy was finished with the fruit, sitting the core down, before throwing it off to the side, leaning against the wall and watching her.  
  
"Littering? This is a sacred temple."  
  
"Navi..don't start, I think I might nap." He shrugged a shoulder, just a gesturing look on his face, as she finished her meal and rested on her shoulder, a little too full to fly. Scraping the scraps aside, the boy picked up the satchel, strapping it back around his side now, where it had remained all this time. All through his journey he carried all his weapons that were for handy use in the side pack that was strapped to his waist while now in the satchel he carried his supplies to be survive. Y'know, the materials to sleep, eat, wash himself off, and just the places to make camp inside, yet now was not the time to be fooling along. Link had only been in this place for less than an hour, maybe going on an hour, but already he felt the chills of the place, detesting it.  
  
Securing the pack on his waist, the boy climbed back up the final entrance, taking a glance around to find out that the maze wasn't there at all. Nope, there was no maze on the third and final floor of this place, there was nothing to do here, and he was secure with walking around and fighting the Blue Bubbles. The enemies were why he wanted to rest for at least ten minutes, in this condition he was too full to fight now, too full to wield around a sword and crouching down, he watched them. Fighting was out of the question, so he just slipped the key off of his neck and looked around, watching the enemies run around. The Bubbles were around the door, they seemed to be asleep of some kind, no they didn't, and they were just drifting off after a while.  
  
"Now we wait, we could have rested back on the thing, but now we wait in crouch."  
  
"Oh, be quiet, I didn't know we would be too full to fight."  
  
A few minutes passed, the things jolting awake when Link threw a single stone out in the right direction, hitting the thing on the head. The right Blue Bubble took off in the right direction, barking out loud, awakening its mate when the thing took off, the other monster following it. Keeping in a crouch, the fairie hiding in his hat so not to be left before, the boy began to crouch and walk, keeping the sounds at a minimum. When he was at the door, a small three stairs down, the boy tripped forward and slammed down against the wall, averting them to him now. Gnashing jaws began to rush at him, the boy grabbing the handle as the key sank in and the locks began to melt, hearing the barking getting louder.  
  
When it finally happened, he felt something sink into his thigh, giving out a scream of pain and jumping into the next hall, slamming the door shut behind him. Navi came out of the hat when it was shut, the boy falling upon the ground, inspecting the carpet that he fell on, a long hall that had no enemies at all, looking sort of like a palace. Watching for any enemies, he saw none, staring down at his leg and growling in frustration, the area where his calf was bleeding a little, anything taken out. He was bit by one of those bastards, them not taking a chunk out (Thank Goddess) but hurting him for the time being, making him lean against a wall. Pulling out his heart container, the only one that he had, the other one had gotten lost somehow, he sprayed it on the wound, causing the pain not to heal or go away, yet causing him to be able to walk for at least a little while.  
  
"In thirty minutes that thing will start hurting, we had better hurry up, Link." Navi was concerned, but before she had the time to do anything, he did it himself, ripping some of his tunic off and tying it around the wound.  
  
"We have to hurry, Navi, I do want to finish this before the wound starts aching."  
  
"Of course, let's hurry on." It was beautiful; the room was something out of a grand ball, what he imagined the Hyrule Castle would look like today, if Ganon's plan weren't in motion. Shivering at the thought of the man, he continued to run down the hall, not concerned with his own well being, or his health, he just ran on until they entered another room. Yes, another room was here, him retiring of this room, yet sort of happy because there was a treasure chest in this room, the chest right in his way. Only problem was that the chest was upside down, in a way, it seemed he wasn't going to get it, so he sulked for a few seconds, looking around.  
  
It was just a plain stone room, with tan stones all around, three pillars to hop across until you reached the final one that led into another room. The room was eerie, so silent with a ladder that was connected on the side of the wall, making him feel he was in a crazy world or something. Peeking forward, the boy kept his distance, afraid to fall off of the edge of the platform, it was quite a long drop down there, not that easy to get back up. Throwing his hands in the air, his mind was blank for a few more seconds, remembering the Hookshot, the Hookshot maybe able to do it. With some aiming, he could get the chest, this chest a different colour than the others, it was entirely gold with blue brimming on the sides, giving it a royalty look.  
  
"Navi, could we hook that chest? Navi?" Turning towards her, he saw that no one was there, and glanced in all the directions, finally hearing a clinking sound, turning up towards the chest and seeing Navi. There she was, blasting the chest with one of her energy balls, opening the chest and getting whatever was inside of it, keeping him safe. There was a possibility that if he linked to it, he might not grab the thing and go tumbling down more than a seven feet drop, or get dizzy and fall. This didn't seem to affect her as she went inside the large box, blowing the hatch off so that she didn't have to lift it up, since it was too heavy. On her way back, she threw the thing at him, examining the key; it was sort of like the others, except in a solid gold colour, the shape of a bull's head with a ruby placed in the center.  
  
"Wow, you did it!"  
  
"Hee, I saw you reaching for the hookshot, we can't waist anymore time, we have to finish this." She was cut off, as he took her into an embrace, the heavy key linked on the necklace just like the remaining silver key was. Not wasting any time, the boy leapt on the second platform, scaling the second one and stomping on the last one, running down into the darkness. Scaling out into another carpeted room, the boy ran into more trouble, the Blue Bubbles were packing, only one, yet this one was wearing a green aura. Having no time for them, Navi blasted the thing in the head, taking off past it and slipping the last key inside of the lock, watching it melt. This time he got out before he was bitten, luckily saving himself the trouble of having more pain, the newest room was something different.  
  
No enemies around, only a staircase he roamed up with quick fashion, with on top of that he saw a few paintings of the ghosts as he passed through. Paying no heed to them as he came across another staircase and another one of those paintings, making that three in all of the same stupid pictures. Disgust flowed through him, passing the picture of the orange Poe, a small giggle entering his field of vision; paying no heed and dashing up the stairs. He didn't want to mess with the Poe if it was behind him, spinning around when he got to the top, seeing nothing that was threatening. Where the door was, unlocked, he pushed himself inside of it, finding himself in a new room that seemed all the more familiar than before.  
  
"Octagon? Oh, no!" Prayers were almost answered now, as in the center of the room was a plain solid hole, the blackness not a familiar thing, until the slot slid up like an elevator. Two Stalfos were onto it, not chained up at all, but staring down at him with those bleeding red eyes, glancing up at him now. He didn't know if those were the some ones, hating the fact of wasting even more time, the pain would run out soon, he needed to take care of them seen. No need for games now, the boy turned to his fairy, making a signal with his hands, bursting flames, the girl looked at him for a few seconds, nodding quickly. A fire was in their eyes, so they wanted a fire, well he was going to give them the fire of their lives, or afterlives in this case.  
  
"Din's fire, eh?" Navi commented as he got in position.  
  
"Of course, let's burn them all." Two was too much, even if they did have the so-called honour, something he just didn't care for as long as he won, so what better way. Bone is so brittle that it will burn, he thought as he flipped onto the platform they came up on, waiting until the noticed and started to close in. "Too late, time for hell!" Rubbing his hands together in a beautiful manner, the boy called upon the powers of Din to guide him, the powers that went through his hands. Slamming those into the ground, the gloves on him heated up, never burning up, yet the fire spread in all the directions (Navi glad she was right by Link now.) The bones of them never stood a chance, for they erupted in red flames, making the blue seem almost nice, the long screams disappearing once he was through with it.  
  
His pyromaniac sense was gone; the boy blowing a breath from the draining of magic disappeared from his body, making him all the more a little weaker. Looking around the area, he felt something drop, jumping out of the way as a chest came from above, something that fell out of no where. Both ways he examined incase it was a trap, seeing nothing was in the way, then he kicked the large chest open all the way, staring inside of it, his hands incasing something. As it incased the picture, he pulled out a long bow that was made of wood, with the ends of it painted a bright red. In the center of the bow was a small blue markings, the string made of a strong material, looking unbreakable from the looks of it, and also inside was a quiver and arrows.  
  
"The fairie bow, Link! You can kill the Poes with that."  
  
"P-Poes! I remember, the painting, they were hiding in the paintings, that is why I heard the laugh!" "Wow, if you are right, you have to shoot the painting, it'll extract the Poe from there." Grabbing the quiver of thirty arrows for him, she went and connected it right at his side, strapped down inside the side pack so he could get to an arrow easily. When that was done, she handed the bow to him, letting him test it out, without an arrow at first, and then shooting an arrow, the aim being pretty much good. Retrieving the arrow, the boy ran back in the room he came from, forgetting the pain and worrying more about the Poe that he had encountered before. Yes, back in that room he would find that stupid ghost, take care of it with the new weapon, take the other three down and would be able to take the boss out. Man, thirty minutes was going have to go by very slow!  
  
Into the next room gave him a few surprises, like the fact that there were two different Poes in the paintings, the red one and the blue one were sitting in a painting together. Hiding behind a corner, the boy jumped across, the arrow prepared and shot one right into the head of the painting, the Poes hoping out of the Poe in disgrace. The monsters were awfully angry with the boy, charging at him with their fangs bared. Link jumped back from them, aiming an arrow and firing down at one of the Poe's drowning it down in the eye, dodging the other one that jumped at him. Blue Poe was shot right in the face, crying out in terror and beginning to run around, while Link shot it back into the head once more, this time it slowing down.  
  
"Get the other one, Link, I can get it." So slow now, Navi had no problem shooting a charged up Ki ball at the blue Poe, it crying out in pain before collapsing on the ground. Yet it wasn't dead yet, for it was still in physical form, so she shot a super-charged arrow at the ghost now, this one going through its body and sending the ashes flying. Spinning around to her partner, she saw that he already had three arrows into the slowing down red Poe, the thing beginning to sulk as he fired the last arrow. This one didn't stick like the other ones had, this one seemed to go right through it, the thing falling to the ground and receiving a final blow. The blow was when Navi had been charging up right when Link fired the fourth shot, the ball of Ki going through it and turning it to ashes.  
  
"Teamwork!" Link spun around, grabbing his fairie and giving a V for victory sign, his fairie doing the same. Letting her go he looked at the torches they were carrying, disappointed that they had gone out when they had died, but nevertheless he gathered them up and stuck them inside of his satchel. Keeping them meant they might fire up whenever he had all four of them together, which meant getting the entrance to the final area. Slipping back up the stairs and running through once again, the boy found that the room across from where he got the Fairy Bow was empty (yet he did down another heart container, giving him forty-five minutes as of now.) With that in tow, he scaled the familiar room; he was a replica of the room he fought the Poes in, except there were no painting. Moving past that part, he found another one of those doors, this one also unlocked and gave it a tug, moving through this one. "It's like the place is remodeled after itself, Navi."  
  
"Yea, another stone room." Indeed it was a matching stone room, a few modifications like there was a hole in the ground, no way out of the place except down and there were no pillars to climb down from. Sliding down, the boy made his way to the ground, inspecting the hole, before he pulled his shield off, stepping upon it and falling down the necessary feet. Sort of stupid to do, but when he landed back on his feet, with any scratches and a perfect shield, it exactly wasn't a very bad move either. The room around him now was larger than ever, sort of reminding him of a chess table, the colours matching exactly to the endeavor.  
  
"Mm, the place must be some sort of puzzle also, eh, Navi?"  
  
"I dunno Link, but--" Her words were cut off when the ceiling they were a few feet away from collapsed into the ground, only a few holes were blocked out as if something would be safe from there. Turning towards Link, he was on the ground, holding his heart as if he had had a heart attack, grasping out in precious breaths. Pushing back up, he looked at the land as it came back up, falling back down every two minutes or so, which gave him just enough time. With the time on the line he waited until it first raised up, making a jump-start forward and running up until the land came crashing down, stopping right infront of a treasure chest. The chest had reminded him that it hadn't been squashed so when the area came down, he was right there, secure as a hole was, not minding at all the area, Navi panting to catch up.  
  
"T-that was stupid Link, Goddess you could have been killed!"  
  
"I know, but there is no other way around." Peeking into the chest, he pulled out seven arrows, just enough to fill his quiver back up to thirty.  
  
"Just be careful this time, head for the door now, there is nothing else of interest now." When she finished her sentence, she zipped under his hat as the floor raised itself, the timer counting back down as he dashed across for the two minutes. Time had given itself up when a dodge was thrown forward, grabbing the handle of the door and pushing himself up against it, slamming face-first into it. Wow, it was a lucky throw, that was for sure, the time had been on his side this time, keeping with the good and thanking Farore that she decided to spare him. Yes, the way he went just barely saved himself, he could have just shot the Hookshot and avoided the pain, yet it was safer to jump instead of wasting seconds doing that. His fairie was none to happy with what he did, not scolding him, just having the hurt look in her eyes, like she expected that not to happen.  
  
"Wasn't my--" he began.  
  
"I know.come on."  
  
Throwing his arms up in defeat, the boy followed the trail through the door, coming to another one of those familiar hallways, following it through until another door came through. Link was struck with an eerie feeling, the same he felt around the paintings, but right before the door so it was sort of a reminder. Pushing the door open, the boy came into a similar room as the ceiling one, except the floor didn't fall and there were five large blocks right infront of them. The blocks each stood about seven feet, each seeming to fit together when pushed together, except the one that was completely black. What was even more funny was that when he shut the door, a timer sounded out of no where, knowing what his next alternative was.  
  
"Put the puzzle together?"  
  
"Yea, I'll fly up and make sure you put it together." Navi muttered out, fluttering up to the top and looking at the pieces as Link punched the middle of the black one, sending it slamming up against the wall. When that one was out of the way, he looked over to her, the girl's mind racing, as the thing seemed to make up a picture of something. It was green with a black face, whatever it was, just too unclear at this minute, they had to connect it together, and as the puzzle was put it wouldn't be too difficult. Whatever it was, it seemed all too familiar and with the jolt that Link had felt, Navi feeling it too, yet keeping it to herself, it was hard to deny it might be a Poe. Thinking with her brain on the fritz, the girl pointed over at the farthest right block, pointing for him to leave it alone, making a fist open-palm at him. "What?" He scratched his head; the signal wasn't a stop sign.  
  
"Leave that one alone, push the one across from it against that one, pull the one right under it right near it and the one on the far right you just push up."  
  
After some explanations, very confusing and seeming right down possible at first, yet with some heavy instructing and the stupid timer getting even faster, he did it. It was easy the second time she explained it, the second time she explained it vocally, so he was able to slide it in with no problems. Sliding the final block against it, from above his fairie called down to him in an excited, bewildered and frightened little voice. "It's a Poe!" A Poe, that seems sort of strange, his thoughts rushed onward, as the blocks began to slide down into the ground until they disappeared. When they were gone, the young boy had a feeling what was coming, the bow aimed up at the area right where the center of the puzzle had been.  
  
A shrieking laughter came out of the puzzle, smoke brisling where it was, then a portal appearing where another one of those sisters came out, green torch held in its hand. The Green Poe was staring at him with those white, pupil-less eyes, just a grinning from under the hood, Link knew in his mind she was. Maybe it was a sense, maybe some sort of power he had picked up, or the sensual aroma he picked up from them, yet there was no denying the gender. Yes, this Poe and the other two had been girls, he didn't know how he could tell, and they just looked a little more feminine looking, if anything. The bow was aimed right for the head, wasting no time since it was shrinking each second after second, so he fired a shot right at the head.  
  
"Navi, that's a girl Poe, right."  
  
"I think so--don't tell me you have something against fighting girls?"  
  
"Ha! Not a thing!" If they took Saria the thing would pay, even if it were a hermaphrodite, there was nothing to escape the wrath of the Hero of Time. Arrows flew from the quiver as he let out two more into the monster's head, she screaming out in pain and fury, trying to come at him with the green torch. The torch was coming right at him, as he dodged out of the way, holding onto the bow and arrow for all his might, knowing if he lost it that it was all over. That didn't save her, for as soon as she got close, he shot an arrow clean at the torch, knocking it aside as it went out on its own. Cursing his luck, another one was going out, the boy was aiming one right for the head when a familiar beam penetrated the Poe's head, a beam of energy.  
  
"Navi?" He turned around, seeing she was smoking a little, her hands held up and taking deep breaths.  
  
"Hm?" A grin came upon her face, shrugging a small shoulder at him. "You get to have the pleasure of destroying these wicked ghosts? I don't think so, besides you waste arrows doing that, if you just hit them with two I can kill them with a might charged up blast."  
  
"It's draining you, I might need you if my leg goes out."  
  
"All right, we have one more left, so you can take her." Scooping up the unlit torch, he threw it at the boy, who caught it in the middle of the air, sticking it in the satchel with the others, praying they re-lit. If they didn't, they would have to bust a hole in the floor, which his bombs didn't seem to be able to do they; they only blew weakened walls. Now he did not have the tools for that, his magic may have been strong enough, but with only a weak little magic-pot left, he needed to conserve all the energy he wanted. Speaking of which, he grabbed the pot from his pouch and slipped it down his throat, hating the bitter feeling of it, yet liking the idea of him being more empowered. Shutting the satchel back, the young boy ran out of the room, towards what was next and what was beyond that totally surprised him.  
  
"Link, the Grand Hall!"  
  
"You call it that, too?" Surprised as he was, the boy stared forward, as if almost expecting them to come back here, that other door had been sealed by bars, so it must of led to the other room.  
  
"Wait, where in Hyrule is the fourth sister?"  
  
"Right here, hee!" The giggles surprised the both of them, having no childish feel to them, they weren't how the Kokiiri giggled, and it was an evil sort of laugh. A kind that made you feel the back of your stomach turn over, the kind that that made you forget anything and just look away in horror. The only problem was that there was no where to look away from, the voice had come from right above of them, so when they looked over there they saw nothing. It could possibly have been a trap to divert their attention away; she was probably the oldest of the sisters, yet it was too late for they had looked into the area. Traps were set, the bait pulled and when he looked over there, as his eyes slid down to stare somewhere else, a burning sensation hit him in the stomach area.  
  
"Link, watch out!" It was too late, the sensation got hotter and hotter, and then a pressure pushed up against him, throwing him into the air, sliding through until something hard broke his fell. One of the lanterns he was supposed to light had broken his fall, the satchel falling open, all three of the monster's dead siblings lanterns falling out. With eyes a bit blurry, he stared ahead at the monster, the Poe of purple colour, her hands extended as the three torches appeared at her sides. When they were near the monster, the boy's eyes widening as her own torch went out, the three connected together and seemed to form a larger torch, this one a purple fire burning brightly. What's worse was that the thing was aimed at him, seeming to take on the feel of a gun because a handle had appeared on the side, a trigger hanging for her to pull at.  
  
"Oh, Goddess, Navi, what is that?"  
  
"Don't block, dodge now!" The boy couldn't, though; he seemed to be locked to the ground, as if in some sort of paralysis state, pulling at his feet with no avail. Gasping out, the fire began to come towards him as Meg pulled the trigger, her voice screaming out in a sudden shrill of noises, the boy's ears beginning to bleed. Grabbing his hands, which were still in use, the young boy reached for the Master Sword, knowing he couldn't swing or deflect, but tried to never the less. Fires of purple burst out into more flames, the purple on the outside while yellow, orange and green swirled on the inside, showing the combined powers of the sisters. There he sat, the sword beginning to meditate with a colour he hadn't seen, those eyes widened a little, the slash of his was not going to do it. He was inside of a Farore Temple, the Hero of Time could improvise on this place, and it just had to be full of special powers of the Goddesses.  
  
That was when Navi appeared infront of him, pulling her barrier and stretching it out, yes she was going to save him with her own powers, or die in the process. Her plans were interrupted when he smacked her with the hilt of the Master Sword, shaking his head in disgust, slamming the end of the blade into the ground. There was no way he was going to let his fairie die, the hurt shown in her eyes, as he pointed the sword at her, winking a little. No, he wouldn't die now, he had himself a plan, a plan that would work, and he had summoned Naryu before, now it was Farore's turn. With the powers of Farore had to be saturating into the ground, the boy's voice began to rise out of his voice, in harsh words indeed.  
  
"From the Power of the Goddess of my home, with the power of the sun of Din, I call upon thee!" Raising the legendary sword into the air, the glow from before had been just an invisible aura, yet now it was illuminating a bright green. The green mixed in with the red, the red in the center while a wind surrounded the green aura, giving it a feel that it was indeed from the Goddess Din and Naryu, the center seeming to burn at the sword. Reaching the sword forward, the boy let out his sword, swinging a beautiful swing, yet not letting it go he just held the sword, pushing against it. While pushing, the sword gave some new light, streaming its own (and his) magic power into the shot, boosting the power up. Yes, with that power up, the fire went against the powers and even if it was four against four, we spoke of two Goddesses, the Hero of Time and a sword.  
  
Navi watched, transfixed in amazement at the power of this, the majesty of the powers of red for fire, green for the forest, the yellow for the sword of evil's bane and a light white for Link's. Powers were strong, yet it seemed that the Poe's were winning, even though they were only ghost, they were backed by the evil Ganondorf's power. Ganondorf wasn't here at all, yet his presence was well deep within the ghost, them pushed at its limits out and never able to achieve this power in the normal state. This probably wasn't the full power of the Gods, he wasn't able to withstand all that, and needed some help or the powers would engulf them. Backing up right infront of her partner, surrounding herself inside of the powers of them, the good powers so that she was unharmed, the girl let out a scream before transferring her own powers to that of his, mixing in with the others.  
  
Doing that boosted up the power, a line of blue mixed in with his own powers, somehow the little fairie had just enough juice, maybe the power of love had something to do with it. Whatever the case, the light of white began to grow larger, engulfing the yellow light, then moving and grabbing a hold of the Din and Farore. With all of that absorbed into the white light, it maneuvered inside of the Master Sword, signaling inside of the yellow jewel (that had turned white now.) Aiming the sword out all the way, the boy let out a scream of power, yanking back and slashing the air, as he slashed a giant wind-curve coming out and absorbing all of the Poe's powers. Screams of pain hit his ears, more powerful than her shrieks from before, the other shrieks of the souls being absorbed in the white light.  
  
Emitting light began to disappear, the powers returning back to their owners, and the light of the Gods going back inside of the sword, maybe where it came from. Finally ashes from the Poe named Meg disappeared, beginning to slide all around, four torches were unlit now, them beginning to glow. Almost reaching for the torch, Navi patted his shoulder with her hand, already sitting on it from all the loss of energy, it was returning, just little by little. Before Link could grab onto them without her permission, they all drifted up into the air, moving over to a special torch and going inside the larger torch, lighting the shape with the designated colour. A giant screech caused Link to spin around, the unsheathed sword ready for what was next, but nothing was coming, the only thing that was there seemed to be the elevator, raising up to its full height and awaiting them.  
  
"N-navi, what was that?" He spoke as they walked towards the elevator, Link had waited a full three minutes when both of them felt back up to power, looking down and counting to himself how much time he had left.  
  
"You have about twenty-five minutes, Link, I think we can do this. I.I don't know what happened, was it like the times from before, you didn't say the phrase." She saw him trying to calculate, they were outside, so there was no way to judge by the sun, but somehow she knew the time.  
  
"N-no, I remember this, I remember it all." It scared him how much power was inside of him, or better yet how much was inside of this little knight's sword, it really was legendary if it was capable of that. Not even keeping it sheathed, he knew they were going to have to face the master of this place soon, the boy stepped onto the elevator watching as if judged by weight, it began to slide down into the next room. They slid about twenty feet down, the room opening up in another octagon shape; so many shapes were the same that he was sickened of it. Carpets were spread in eight different directions, matching in a pattern of red, blue and then back to red. Across each room was blocked, a giant block in the middle that had another sign on it, the same one as on the puzzles and the dungeons before.  
  
"Link, there is a switch at the side." She went over towards it, waiting for him to jump on it, which he ran for it, stomping his foot down on it with some anger sprayed in him. As good as the victory was he never got the chance to pin Meg down and tell him where the hell Saria was, which didn't make her the boss. The boss had to be down here, so when he stomped on the switch, a small mechanical whirling began to go around, the room--no the walls were rotating. Yes, moving in a clock-wise manner, the thing stopped when one hole was open to them, inside the first hole had been a simple hole with the switch. Now before him was a giant door, at least ten feet tall, with a large lock on it, matching the same figurehead as that of the key he found in the golden chest.  
  
"Boss.key?" Link whispered, scared because he knew this was the end, grabbing upon the shiny key, rubbing the jewel in the middle, nervousness was shown.  
  
"Yea, that must be it, the temples use keys because they are so ancient. Which means we are at the end, you have about twenty minutes now, it should be enough."  
  
"W-we've never faced a boss from a temple from before, twenty may not be enough.if.if it isn't, Navi, I want you to promise me something."  
  
"What's that?" His voice was calm, wavering a little as if he were about to cry.  
  
Lowering his head to the ground, no tears dripping, but acting as if they were about to, he whispered. "Get out of here, if it goes out and I am unable to fight, I WANT YOU TO LEAVE!"  
  
Leave? She couldn't believe he was saying that, letting her eyes fall, she grabbed the key around his neck and stuck it down inside of the key. Leaving the chain upon his neck so that they could link it there on the next dungeon, when they beat this monster and went after the newest one. No, she wouldn't leave; she wouldn't leave him if her dear life depended upon it, just like she wanted to sacrifice herself to stop the blast from hitting him. Although she would have to say something to give him confidence, yet she didn't want to lie to him if something did indeed happen. It stuck in just like all the rest, the gold metal disappearing upon the lock, the door not having a knob, but just extending open, like the mouth of a shark, the jaws ready.  
  
"I will leave.when I feel need too."  
  
"When I am dead, don't die needlessly."  
  
"O-okay, Linky, don't worry." I won't ever leave you, she wanted to speak through those lips, her own eyes beginning to water, as she looked over and saw his do the same. Wavering to her, the boy looked up, shaking the tears aside and kissed her upon the lips, pecking them so he didn't get her face. There was love in there, she knew it and he knew it, there was no mistaking it, they did love each other, even if in a different way than most. Her own cheeks flushed as she looked back at him, leaning forward and kissing the lips back, his face stopping the tears and breaking into a chuckle. The chuckle went from that to a laugh, not spreading into a guffaw, but with her confused expression, he wiped the tears away, speaking.  
  
"I love you, I hope you know that. I never say it, because I know it's impossible for us to be together, you get jealous when I am around others. Before now I didn't know why, I thought you were just an over-protective bigger sister or something, but I realize that you love me. I love Saria too, but I don't think we can ever be together either, she maybe older than me physically, but I am not---I am doubting the origin of me, I mean. No, we will talk about this when we get out, because I know we will get out of here." Spinning around at her, that smile plastered on there, the boy nodded to her and tapped the door with the sword, it sliding open and leading into another room.  
  
"You ready to face some evil?"  
  
"Yup." She didn't tell him what she felt, a feeling that she had felt when they were right outside the castle with the three spiritual stone, the feeling back seven years ago. Right when the drawbridge let down, the boy's eyes widening when a steed that they had seen was racing after them, the steed that carried Ganondorf. Whatever this feeling was, she felt that Ganondorf had to be behind that hall waiting for them, not so sure they were ready for him. Why would he be in the first temple, why in Hyrule would he be here when he had the Hyrule Castle all for himself, all ready and waiting? Maybe it was an illusion, maybe a trick of some sort, well she hoped so, yet the sensing she was feeling couldn't be fooled by illusions, and she felt it. As they stepped through that long hall, walking into the new room, her eyes couldn't help look in different directions for the enemy of Ganondorf.  
  
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"Something is up, they aren't here!" It was true, the enemy was no where to be found, whatever room they had entered was the last one of the bunch, yet no where to go. Peering around the room, which was lined in another octagon, eight paintings on each corner, them of the same scenery at the same time. The picture was of a an old trail, the trail lined with a wooden carriage, horsed pulling it, except those were off to the side, along with a small town. In the center was a long road nothing on each road of the painting, that was duplicated seven times, making the room creepy. Made entirely out of stone, the entire room was like the inside of a castle, nothing around but the paintings, yet surrounding the paintings were sharp, brass ends. Bright red ropes stuck out of the sides of the ends, circling around the entire room, except where he was the area open for him to pass.  
  
"It's weird, Navi, there isn't anyone here."  
  
"Yea, I know and I sensed a presence, I don't feel it any more." Speaking the words, something came up right behind Link, clinking so loud that he spun around, slashing those metal rinks as they rode up, three in a row. These weren't roped together, though, they were pressed against each other so close that he couldn't slip through them and moving over them was crazy. Those spikes on the top of each rink trapped him in this place; afraid they might decide to pop up and hit him like other things he had run into. It was just too risky to jump over, it reminded him of what happened inside the Deku Tree, the black spike and he just couldn't help but shiver there. With all this stuff, the minutes were ticking down, the boy slamming the his boot into the ground, a long and bellowing neigh made the back of his hair stand up.  
  
Cringing for what came next, the damned enemies were always sneaking up on him, and the boy spun around, the sword dropping on the ground when he saw whom it was. Ganondorf was sitting right there; well he was sitting upon his great black steed, the one that they had seen in Lon Lon Ranch a few days ago. That wasn't that surprising, the horse seemed to be wild, mean and would probably take the other horses without their permission. Castrating would be out of Malon's agenda, never wanting to hurt the creature like that, so she would just as soon let it run free in the wild. Link guessed that Malon had let the horse go, Ganondorf had taken the old horse back and really built it back up into its former self, making it a king on the horses.  
  
"Oh, Goddess. Oh, no.Ganondorf!" Navi let out a shriek, hiding on his side, as he shuddered at the though, leaning back up against the railing he had been afraid to jump a few moments ago. That idea didn't seem so bad now, the boy reaching down for his sword, seeing that Ganondorf allowed him to get the sword of his, yet Ganon was armed now. Yes the man was armed with a spear now, a spear that was so much better than what the Monblins and Moriblins carried, their own weapon seeming like a play-toy. At least as long as the horse, the steel end he held it on held no special qualifications, the jewel in the center of the spear was a jewel incased in steel, it was yellow. Something matching the jewel in his Master Sword, the thing curved out into a sai, having three blades held out in the left, right and upward.  
  
The horse was built up different too; the horses hair had been dyed with some berry juice on the mane and the back tail so that it was pure read. Also being covered in armour from the neck all the way down to his tail, the thighs exposed for him to hack at, if need be. Cloths of red hang under the metal armour that the horse wore, and even a helmet was covering the face of horse to prevent a strike to blind it, those orange pupils staring out in evil. Upon his feet were some boots, the boots were made of chain links, the feet covered in a hard metal to improve the kicking ability. A small shield with a small insignia, the symbol that Link found on the carts belonging to Ganondorf, was down on both sides of him, giving the steed a better protection ability than his own master.  
  
"No.no, this isn't Ganondorf, you aren't Ganondorf, stop fooling around and face me, you coward!" Kid, you aren't ready for me yet. The voice of which Link wanted to see was there, ringing through his ears. Good precision to notice it wasn't me, your little friend noticed that I was here, but she was sensing the steed. Yup, it's the same one from all those years ago. You seem to have grown up, Kokiiri, let's see owe your skills have matched against my phantom. A long chuckle began to scream through the room, turning into a long guffaw of pleasure, the voice disappearing from both of their ears. Checking to see if they both heard it, both nodded and turned back to the man who wasn't Ganondorf, the man pulled off the face of his, actually it was only a mask. Throwing he thing aside, his face was revealed, a sort of skull was there, except it wasn't a skull, it was some sort of mask again with jewels at the top and near the eyes. Maybe it was just the third eye of his, a weird combination, although he had two giant horns sticking out of his head, like bulls.  
  
"Yoooou've gooooot that right, nooooow face me! I am the Evil Spirit from Beyoooond, Phantooom Ganoooon!" Long on the O's, the monster began to levitate into the air, the horse moving around with him, but what he did next was just plain confusing. Thinking he was going to smash his head in, the horse just went around him harmlessly, as if he was no big deal and ran out towards the wall. The creature took off for the painting, Link thinking that maybe he was going to disappear, until the painting turned a bright purple, the phantom going inside and disappearing inside. Into the painting he went, yes, and Link saw as the picture came to life, riding up fast down the long road of the painting, disappearing into the distance. Wow, that sure was a mind-trip, to see that a monster went into the painting was enough for him, yet now it was gone, probably hiding in one of the paintings.  
  
"Link, check left, I'll check right, he's in one of them!"  
  
Link looked off to the left, his fairie looked off to right and for the first minute or so, they sensed nothing at all, and saw nothing with their eyes. Until at last about three minutes later both of them called out in joy that they saw Ganondorf flying towards them on the horse. Wait--both of them? Turning around to see each other's paintings, both of them stared in disbelief, the phantom had split himself up in two different directions, both heading at them. One was behind the other, but they were both coming at him, grinning with the spear aimed in a sort of jousting position. It was confusing, so the boy looked after the one that wasn't the closest, seeing that it was a bit darker than the other, sometimes giving away the true self. Navi called out.  
  
"Good choice, Link, the other one turned around." Turned around and went back, so it was just an after-image, or a before-image in this case, because it was coming before the thing. Aiming out his bow, not feeling like trusting his luck with that sword he sheathed back into the slot now, the boy took some aim at something. Another purple aura appeared the portal that he was coming out, turning a deep white before he would come out and impale him. Link was ready for this, aiming the bow, he didn't go after Ganon, he knew the man would block, instead shooting the Phantom's horse right in the eye. It let out a screech of pain, releasing another one into the eye, guessing that was the source of his transportation between dimensions. Link wasn't done there, aiming at all the open parts with the arrows, thinking he'd use his sword on the Phantom, so he released thirty of them into the horse.  
  
Slinking down to the ground, throwing the monster off as it went, the phantom catching him into the air, the horse slunk to the ground, letting out a gasping breath before a beam of energy hit it. This was Navi's way of keeping it from being healed and hopping the paintings again, he didn't feel like dealing with that sort of crap again. It was just too annoying to do that; the phantom had his fun now, so he was through with the games, welding the spear infront of the boy. Maybe he doubted the power of the boy, the skills of him and his fairie that could have been true, that very much could have been the worst part of this mission. No one was to ever underestimate the power of the enemy, if you did that, then they could spring out with a surprise so nasty that it was instantly taken.  
  
"Navi, we've almost got it, but I think you miscalculated time!" He was yelling for the beast was growling, the wind howling through this room.  
  
"Are you aching?"  
  
"No, but it feels like I will be soon, we are in the second part of the battle now, we have to finish within the time limit or I am done for!" "Yoooou will never make it, fooool! I'll kill the faire and the Kooookiiri at the same time!" Swinging out the spear, a small energy ball formed in the center of it and lashed out at Link, his fairie was going to be next when it reflected back. Link saw the ball coming, seeing the sword was resonating to it, the blade glowing back, so he retrieving it out and held it like he was bunting something back at the person. Reflecting back, the energy ball did, throwing back to the surprised phantom, which took another swing at it and reflecting it back at Link. So, it's like baseball, is it? This would be easier than he thought, so instead of bunting the ball back this time, he leapt forward and slashed the sword with all his might. Maybe the phantom wasn't expecting that, or the speed that he could hit, for the ball of energy came flying back at him, having no time to deflect as it coursed through his body.  
  
"Now, Link!" She appeared over the monster, turning a complete yellow to keep him down for the count, doing this did take a lot of energy, so she hoped the boy did this all in one slash. Indeed when he leapt on the phantom, the things orange eyes were gasping, the third one trying to pull away when the boy went at it. Yes, it was incredible how this boy got so violent now, he was more angered than ever for kidnapping Saria, so that was a bonus in battle. Master Sword in hand, the young boy began to hack away at the thing, knocking off a few limbs with the sword, yet it didn't bleed any. Not that it was in any pain, the monster was screaming as the limbs fell to the ground, disappearing into the dust when it hit, the screams echoing through the dried bloody ears.  
  
The phantom slumped down to the ground, his spear dropping at his side and falling down to his side, while the boy turned around, his leg finally giving out. Crying out in pain, he dropped the sword, collapsing to one knee, holding it tightly as the bite marks were starting to ache. As much as it hurt him, he was glad it was over, letting out a cry of triumph, he, not hearing Navi at his side celebrated the cry. Wondering where she was, he turned a head back to look at her, seeing the deep shock in her eyes, point over to where the phantom was. Well, he looked back behind him, seeing the cape of the phantom was thrown aside, the monsters grabbing his spear, breaking it in half and taking the jewel from there, absorbing it into his hands.  
  
"I toooold yoooou that it woooould never woooork!" A long cackling entered his mouth, the boy jumping around; the sword prepared to depend, when a foot slammed into his face, throwing him back up against the wall. Crying out for Navi, the fairie was stuck with a simple bolt of energy, collapsing on top of him, giving a small smile and shrugging a shoulder. Looking down, the boy slipped the fairie beneath him as the bolts began to strum through him, tinting his tunic with a fiery smell, making his own skin smell worse than he ever imagined. Long cries of pain echoed in the silent room, the wind having shut down since before they started throwing balls of energy around, the only other sound was the cackling powers of the monster. She was under him so protected from the lightning she was, him trying to reach for the power to deflect, seeing he wasn't throwing balls, just streams that he would never be able to deflect.  
  
"Oooooh, what abooout a memeoory ooof what I did befooore the fight, just foooor yooou, Koookiri!" No matter how much he fought it, the boy did have his mind blanked out, the pain stopping so that the phantom could generate the memory inside of him. What followed was weird, it was a black room, with nothing on top of it but a single girl, he couldn't see who the girl was, but she was as tall as a child was and covered by a glow. The glow disappeared, the girl looking deep into his eyes and whispering his name, the name Link was on her lips, the green-haired girl crying. All on her beautiful, naked body were slaps, marks where she had been sliced with claw marks, bite marks and now there she lay down. Being tied with hands spread, feet spread even more, a single door opened in the place, the Phantom walking in, dressed with the Ganondorf mask on.  
  
Link was the only one witnessing this, back in the real world he twitched around, the unconscious fairie still out of commission and Phantom Ganon in a trance. Back into the dream world, the boy was looking at the Phantom as some dialogue going on, silent of course, until he slapped the girl across the facing starting to curse at her. Dialogue went on, but there were no words now, only the cries as the man stripped himself down to nothing, being as naked as could be. Looking towards the dream that Link was looking into, the man smiled a deep grin, ripping the mask off, where he began to rape her. Rape her, he did, as hard as he could, as fast as he could, the screams and pants of pleasure were filling Link's mind, beating upon the glass to get at her.  
  
Finally the deed was done, the girl on the table, still strapped down as he whistled at the door and more and more men came in, some of them even monsters. What happened next Link couldn't describe, it was just so horrible what they were doing to her, so strange, that he felt even angrier than what happened to Malon. No, what happened to Malon didn't compare to this, this was just too much, watching this and beating as hard as he could, with no avail to breaking the glass. All of them finished up and leaving except the Phantom, who took Saria one last time, getting right up infront of the camera, or whatever they were looking into. Staring at him with those fierce skull-eyes, the man took out a sword from no where, actually it was more like a dagger and slit the throat quickly, throwing the body aside and bursting out in laughter.  
  
The dream ended abruptly, the young boy reverting back to his old world, but before the man could muster up the energy to start shocking him again, Link was upon him, the sword held to his throat. The boy was staring at the phantom with hate in his eyes, the eyes that were beaming a bright blue, not at all the lovely colour they had been before. Staring deeply at the boy scared the phantom, it scared him so much that he wanted to be away from this boy, and he wanted to be back home. How the boy was so much faster and quicker than him surprised him, gasping in realization of what was happening, something he shouldn't have done. He should not have abrupt the boy, he should have finished him off without the sequence, yet he didn't and maybe that would be his down fall.  
  
"Y-you fucking b-bastard! H-how dare you do that, how dare you kill her! I was going to show mercy on you, I truly was, but that shit went out the window after what I just saw!" Enflamed eyes were staring down at the phantom, holding him by the neck, while pushing his head up against the blade, the curses he spoke made no sense.  
  
"It's not real! It was an illusion, I swear it was an illusion, please! Please have mercy!"  
  
The boy stared him for a few seconds, the arms that he had cut off were back, proving that this really was some sort of phantom, it could regenerate the arms. Maybe it could regenerate some parts, yet there was a specific part that he wanted to get rid of, the part that he would love loping off. Reaching below, the boy whose sadism was higher than ever, reached inside the pants and pulled out a specific tool, taking the sword and sending a blow right down there. When the screams reigned through, the boy reached for the sword, loping off the arms and legs of the man once more, but this time shoved his sword in each hole, making sure they didn't come back. With that gone, he stared down in his eyes, looking deeply at them for the longest time, before speaking a few words to him, some final words. "I don't believe you."  
  
Throwing the body up into the air, no way of regenerating and floating away, but even so he made sure of no escape by jumping up in the air beside him. Pulling the blade out, touching the beautiful jewel, he pushed against it and began to slice, harder and harder as the corpse began to fall apart. He only did the torso, though, loping the head off and throwing it aside into a wall, which it broke in half and began to release black ink. The ink was maybe it's brain, or the spirit that inhabited its body, going away, well maybe it wasn't for it would have been a smoke, not a liquid. As the torso fell upon the ground, the boy let the torso dropped and fell towards the skull, slamming his foot down into it and breaking the rest of the horned skull to pieces, before falling down on the ground.  
  
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A few hours passed before the fairie awoke to such a bloody scene, seeing the sword was still in his palm, gutted with some black liquid and the phantom was gone. Checking him, she saw that the only thing wrong was he was kind of charred from the energy attacks, wondering why she wasn't hurt at all. The blue light was there, it had been there and stayed ever since the battle ended, the boy probably too tired to pick himself up and crawl over there. How he bared the pain and took care of the Phantom was beyond her, but now she had learned never to underestimate those Temple monsters. These creatures had twice or even three times the power of a regular dungeon monster, the light awaited them, but she was too tired to even think about it. Fluttering over to the boy, she kissed his forehead and slipped back under the hat to fall back asleep where the more hours remained.  
  
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Pulling himself from the slumber, the boy awakened, but not on the floor of the Forest Temple, he was back inside of the Sage's temple, the place where he had awoken before. Was it seven years later, Goddess he hoped now, and looked down into the water to reveal that he was all right, maybe this was where you got the medallion. Turning towards where Rauru was, he didn't see the man there, the place was empty, but since he wasn't getting a gift from him, there was no need to be around. Hell, he didn't even like the man anyway, and now checking under his hat, he felt Navi, a sigh of relief with her heartbeat was still there.  
  
Ignoring the pain all through his body, not the mention the even more unbearable down on his thigh, where the pain was even doubling from two wounds, the boy looked where he was standing. He wasn't facing towards the Light Medallion symbol, like he had been before, he was facing towards the Forest Temple, and it all came back to him. After what he had seen happen to Saria, he remembered the parts, vaguely, remembering what he did and understanding that why it was to happen, yet disgust he was so mean. Yes, acting like the enemy was not the answer here, yet he had been just as sadistic as the dream had been, if it was real or not, he still didn't know. His prayers were answered, the dreams came true when he glanced forward, seeing no one at first, before glancing down and finding the eyes of Saria.  
  
"S-saria?!" He got down upon his knees, looking down at her and extending a hand, surprised when an invisible barrier kept them from touching each other.  
  
"Link.Link, I wish we could have been together." She trailed off, looking down to the side, her eyes seeming to water up and release a few tears, before looking back to his face, smiling. It didn't work though, she couldn't compose herself, or her feelings like she was able to so long ago, because back then it had been childish. Yes, so childish the love had been, thinking of him as a friend had, never as a lover until the time was too late, after his visits had stopped. At first she had thought he had died, denying it in her heart that he wasn't dead, maybe just trapped somewhere, unable to communicate with them. That was when she started to feel something for him, although she had always felt it, it was just so weird to feel that for him that she hid it as an innocent crush.  
  
"What are.why are you crying?" Leaning forward, he pushed his face against the barrier, seeing that she pressed her own face and pressed them together, hands lining up with each other.  
  
"Y.you are the Sage of the Forest?" As Link spoke this, she nodded miserably.  
  
"But I can be of so much use to you now, I am safe here from Ganondorf and then I can even add my own power to yours so that you will be able to defeat him."  
  
Tears began to stream down his face, shrugging a shoulder violently, before slamming his first into the barrier, causing her to gasp out and look away, crying silently. "Rauru, let me through.let me through, you bastard--I don't care about the rules, please!" He touched the area gently, and felt it didn't move, crying out in frustration, slamming his fist against the wall this time once more hardly. Nothing was happening now; nothing was going to happen, he was stuck with never touching her, never feeling her lovely lips ever again. Tears were streaming harder, touching the glass softly, where her lips were, when suddenly he felt something move, or jolt just a little. Interrupted by a cracking sound, the barrier was let loose, or maybe he was following the last request of a boy in love, it could be that. Glass shattered in all directions, the glass going through his body and hers, not harming them, though; it was barrier glass that touched them.  
  
Leaning forward, he was let into the area, his arms around her they went, pulling her into an embrace, as it seemed Rauru did grant a last request. Tears were streaming from both of them, the harshness of the battle moving onto him, not caring about the pain, at least the physical pain. Mental pains were echoing through his heart as hands stroked those green tresses, the beautiful hair that was so weird, it was different, she was different from the rest. As weird as they both were, they didn't seem to care at this moment, or Rauru was watching them with gleaming eyes, teary eyes from the moment of display. Just like him, they were both different freaks, and so the weird child and the weird teenager, separated by the physical age, though not giving a care in the world, locked lips in an ultimate passion.  
  
He somehow knew that they would never be together, for when he saved the world, she would always guard the Temple of the Forest. Visiting her now was out of the question, needing to feel the love and warmth of her so that he could wait until the journey was over to talk to her. The locked lips were bound together by passion, pulling her into a deeper kiss with his tongue using it to the fullest, more full than her little thing. Just like seven years ago when they cried and kissed, it was like a reincarnation of the same scene, yet they would not be seeing each other in a few weeks. Arms locked harder around her when he felt a tugging on him, not wanting to break the kiss, not wanting to break it away now.  
  
Eventually he did break the kiss, well the tugging was too intense for him to bare, pulling back while Rauru yanked him back through the hole, Saria throwing something at him when he fell back on the platform. Catching the item, he looked at it, another ocarina, this one the one that she played, since she hadn't made that many, even baring her name. Smiling brightly, he pushed the new ocarina to his lips, taking out his old one, throwing it through the portal at her, Rauru letting the little item slide through, before he opened his arms, leaning against the barrier, hugging it tightly, seeing her do the same exact thing. When he pulled back from that, he felt pretty sure of himself, that he was going to be all right now, yes, he would get over this in a few days.  
  
"Link, please take this medallion, it is a source of my forest powers and gives you the ability to call upon the wind of Farore whenever need be." Again the portal was opened, the medallion sliding through, a green one this time, but matching the size and weight of the yellow one, the boy catching it while he slipped his ocarina away. As he turned towards Rauru, waving towards him, the fairie of his came out, seeing the surrounding scene, waving a sleepy hand at the young Kokiiri. A new sage was born, and so she waved back at the fairie and her Kokiiri as Link put the Forest Medallion around on the necklace he found in the temple. There it would stay; the yellow one would stay in his pouch since he had no sentimental value to it, but something from Saria he did have attachment too. While it was put up, the boy was transported from the Temple of Sages back to the forest, not infront of the temple, but right infront of the Deku Tree.  
  
"It hasn't changed." Navi whispered, sliding over towards the area, but her eyes lit up when she saw what was infront of the Deku Tree, a small branch was growing right by it. "Oh, a sprout!"  
  
"A sprout?" Leaning down on his knees, the boy looked up at the thing, but as he did this, the thing rose up four feet tall, throwing Link back in surprise and physically. Peeking up from where he fell, there as clear as day, was a small four feet sprout, the thing even had little eyes in a mouth, almost looking cute. Hands went down at his sides, almost grabbing the sword, but seeing that it was okay now, for this thing wasn't going to hurt him. Two or three leaves resided on the branches of the small little sprout, thicker than tall; it was about four feet thick, along with the short height. Navi peeked from behind Link's shoulder as he walked a little closer, seeing if the thing would speak to him, it was just a baby, after all.  
  
"Thank you, Hero of Time!"  
  
"Y-you know me?"  
  
"Yes, I know you, I should have been growing quite some time, but the spirits from the Forest Temple were keeping me out. Thank you for awakening the Sage of the Forest so that the Deku Tree shall regain some more power and become the second Spirit of the Forest. I thank you, hero."  
  
"Ahh, it's.it's okay, I mean, I only got myself hurt and all."  
  
"Oh, don't worry, you can rest within the Kokiiri Forest, you maybe a Hylian, but I wouldn't turn one of my own former children into one of those trees, or a statue."  
  
"A Hylian!" Both Navi and Link blurted out, their eyes bewildered.  
  
"Yes, as you can see from your form, you are a Hylian, but not just any Hylian, a very special one. Seventeen years ago, before you were born, the place was at war; the races were against each other. No one was safe, except the Kokiiri, which were sealed within the forest, asked to fight; yet they were all children and refused. One day throughout the battles, a young woman entered the forest, going to the Deku Tree and praying for her to take care of her son, she was mortally wounded. The former Deku Tree saw that this child was a child of destiny and decided to raise him among the Kokiiri, and so the woman died, being buried within the soil. That Hylian baby was you, Hero of Time."  
  
"Wow, that explains my height, but what about Navi?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry, she can still be your guardian, your race doesn't change the fact between you. I have never seen a bond so strong, I watched both of you fight, it was one of the most beautiful displays of friendship I have ever seen. Don't worry, she will be with you until the end of time." Smiling towards them, the tree could see that they were each in deep pain, the Hylian more than the fairie, so he nodded towards them.  
  
"Go and rest now, we will have a celebration in a few days, I will tell the children I am now back, but go on, and go sleep in the forest, you can sleep as long as you want." That was all they needed, so they headed out of the forest, all the equipment becoming more and more serious, it was harder to walk. Well, he bared it, going through the forest, where he finally reached the end of the trail and came upon the Kokiiri forest, peering around for any signs of life. Life was indeed in the forest, the children noticing that there were no more monsters to be afraid of, cheering for whoever killed them, not really seeing him, since he stealthily headed up on the hills. His old tree house was in the distance, so he climbed up the little ladder, going to the top of the stairs and passing out, on the outside of the place, not even waiting for him to hit the small bed, dead to the world.  
  
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Over the next four days Link slumbered up there, the Deku Tree announcing himself and announcing that this was the hero whom had saved everyone. It took a lot of Kokiiri, but they got Link down to a small river, bathed him and his clothes, dressing him up in a tunic that was repaired, not as charred as the rest had been. While asleep his fairie was also prepared in better clothing, keeping the same she had from before, just making it a bit neater, as well as her. By the fourth night, when they awoken, the armour was cleaned, the weapons were cleaned, while they were fed every day so that the power of them would return. It was nice to be pampered, even though none of them enjoyed it; the new bow of his was even stringed tighter than ever, getting better-looking arrows.  
  
On the fourth night he was awoken, or woke up by Navi to hear that there was a party in the name of the Hero of Time, not in Link's name. As he stayed there the next week partying with the children in the festival, he told of how he had met a boy named Link, and how he collected some stones, the adventures that this Link had told him. When they asked what had happened to the Kokiiri named Link, the Hero of Time just smiled and said that he had died seven years ago, a sad, but quick death. Each was so saddened over that, even the boys and even sadder to hear that Saria and Mido had been killed in the battle. The reason he kept everything so silent was the Deku Tree didn't want them knowing that they could leave the forest and explore the world were just too dangerous for them.  
  
Finally after the celebrations, they were saddened to see that he was going to be leaving, but he told them that he was avenging their previous father, which got more applause. Overall the time with Kokiiri was fun, it was even better than he was a kid, he doubted they believed that Link had died, why you ask? Because they knew Navi and saw her hanging around a man who looked just like Link, he probably knew that they knew the truth, but he didn't care. It was best for them to know the truth, they might one-day want to leave the forest, and if so it would all is the Hero of Time's fault. As he passed through the wooden branches to leave, they wished him well and wished he would come back, the Deku Tree said he would be honored if he returned, just with no one else, that too risky.  
  
"You ready?" He said to Navi, shuffling the supplies they had received from the Kokiiri, in the larger satchel.  
  
"Yea, I am ready, where shall we go?"  
  
"I saw a giant swirl around Death Mountain, that maybe the next temple."  
  
"Oh, Goddess, that is a while away." She spoke as he mounted Epona, patting the girl from her days of rest, she was allowed in the forest and treated just as good as they had been, even while he was in the temple.  
  
"I know, I know." Shaking his head, he slightly kicked Epona, feeding her a carrot so that kept him from seeming too cruel, and so they took off for the village of Kakariko again.Goddess it was like a reincarnation. 


	6. Chapter V: Flame of Deceit

Chapter V: Blaze of Deceit.  
  
Copyright: I do not own Zelda, Nintendo does. Story by Habuki productions.  
  
The scenery sure had changed over the years, the sky around the village had never seemed, well this shade of blackened midnight. Nighttime wasn't even around the corner and already Link had the willies, in places he didn't even know were supposed to be frightened. What scared him weren't the powers from Death Mountain--those were a little part of the scenery in his own mind, what scared him was the other night. With two days on Epona, the horse proved to be the fastest transportation they had ever had (beating cart-horses by miles) he had reached the Kakariko Village in a lesser estimated time. Glancing around the place, the ring of ash harsher than he had seen the time he got his Hookshot, Link suspected that meant the Fire Temple had activated.  
  
"N-navi, it looks more active."  
  
"Indeed, when we were on the road it wasn't this bad, it looks as though it would overflow." Not as bad as the other night, though, that was one of the weirdest scenes that the duo had ever hoped to go through and conquer. Nothing dangerous was knocking at their front door; it had something to do a day and a half after leaving the unfortunate Kokiiri. The children (whom thought Link was dead) had warned him of the Forest Medallion, they said that it possessed the power of Farore. Link doubted this to be a rumor--even though it was just after his encounter with the legendary event he had dubbed the 'Poe Gun Incident'. He didn't doubt the Goddess of Farore was around--or the rest of them--he just thought the idea of them being stored in a medallion was silly.  
  
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It was the middle of the day, when he had first laid eyes on the medallion for the first time, each time doing it before caused painful memories to swell. With Saria gone he only had one person to fight for, he was stuck down to just fighting for Navi (since he wasn't doing this for himself.) Zelda wasn't even part of it anymore, she could be dead or alive for all the boy knew, and he sure as hell wasn't doing this for Hyrule. A land he wasn't even raised in, he wasn't doing it for the forest, either (even though he claimed he was avenging the Deku Tree's death.) This Hero of Time was doing it for his very own Heroine of Time, the girl that helped him all through these little dangers of his.  
  
While walking around the road of Hyrule, something had keened his senses; there was some sort of presence in the air, something that was neutral. A power that was not like Zelda's, nor was it like the idiot Ganondorf's, if he had to guess it might have been a power similar to his own. Spinning around, still positioned on Epona, he knew he wasn't wrong when she started to back up from the direction she was going. Grunting, he reached for the Blade of Evil's bane, stretching his vision and hearing to visualize and specialize what was coming. Though as he searched around, now a good distance from the visualization, a voice rang out in his head-- technically his hat.  
  
"Link, the air! Jump to the right" Navi zipped from his head with panic plastered on her face, the fairie had obviously been asleep during these own little troubles. How she wished her young partner could sleep with him (with Epona now, he did sleep when the day was going on, moving at a slow speed. Though now he had been up and about, letting the fairie just snooze off since they were about a day's way or so to Kakariko. When Epona had started backing up was when Navi awoke, her dreams of him interrupted as a nightmare came through there. It wasn't like a regular dream, it was some sort of precognition, and a warning from the heaven's that something was headed this way.  
  
"The air?" Staring up at the sky, all he saw was that the pretty clouds were starting to swirl, though not in a very malevolent manner at all. No, they would be changing if something evil was coming, not able to itch that there was something around here, though not in the air. All the air was getting to her head; they had been walking along the larger hills of the Hyrule World, so that could have been it. She must have had some sort of nightmare to tell a story like that--not like their old nightmares, these were the ones you had occasionally. With those thoughts pushed aside, he staring at the clouds when something did emerge from them (and what a something it was.)  
  
Not even able to get a quick look at it, something slammed into him and threw him across the ground, making him slide across and right into a rock. Rolling as fast as he could, Link tried to stop himself (Navi crying out as he ran along the hills) knowing his only way was to slam into a rock. A grunt of pain escaped his lips, knowing it wasn't Navi, but whoever it was sure had saved his life because where he stood was something burying into the ground. Glancing at the creature, it reminded him of the tales that he read as a little child--about the giant lizards that were killed by knights. Throwing himself up, ignoring the pain in his sides, Link spun around only to find the true eyes (or single eye) of red staring down at him.  
  
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"Shiek, you saved him!" Navi let out a cry of passion, slamming into the boy, who just stepped aside with his arms crossed around his muscular chest. When the fairie slammed into the air, she paid no heed to the boy and made her way over to the one she wanted to hug all up. There she was accepted into a warmed embrace, the couple hearing a couple of gagging noises from the lonely, older boy. She thought it was sad he had no companion to share his feelings with, though when you are a lone Shiekah, you really don't have friends. If they were anything like the legendary Shinobi, then they weren't that friendly, though the ancient race had protected the Hylians before.  
  
"Yea, yea.that thing is gone, for the time being." He spoke, his claws bearing a bit of blood upon them, fresh from maybe knocking a few scales off of that humming beast. Wiping the blood from his claws, Shiek stared over at the boy, checking to see if he had any bruises or cuts from his own distance. The thing towered over one hundred feet tall, plaited in scales so much that they reminded the couple of the former Dodongo King. Though this thing was far from that, this creature had no arms of legs, a horn so long on its head that it could drill through the earth's crust itself. When it was examined, it didn't match the dragons from the legends; it didn't match those beautiful beasts to be compared to this clown, nah.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Link sat himself up and looked over at the boy, whom had sat himself down upon a rock, proceeding to clean the guts off now.  
  
"A Genji Dragon, it's one of Ganondorf's toys, a creation of his." Shiek spoke so clearly, as if he knew so much, which didn't bode too well with the young fairie, she was easily examining the boy for data.  
  
"Genji, eh? So are there more?"  
  
"It was a prototype.made just for you." He grinned on the last part, not that of a happy man, nor the grin of a man with anguish for Link, it was a sad and pitiful smirk.  
  
Gulping down the last part, the boy stared off to the side and trying to sense if the creature was headed back for a second try at him. Feeling not even the neutral presence now, the boy just shrugged a simple shoulder and stared at him, the bruise of Link's starting to ache. Even as much as it hurt, he could show no pain infront of the messenger, which would prove to him that he was meant for the title. Maybe Shiek wanted to be the Hero of Time; he'd gladly hand it to him if that stupid Triforce piece weren't latched to his hand. What's more, the thing had granted Ganon some power to control everything; while he had just been handed the sword of evil's bane and one medallion.  
  
"Don't worry--it's a prototype, it won't be hard--if we train."  
  
"No, thanks, we train very well without your help." Navi cut him off before he had the chance to get the warrior's spirit in his eyes, the young boy just standing with slumped shoulders. He couldn't have been much older than Link (though who knew with him wearing that masks) although he was older than Link. That much was apparent, and even if a person were older than ten they would have more maturity than the young boy would trapped in the larger body. Link had surprised Navi, he was starting to gain some maturity, and he was actually starting to act a little of his own new age. Though that would make him a full-fledged Kokiiri when they returned to the- --her voice was cut off when she remembered the painful truth, staring off to the side in depression.  
  
"I don't think so, little fairie. You need my training; I have orders from your former sensei, Impa. You need to be able to handle yourselves, though this training won't be as long as hers."  
  
"Whew, then it was easier." That was a relief, Link was getting used to the easy life and the last thing he wanted was someone telling him what to do. Being an adult had its qualities, you weren't teased since he was so hand-some looking and also he could reach areas that were untouchable before. The place had changed; he was now a Hylian, one who would grow up even if he did stay in the tree-house all of his wife. Unless he was allowed to stay small by the new Deku Tree (whenever the sprout would pick up in the time change, maybe a year from then.) Though it was different between the two of them, sure they still loved each other, the bond was sort of wearing off as if they weren't supposed to be meant together forever.  
  
"..I didn't say that either, I just won't be taking breaks like your former sensei. I am going to train you for a day and a half, though you won't learn any new magic powers or anything. When you were young you were taught some martial arts, but the damned old fool erased them and put only sword-skill in your memory. Now we are going to teach some of them, none of my Shiekah skills, just some quick skills in the art of fighting. Ohh, and your medallions."  
  
"Medallions? They do something?" Navi blurted out, sitting on top of her partner's head, staring down at the Shiekah with those two sets of eyes placed there.  
  
"He didn't even tell you? Goddess." Shiek raised his hand to the heavens, said something in the old Shiekah language, before slapping his own forehead in misery. "You are the Hero of Time, but the Hero just doesn't rely on his own power, he is just a normal human being. You are stronger than most humans are, though, I will give you credit for that sort of thing, and they have trained you right. Have you even used any weird powers, aside the ones the fairies taught you?"  
  
"How did you know about the fairi--" Shiek cut him off by raising a finger to his lips--or the place under the cloth--and blew on them as softly as he could, a little secret.  
  
Navi was the one who spoke up. "Yea, he has done it many times, like when he was young he called up the powers of Naryu to create an attack, combine the powers to creature some sort of flying disc attack. Also against the Poe's we combine our powers with Din and Farore, but what does that have to do with the medallions."  
  
"I'm getting to it.the medallions made you strong, you and Link?"  
  
"Yea, we got faster and everything, did it every time we got a Spiritual Stone." She stated matter-of-factly as the young Hero of Time sat down against one of the hills, his horse wondering off in direction. He didn't mind them talking, though he was almost like a child with a longer attention span which he wasn't that grateful for. Speaking of the stones really made him think of something, a memory that he couldn't remember, though it was something that happened as an adult. Maybe it was at the farm, maybe it was on the way to the farm, although he did remember that some sort of rock-powers had been used there. It killed some sort of monsters with swords and kept them at bay, keeping them from hurting someone, Navi wasn't in this flashback.  
  
"The farm, I used Terra magic!" Both of them spun around, their faces breaking out into a whist of concern for the boy, a word that he really shouldn't have known. Terra was a word that was in Shiekian language, a word that meant the earth, or the mother that nurtured the earth to life. In this case it was the young Goddess of Courage, Farore, the one that he had so recently received a medallion from only a few days ago. Only problem was that back then he hadn't had the Forest Medallion, all he had back then was he and the stupid Light jewel. Well, he could have learned the word (Navi knew it from a few studies of the books in Kakariko), though that had been so long she was even surprised she remembered the old term.  
  
"Terra--earth?" Shiek spoke out, his hands clasped in his lap, the land still quiet from all the old commotion; it was like it never happened, except the giant hole.  
  
"Yea, I called some quick-sand down and it sucked these two guys into the earth, didn't affect me."  
  
"The farm.Lon Lon Ranch? Where you must have gotten this mare?"  
  
"Yup, Epona." Link let out a small chuckle and just as he did, he was touched with a nose between his legs, thrown up into the air and landing on Epona's back.  
  
"Link, are you sure.where was I?" Navi spoke up as the young Shiekah chuckled at the horses antics, something he had never seen in a horse-- friendship.  
  
"You were getting Malon, remember right before we raced horses." He hated to say it was right before he butchered Ingo's true form and took care of the evil spirit that had dwelled within, it was just too sad.  
  
Navi nodded, and turned towards Shiek, who had conveniently opened up his little satchel and brought out a chart and a stand, putting them up. When he opened it up for the two of them to see, the thing had all six medallions in the order he wanted to collect them: light, forest, fire, water, shadow, and spirit. Glancing up at the boy now, he pointed to chart, starting from where the light medallion was and going down the long list of them. Some sort of history lesson, something that the Hero of Time would need to know, so that was what he would do, listen to Shiek. He knew more about this, and at one time or another he did wish that the boy was the Hero of Time, he was a much better fighter than Link could ever be, that was for certain.  
  
"Alright you received the forest and light medallions, right?" Not even waiting for the two of them, he confirmed by the one around his neck and being able to sense the other one on him. "The Light medallion activates when all six are put together, but the other six can work on their own, not that the light can't turn on its own. The Light can heal some people that have been corrupted by evil."  
  
"That means Ingo could have!" The boy cried out in horror, afraid that he had made the ultimate mistake of killing the man, he could have healed him with the medallion. Sulking down, the young boy began to let out a few sniffles, Navi patting him on the back until he was hit on the side of the head. Spinning around to confront Navi, she was leaning on him with stars literally on her head also, the Shiekah pointing to the chart and shaking his head. He wasn't paying attention so he would be punished; though Link thought mourning over a death was something that could be excused. Glancing at his fairies' conditions, he patted the bump on her head before feeling his own and glancing back to the Shinobi who seemed to have softened up.  
  
"It can heal some people, Ingo was too far gone, if it was activated by all six then it would of, but that was too dangerous, you did the right thing." Relieving some air, he wondered how Shiek knew of the whole incident, maybe he was trailing them and too shy to join the group.  
  
Shiek was about to speak when he, glanced up from his spot from the rock and placing eyes on the boy, his thoughts rushed away from there and returned back to trying to speak. Nothing could reveal him from his mission; the mission was what was brought to the young man in a dream, and a dream from someone that he didn't know. That wasn't entirely true, though--it was as if this person in the dream was really close, as if they had met in another lifetime or something. Never able to see the maiden's face, she had matching hair as him and always told him to guide the Hero of Time through the sage temples, something Shiek wouldn't do. He would observe, do it the way that he had always done it, that girl was out of her mind if she expected this much of the boy.  
  
"Shiek?" Link spoke out; having yelled it from where he sat the man a few good feet away from him, how easily it was to distract him from the world.  
  
"Hm? Oh, the medallions. Well this isn't from experience--I have never seen the medallions before until now, but I have heard from the legends that each of them gives you the power according to the race and Goddess. Like with Fire you maybe able to control fire, it with water and forest, though when you get to the other two if gets even more challenging. The order you are following the temples is the wisest, the most difficult being the Spirit Temple going down from they're to the Forest Temple."  
  
"The Forest was hard! I almost died!" Sputtered out Link in a fury of rage, how dare he say that he had chosen the bad part of the temples, an easy one that it was! Mustering out a growl, the boy held back his own feelings as he glanced to the fairie, seeing that her face had paled from Shiek's news. Link had thought that maybe they had gotten the hardest temple and it would be smooth sailing from here--which didn't seem to be the case. It was as if the Goddesses wanted him to lose, laugh at that had happened and watch as the Gerudo killed the world. Now he would follow the same order as before (since he got even stronger each temple) hoping the jewel helped him in the rivaled Fire palace.  
  
"Well then you need training, young hero." Shiek just shrugged a simple shoulder and began to retell the story of the Goddesses for the young boy and his fairie--refreshing their memories. Not that they needed to be retold the story, he was so boring in this day and age that every Hylian schoolboy must have known the legend. Not a legend anymore, the fable about the Hero of Time was in progress--this was now in the act of being over and if it was all was doomed. Glad that some people hadn't given up hope, it actually strengthened his heart, gave him the courage to push on for those innocents who had given their lives. All for some stupid kingdom, a place he didn't even like that much, though he guessed he would do the same for his own home in the Kokiiri Forest.  
  
"What's this war called, Shiek?" Navi spoke up, the young boy having pulled down the map and setting up a new one just as the finished story had ended itself.  
  
"The Imprisoning War is what they shall call it, right now there is no official name, though I think that is a rightful name for such an era. Hopefully this land will heal and be restored in just a few months-- hopefully before all the races die and only we are the ones who remain." A small grim mark was placed upon his face, the boy keeping his cool composure and keeping on with the explanation, this time different. Instead of explaining about the Triforce and what happened to the user who touched it, he went into detail at what the hell that Triforce did. This was exciting, something that Link had wanted to hear since he had heard of the Triforce, but since no one had even laid hands on it then it was unknown. Listening eagerly, his fairie perched right at his side, Shiek asked if he wanted to know about this secret (not even asking about the legend) the Time hero agreeing.  
  
First he explained the piece that was the most important, the piece that everyone wanted to know about (even the Hero and his fairie.) Talking about the Power piece, he explained that the user would be immortal forever, the Master Sword couldn't kill except this person. All other weapons were futile against it; also the person had gained the abilities to use the Triforce of Power to transform--though he didn't say how he knew. Along with that, the appearance of the person would change deeply; he would become monstrous looking, even if he were handsome the day he touched it. Used for good and evil, usually this piece was inhabited by the ones that were hungry with power, ones who didn't want peace or glory that the Goddesses had wanted so long ago.  
  
Amazed at the powers of them, Link and Navi kept their patience while the boy went on with another tale, this one about his own piece. Possessing the Triforce of Courage meant that he wasn't good or bad in these situations--his natural look in all prospects of life. This owner of the piece was considered the Hero of Time and the only one that could swing the Master Sword without it breaking into tiny bits. Also he was able to call upon certain courage from within, and if someone cared about them then the user could use their courage in his own to power his vitality. Along with that, the Farore Powers that he was supposed to have gained from the Forest Medallion were more powerful than the other medallion powers. It wasn't that much to process, slipping the pierce off and catching the resonating feeling of it, letting Navi touch and feel its warmth.  
  
Shiek seemed to startle a little, as if he was afraid of the piece and pulled his hands behind his back and stared on with those cold eyes. It was sad how he looked there, no friend at all and with no intention to make any--it just saddened the Hylian how the man acted. If asked to join the band, the boy would have simply nodded his head and said that he was welcome to this place anytime he needed. A naïve decision, he didn't even bother asking for he knew the older boy would never take him up on the offer--Shiek wasn't like that. Shiek was the sort of person who would forever be burned in your mind, not as a friend or an enemy, but as a central core in every conflict.  
  
Regaining his composure, he pushed the chart away back into his satchel and began to explain the powers from the third and final piece of the Triforce. Wisdom granted the person vast knowledge, not caring on the age of the person and making that one the wisest in the land. As the Wisdom Holder could make magic the strongest it could ever be, the person could also heal anyone that they wanted too and even summon some weird powers. Shiek didn't go into detail of these powers, he just said that her magical abilities were rivaled by the Ganondorf's own evil powers. Holy magic the Wisdom could use, while the intentionally evil Power could take and summon the dark graves for souls and other evil manna. As good as the Wisdom user was, the Courage was straight in the center of all the arguments, and the Power on the far side of them, wandering in evil.  
  
"Wow.how do you know so much?" Link pondered out at the boy, whom was packing his stuff up now, taking out a simple harp that he had used two times before.  
  
"I can't let that information out to you, Hero, but I have my ways of getting secrets from that idiot." Smirking, he just shrugged a shoulder, never worrying about what his actions could bring to him in the events that were next. Ganondorf never spied on him; he was trusted too much since the man didn't know much about Shiekah, it was weird to be trusted by the King of Evil. Shivering from that, he reached for his harp and began to strum it up, the boy thinking in the back of his mind for something. As he thought, he saw that the boy was picking himself up and getting ready to go, they had been talking the entire day away. Now the sun setting over the horizon, there was no time in staying here--he would train them, just not where the hole was, but first a song.  
  
"Take out your ocarina, hero." When he reached for his side pack and snatched out the one from before (not the Ocarina of Time) Shiek just slapped his head and spoke out. "No, that one can't transport to specific areas, that one maybe magic, but it isn't as powerful as the one that you were given back then."  
  
Navi was weary about how he knew so much, she still didn't trust him and if Link invited him to join them, then the girl was going to have to slap some sense in him. Shiek was a very dangerous fellow, he couldn't be trusted with anyone's life, and now he wanted to train the two in the arts. He wished he would do it now and go, but as they took out the instruments, she got the feeling that he wasn't as bad as he seemed. Maybe a tough-guy attitude, the man could have possibly been hiding the fact that his parents were killed during this new war and out for revenge. He could be pretending to be a loyal minion of Ganon, then again he could have just been a minion that was sent to dispose of the Hero at night.  
  
No bad thoughts came from Link as he simply nodded and took out the new stationary of his, the pencil and the Ocarina of Time. What he did now was practice on the Faire Ocarina and then go to work playing on the glass one every now and then. That was the best way to honour Saria's memory (even though she wasn't dead) and keeps his spirits from sinking without the thoughts of her being lost. Pushing the ocarina deeper against the lips, he blew in a beautiful tune, one that he used to practice and show to the boy he was getting better. Approved with a grin, the hero gave a small thumb' up sign and proceeded to watch the Shinobi play his instrument for the boy.  
  
"This is another warping song, the Bolero of Fire. Do not play this, though, after I've taught it to you. It will transport you down to the center of the volcano and there you would suffocate--the Fire Temple."  
  
"How will we survive, then, Shiek!" Navi literally screamed out, seeing that something was wrong and he was just trying to trick them, though his lone eye showed her otherwise.  
  
"You can get a tunic inside the Goron City, it is used to reflect off smoke and makes you breath in smoke without the fear of dying, plus you are a little immune to fire."  
  
"A little?" Link pondered.  
  
"Oh, it still hurts, believe me it will still hurt, though not as bad and not as much aftereffects, now listen closely." Strumming the harp one last time, the Bolero of Fire was played out with simple beauty, the Shiek having been a fighter and a master of the Harp. With that said, he played out the tune of fire, not a poetically bad song, but one that seemed to have its liveliness and its somber mood. When at last he was done, he reached for the paper and jotted down the notes, handing them back to the younger boy to practice. A full twenty minutes went by, Shiek watching the ground and waiting that the thing did not come back, when finally he let out a small cry of pleasure. Turning his head to see it, the boy caught the whole tune of it, the first time that he had played it, so there hadn't been the pressure of disappearing.  
  
"Good going, Link, that's it!"  
  
"Thanks, Shiek." He smiled a little; his smile knocked off when Shiek's eyes turned into a fearful gaze, the boy jumping off the rock he stood on when just something blurred right where the spot had been. Only a few feet away, Link was thrown back in aghast, throwing his ocarina and tune sheet back inside his satchel at the other warrior had something ready for action. Three Shurikens were jabbed inside of the monster, the one from a few hours ago that had visited the center of the earth and come back for his dinner. This monster was back for more, the claws of Shiek already scraping the sound, and something was cast with a few whisperings, keeping the thing from escaping. No it wasn't paralyzed; the creature simply couldn't go back into the ground, hard rock in the way of the soft grass (so hard he couldn't drill it.)  
  
"Shiek, his hide it too hard, what do I do?" He screamed out between the screams of the monster that was being jabbed with the Shurikens, each of them bouncing off. It had somehow curled into a protective ball; a way of penetrating the beast seemed to be as possible as winning this battle. Just taking a good hard look at the monster, he knew the Master Sword or any energy was not going to sink inside the core. How he knew was because his fairie was firing shots of paralysis and the regular Ki shots at it with the desperation disappearing in her eyes. Grunting in pain, he felt a tingling around his neck, something seeming to simulate and shake around the region of his neck.  
  
"Link! Saria's medallion is reacting!" Even Shiek heard this, holding the beast down with this new summon in action and glancing at the medallion with eyes wide. Navi had spoke just then, her being quiet within the first few hours and not knowing why, she thought it may have had to do with Link's new past. It was futile to resist it, though she couldn't help but feel a little trapped in this position, the way that he would eventually grow this tall (and older.) Not even thinking these thoughts anymore, she just screamed out to her love that the medallion was starting to resonate some green power. Maybe the powers that the medallions gave, they were still on a plain--which wasn't the forest--though it was part of the natural environment that Farore had created all those millennia ago.  
  
"Link, the Forest Sage's medallion, use it!" Shiek screamed out in pain, the energy was throwing out, beginning to weaken as the thing thrashed and hit against the small box he had enclosed it into.  
  
"But how!"  
  
"I don't know, you are the Hero of Time!" The Shiekah just shrugged a shoulder and gave off a small smirk, the young boy returning the smirk with one of his own, and a quite grin. Grabbing the medallion, he began to speak in Kokiirish, some of the language he didn't know and other words that he and Navi heard. With this spoke, he called upon the Goddess of Farore just as the box broke on the un-powered Shiek and the thing jumping right at him. When he screamed out in pain from the medallion, not even hearing what happened to Shiek, the scene seemed to disappear, the entire place brightening up. Closing his eyes from the light, hands covering out the shining beams, he opened them up only to be staring down into the eyes of a green pair.  
  
Before he could talk or answer it, the eyes revealed a beautiful green- haired woman inside of a long robe of a silky white, the lady whispering a few words before kissing him. When the kiss hit, the boy's eyes brightened again, accepting the light this time and reappearing back on the plain of reality he existed from. Staring at the scene, he saw that Shiek was no where in sight, Navi right on his shoulder and all the ground around disrupted. Yes, the land was all broken up as if an earthquake had hit; though this was no earthquake, for large green tentacles had reached out of the earth. They were wrapped around the giant dragon, the thing having been impaled and smashed out so many times that it was just gruesome, an awful sight.  
  
There was when a note hit him on the head, catching the letter died to a small pebble and reading it, his thoughts reassuring that it was from Shiek. He said that maybe their training should be delayed, with powers like those, he didn't need the martial arts as bad as he thought. The note said that maybe when he got the tunic they would train some, not as long as he said, but a refresher course from his younger years. Grinning, he tore up the note and pushed away from the bloody scene, not able to wake Navi from her sleep to ask what had happened. So sad that this had to end this way, the same way as some of his other battles had ended, with him unconscious and out of commission.  
  
Epona was just a mile away from the wreckage, almost afraid to pick him up and carry him up the way he wanted to go; maybe the thing was scared? As he took a few minutes to get reacquainted and play her song, the horse finally did the move where her nose was between his legs and threw him up. Lying down on his back, the night sky appearing as the last of the sun had disappeared from view, he couldn't help wonder what Saria had given him. Was it a gift of some sort, or maybe it was a curse that he had inherited, a curse that had no cure except the sweet sound of death. Now with the long road ahead of him, Link wasn't thinking about death anymore, he wasn't thinking about anything, all he did was kiss his fairie and horse goodnight (passing out within a few seconds later.)  
  
--------------------  
  
Navi never told Link of what happened, at first she didn't speak of it as they rode the mare down towards the village of Kakariko, not even mentioning a thing. Then Link asked her if anything had happened while he was passed out--he had told her that he didn't remember anything about the medallion. Navi honestly didn't like to lie to him; she hated being untruthful to Link, although she didn't mind lying to get by other people. For a few minutes she thought of what she was going to tell him, her eyes wondered down towards the ground and whispered out softly. There she said that she didn't know the light was so bright that everything had happened too quickly for her to bat an eye at.  
  
Link just shrugged a shoulder and said the same thing had happened to him, though in his case he didn't even remember the green light. Smiling towards her, he kept on at his pace, not letting it bother him in the least- -whatever it was, he wasn't supposed to know of it. Oh, if he knew he would have spent a few more days crying the cruelty that were spent on that dragon was so sad that Navi had cried about it nights later. Nothing deserved what happened to that creature, no matter how bad someone was; there wasn't any right to do it to the thing. Of course Navi knew that the boy had no control over what happened, so there was no guilt held towards him, just for the holy beings above.  
  
With that the days rolled on and finally they did reach the village, the village a repetition of what had happened all those years ago--just the same. Since this was the first time to see the town in seven years, she just wondered around with the boy, as he walked over towards a new building. This building was somewhat of a tavern, a large guy blocking the entrance, his muscles sort of a barrier for little kids whom wanted to slip in. In his regular state, Link couldn't have gotten inside the place; even now they weren't sure if he was old enough to get inside. Last time he hadn't visited the place, just passed it on while he was headed to get the Hookshot, this time was different, though.  
  
"Why are we headed to the tavern, Link?' Navi spoke with concern in her face, he may have been the Hero of Time, but that didn't mean she had no worries about him, she would always feel that.  
  
"Mm, we need to find that tunic, remember?" Walking up to the burley man, who just sneered at him with those arms crossed tighter (it seemed muscles meant more to this man than skill.  
  
"You think you are getting inside?" When the boy nodded his head, a smile placed upon his lips to confirm the actions, the man just burst into a stream of harsh guffaws. Brooding about six feet, four inches tall, he wasn't going to be provoked by a little shrimp that may have had muscles, but not enough to intimidate him. Standing bare-chested with a small vest on his body that was already to small for him, from the looks of it, the muscles showing abroad. Pair of dark turban-like pants was on his legs as the bald-headed man sprouted quite a bit of facial hair on him, showing the years. While Link stood aside with his blood boiling, the man raised a fist and threw it forward at the boy, going to knock him out for his own good.  
  
The force would have knocked the Hero of Time out if he didn't catch it coming out at him, and throwing himself backwards, reaching for the blade. Before the man could muster even a cry, the sword was pressed against the rim of his throat, getting ready to strike out in there. Link was taller now, he wanted more respect that he had ever gotten, and it was only natural he wouldn't take shit given out to him. Navi just fluttered at his side, her arms crossed with the veil off revealing as if she was some sort of female sidekick of his. Smiling at the man with that same childish grin, he cocked his head to the left and spoke with those words slithering down his tongue. "A table?"  
  
"O-of course, sir!" The green pants were very bright, but around the crotch area they suddenly faded a dark black that drizzled all the way down to his legs. Letting the man who pissed his pants go, Link sheathed the sword back inside of the scabbard and just stared at him, hands crossed. Before the man could run away, before he could go and grab something to strike the hero, the boy had him by the throat, pressing him against the wall. Well, his intimidation of small muscles was forever gone, when a kid could lift him up and almost kill him with that power he possessed. Just staring down into the blue eyes with his own black ones shivering, the man's pants got hotter and hotter around there.  
  
"I don't need a room, forget it, I just need some information."  
  
"O-of course, whatever about?" He chuckled a little nervously, taking his eyes off and staring down at the partner on his shoulder, a pretty little thing that could be held for some devious plots.  
  
"Ganondorf." Oh, if his pants were darkened now, then they were pitch black when he heard the name of Ganondorf, spinning in all directions before turning to the boy. Yanking himself free, he nodded a quick shoulder and sped forward, not trying to lose the boy, but leading him towards the destination. Lose him he wouldn't, for Link was right behind him, letting the man run until he reached a small brown shack, one that looked just a normal toilet. Punching on the small moon that stood for the symbol, the thing cracked back to reveal a small hole that was there for them. As he stepped inside, the man nodded at the boy for him to follow him, even though he hadn't given the latest content of it.  
  
"Should we go?" He spoke with a little nervousness in his voice, he wasn't afraid of the nasty man, but he was guttered about this new place.  
  
"Yes, they could be a resistance group." It was true that around this time there were bound to be people who would want to resist Ganondorf some that would be crushed. Though without resistance they would always have to give into the tyrannical maniac, they would always have to deal with it. No one thought the hero was coming, they knew the legends of the past, though after seven years who'd have thought his ass would show. Chuckling at the though, the girl spun towards the boy and gave a quick nod at him, showing that she was ready to do this. If it turned out to be something bad, she would accept the penalty and take whatever the consequences with the full force intact.  
  
"Really? Wow, I wondered when we'd see one." Rauru had said something about one, hadn't he? I mean it was only a few weeks ago, but for some reason Link had the hardest time trying to remember, maybe it was the time inside the Chamber of Sages. He guessed that time was different down there- -not different, but maybe memories could be lost down there easier than above. That made him feel weak, hoping he didn't lose any of the memories from when he was a child (able to capture them right at this moment.) Rampaging inside his heart had ceased, him nodding at his fairie and sliding down the hole for a few feet, clasping a ladder there. The climb was longer than he expected, the boy moving down the ladder for at least thirty minutes before it opened up into a larger area.  
  
Spreading out in the room, it went around to be a fifty feet room that was made entirely out of metal, machines of all sorts were spread around. Some of them were so ancient that he couldn't have expected them to be here, but the rest of them were of machines that had been invented in the past centuries. All around him were people in desks, their noses pressed in books while a lone man sat at the top of the place, his arms crossed over his chest. Link nearly fainted when he realized the burly man from before was looking out at the desk and reciting verses, things in different languages. Landing off of the ladder the last five feet, a small echo entered the metal room, the eyes from the desk turning up and glaring down at him with some mixed emotions.  
  
"Link.I think this is a bad time." She chuckled nervously, her thoughts pushed away when Link pulled out his sword for battle, the people not crying out in terror. All of a sudden their voices erupted in joy, the squeals from the men and women Hylian all crying out for joy seemed too much for the boy. Dropping the sword from the pain of the squeals, someone leapt forward and caught the sword so it wouldn't be hurt, the place seeming to quiet down when they realized what they did. As the person had his sword, he looked down and peered into the eyes of a young child--maybe the same age he would be if he hadn't grown up. A little girl with beautiful brunette hair, she was glancing up at him with those green eyes sparkling up in the sudden joy of this event.  
  
"Welcome to our home, Hero of Time!" The little girl squealed out in joy, handling the heavy sword, as if it were no big deal, Link would have had a problem holding the Master Sword. Though she was just holding it by the held and the middle of the blade, since it was double-edged she could only hold it like this. Placing the sword back into his hands, the boy examined the small little girl, she dressed in the oddest article of clothing he had laid eyes on. She was wearing a tunic just like his, though it was a red colour, something of a nice suit it had on, and it was in a dress like his was. Others around her weren't dressed the same, they all wore beautiful white robes that glistened all down their backs, holy insignias put on all of their clothes in different manners.  
  
"Y.you know who I am?" Scratching his head, he observed the robes of theirs, finding Triforce symbols, and all sorts of signals he hadn't seen before.  
  
"Yes, we know who you are, and we know of your fairie. Though we don't know you, we know who you are--and that you carry the Sword of Evil's Bane." Grinning up at him, she sprinted away from the boy and over at the top of the platform, hiding before the bald-headed man from before. His attire had changed from the rough-customer routine to that of the robes, his whitest of them and holding a giant Triforce on the top and bottom. Maybe this was some sort of cult, was what Link's mind rumbled on, as he stared back at his fairie to converse behind their ears. While they spoke, the people intentionally not listening, they approached him with ladies taking all of his materials off, leaving him bare except the white dress shirt on him. Even the Master Sword was gone, though he let them accept it, not trusting these people, but not having a choice since the hole had sealed out their exit.  
  
"Navi, what do you think?"  
  
"I dunno, this looks like some sort of Triforce cult, resistance groups are supposed to be of military groups, these people seem like normal Hylians." It was weird, but she had expected to see some ex-soldiers and knights that were just raving for battle, that would test their skills. Yea, not that she wanted that, these people were nice and even had children around here, maybe learning the ways of the Triforce. They might be useful to tell them of the Triforce, stuff that had been hidden from the public, but they were just regular people. Wasn't like they were special or anything, that's not what she thought, her mind power was just a little confused in this situation. Before she could answer anymore, her voice was knocked out of contact by another, this the voice of the man from the bar that had been so been before.  
  
"No, young fairie, we are not a cult. My and my brethren are from the Holy Circle of Hyrule."  
  
"Circle of Hyrule, what's that?" Link spoke out loud, taking a seat that a chair had been given to him, it was a nice red chair that was made of wood, but cushions sown into it.  
  
"That, my fair lad, is the section of Hyrule Castle that was entrusted to guard the Triforce. You didn't think we didn't know that one day an evil man would appear, we have the power of dreams like the Princess of Zelda, we foresaw this but the king was too foolish to see what was coming. There he met his demise in the war we have named the Imprisoning War." With a deep sigh of sadness entering his voice, he sat down in a similar chair like Link's, this one posted at a podium he had been teaching at.  
  
"So what do you all do here?" This was Navi, she had come to rest on the red cushion of the couch, and they weren't that far away from the man, only about twenty feet, and the room very long across.  
  
"We have been searching for the past seven years for the Hero of Time." This wasn't the man who spoke, but the feminine voice of the little girl who had caught their sword, sitting up on the man's lap. From the adventurer's guess she had to be the daughter of the man, no one else would dare sit up on what seemed to be the leader. She was sitting on his lap and turned around to face the man, giving him a kiss on the cheek before turning back to the group, looking wise beyond her years. As they sat here, they couldn't help but wonder that she was some sort of leader--maybe the man some sort of figurehead around here. Who would respect a little girl, I mean usually people that were small got no respect--Link knew this from the bad experiences as a kid.  
  
"Well---I've been asleep." Scratching the back of his head nervously, the boy stared over at the group who just stared at him in amazement and confusion.  
  
"What do you mean--asleep!" Shock went all around as he shrugged a shoulder, staring off to the sides with his eyes diverting in some different directions of them. It was so weird to do this, but he thought that maybe these people were nice and that they wouldn't spoil the secrets to Ganondorf. Some seemed to be repelled by this answer, it was a stupid one, and though Link thought that maybe he could trust these people. Navi just slapped her face; it was a real good way to get off a conversation with these people, people who had been maimed for a person. Now he had appeared and had admitted he had been asleep this whole time, she really thought that riots were going to break out soon.  
  
"Wait, let me explain! Link was asleep, and so was I, he was too young to be the Hero of Time, so he was put asleep so he could grow and we just woke up a week ago." Navi tried her best to calm them down; a few of them were quieter than before, others not really believing the small fairy's story, asking for proof.  
  
"Proof? I have your proof." Link was getting sick of these people; first they started to blame him for his sleep, now they doubt that he was the Hero of Time. Reaching for the medallion around his neck, he held the Forest Medallion high in the air, the place seeming to rumble along with his emotions. All of a sudden, a tree burst out through the metal--this single thing penetrating through several hundred meters of hard-core steel. Luckily there was no one around that area, no machinery either so all it did was scare the hell out of everyone, proving himself. With a slip of the wrist, he revealed the Light Medallion, not knowing how to use it since it wasn't activated, so he just put that one back in. "Wow, you did that on purpose?" Navi inquired.  
  
"N-no, I guess it reacts to my emotions." Chuckling, the next sound heard were more cheers, them yelling out that he was truly the Hero of Time, that no other tests were needed. The reason he had the Forest was it was still around his neck, the Light had been slipped out of his side pack when they came for it, keeping it in the palm of his gloves. Pulling the gloves off, and storing the Light Medallion to the chain with the Forest, he pointed his hand towards them, the one with the Triforce. Gasps and cries of joy entered their vision, all the people falling to their knees except the little girl; she just sat on top of that platform and stared. All suspicion of her being the leader of this was shown, the people daring not to take another step towards the Triforce holder, though the girl making her way towards his chair.  
  
"So, you are the Hero of Time." She gave a small curtsy bow and stared up at his face, the delicate figure of hers showing her true personality, she was so wise.  
  
"Do you have the Triforce of Wisdom?" Navi and Link blurted out, it was apparent that they both felt the same vibe about her, she had this weird vibration on her aura. Unfortunately, the girl revealed her bare hands to show that she didn't have the Wisdom piece, it would have been such a great thing. Two pieces against one was great, even though from Shiek's teachings he knew that the user was on the side of good, never betraying. He would have liked to maybe borrow some of the user's magical abilities, to be able to summon up some even more powerful spells. These people seemed to be more on technological-wise than anything else, they more intelligent that the normal Hylians were.  
  
"Unfortunately, I am not, hero, though I wish I had." Clasping her hands at her sides, she climbed up and sat upon his lap, the boy feeling a bit uncomfortable just in that under-shirt and pants. Nevertheless she just sat down in his lap like a child would and giggled sweetly, her dimples showing out the cutest flavor he had seen. Not even knowing her name yet, his hand went to her and started to stroke the brown hair in the sweetest fashion, the girl nuzzling the bare hand. The piece of Triforce pressed against her skin, the thing seeming to warm her up as a sigh of passion escaped her lips, pulling away from the piece. No matter how much she wanted to be near it, there was no time for that--this was the time to be more accordingly and speak.  
  
"Who are you, and what is that you are wearing?" He called out, his hands returning to his lap as the fairie just watched along with them, for some reason she felt no jealously around this girl, maybe it was because he was so larger than before.  
  
"My name is Kaci, and this is the legendary Kaen Vest. You will need it to get into Death Mountain, but unfortunately, I have only child-sizes, the adult ones were given to the Goron's back before this trouble started."  
  
"Oh, well I can go visit them, I am the Great Dodongo Buster." He gave out a chuckle of triumph, explaining how he defeated the Dodongo King those seven years ago, the girl frowning as he finished. There he wondered why she frowned, because before her eyes had been lit with excitement, loving the tales that he had told her. Just the Dodongo one, the other people also crowding around them and hearing the story of how a child could defeat a dinosaur king. It was a weird story, though with the Triforce of Courage embedded upon this boy, they would believe him if he said he could fly up and see the Goddesses. Finally when it had finished, he watched her face slump down in a bit of pity, staring to his fairie for help, though she just shrugged.  
  
"What's wrong, little girl?" Navi fluttered to her face, illuminating the barrier so that she cried out in pleasure and held the thing to her face, cheering her up.  
  
"The Gorons have died out--well, no let me rephrase that--the Gorons will die out. The evil Ganondorf has done something to them, I don't know what but he has done something evil to them, they have been captured and will be sacrificed as a warning to other races of those who disobey him." She just gave up trying to hold it in, bursting out in a stream of tears, the people around her also starting to moan in accordance.  
  
"My Goddess, not again!" Link slammed his fists on the sides of the chair, the little girl crying out in surprise and starting to lose her balance, only to be caught. The hero caught her with his open arms, an expression of that handsome-nature displayed towards the young girl (some concern.) He hadn't meant to drop her, though the deep was done and the fact of the matter was that he had her, a small grin caressing her lips. Looking over towards the other people was weird, they seemed so different than before, and it was like they didn't even care about her. All of a sudden they sprung up in surprise and surrounded the chair, saying there apologizes for not being there to rescue her.  
  
The people had so much weird qualities around them, Navi couldn't really place how they looked, and they weren't ghosts or anything. Though from the look of things they could have been dead, the expressions they had when the girl was falling was that of a dead substance. It was hard to place together, maybe some sort of magic was in order, but since it wasn't anything evil, there was no need to worry. Just staring back at the girl, she let Kaci hold her and cuddle with her so that they were warmed, the hero just smiling and stroking her. What a wonderful father he would have made, Navi's thoughts rambled on as she glanced the ways he played with the younger girl.  
  
--------------------  
  
The duo had appeared at Kakariko Village at about seven o'clock that morning and from then until that night they played every different game they could think of. All sorts of games they played, the young boy seeing no other people her age (or even his age) everyone was either in their late forties or below. Each of them had gone into designated rooms and didn't come back for hours at a time, each time she was thirsty or asked if he was and then called them down. It was weird, as if they were her servants (even her so-called father was being ordered around when lunch time came around.) No matter how freaky it got, they played on and all three of them were in the weirdest games that the two had ever come in contact with.  
  
Link and Kaci even got on this little machine with small pads on them where you danced and a score would pop up, you could win a prize. Being a terrible dancer, he managed to lose every time at that game, the girl letting him have one pity win, a giggle entering her lips. Admissibility was styled when she was happy, it was one of the only times he didn't mind being in this creepy place, the other times he seemed very freaked out. The food was good and all, there was just some sort of weird atmosphere about it, as if something had happened her a long time ago. He even mentioned once what she was doing when Ganondorf took here, her eyes seeming to mist up until he told her that it was time for another lesson on that weird dancing machine.  
  
Another little thing that the girl liked was chocolate; these were some strange candies that Link has never tasted before in his life. She had millions upon millions, saying that they produced him here, and that they were her favorite sweet in the entire world. Expecting it to taste like berries or something, he was surprised by the taste, loving it and sharing it with his little companion. Navi ate the chocolate and commented on it also, the three of them gobbling on the sweets as they spoke of his quest on the road. Yea, he told her about all he had been through, changing time periods and even the adventures he had had as a young Kokiiri child.  
  
The fun didn't even stop there, the hours seemed to pass from their eyes as they fooled around with the Master Sword, Kaci seeming to have sort of a knack for it. That was awesome, he had never met many girls that were good with a sword (Impa excluded), though she didn't use swords. He knew she could use them, although this was the first time that a little girl was so skilled with a sword--from second glance she seeming to be a few years older than his original form. Not able to hold up the Master Sword, he saw that she could use the Kokiiri Sword of Farore just as good as he could-- though no Ki lights or any special attacks. No, this girl wasn't gifted in that area, but fighting wasn't her best quality, it was her personality that he simply loved to be around.  
  
It was a different shine than when around Navi, this was a pure and innocent girl while Navi was just Navi, not that he hated her personality. Nah, he would change that girl for a thing, but he was so used to her that being with this new girl was a breath of fresh air. Although he did notice certain things saddened her, like when they passed a room that was bare, he asked about it and she said that someone there died a long time ago. That was sort of a tender subject, so they talked about other things, and even when they passed rooms people were in she would sigh in sadness. No more pondering on that, the fun went on for the hours until finally the sun that was seen from a special devise tolled it was ten o'clock at the nighttime.  
  
Visiting Anjou would have to wait until tomorrow; he would see her for a few hours then he was going to make his way to the Goron City. That was the best thing, he didn't want to waste anymore time with this place, though he would go and see Kaci before he left Kakariko. Staying there that night, he was bound in a room with the young girl, them sleeping in the same bed with the little fairie. A huge bed, it was, so nobody minded sharing the large bed with pink covers--Kaci saying that it was she bed and she loved people over. During the middle of the night, he heard some whimpers and scoots towards him, arms wrapping around his waist in an embrace. Accepting the embrace, the little girl was bound to him, softly sobbing in her sleep as that went for a few more minutes, sinking back into unconsciousness.  
  
After he was asleep, the boy was dressed back into his clothes by the young girl that had awoken the clothes cleaner, trimmer and bearing a small mark upon them. The mark was of a golden eagle with a small tear placed on its forehead, staring up to the left with the Triforce at its side. Whatever the mark was, she gladly sown it on the green part of his tunic, the thing seemed to be sort of different than regular cloth. It was weird that Hyrule was like this, though it wasn't the Hyrule that you knew this was the Hyrule that was hidden behind the doors. When at last that was done, his armour and everything was returned to him, hoping he didn't awaken before her--otherwise the jig was up. Thought of those disappeared as she sunk against him, rubbing against his older body and loving the feel of those emotions, slipping away into deep unconsciousness once again.  
  
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"Link!" The voice of his fairie jolted him away, his eyes glancing around the room with a notice that he was no longer on a bed at all. No, he was no where, he was in the middle of a pitch-black room, grabbing the Triforce and summoning up a light to glance around. They were in a complete black room, it seeming to have the same smell as the room that he had slept it, but a dank feeling about. At his side was the girl, but her clothes were different from the beautiful robe that she wore to bed, they were rags all around her dirt-caked face. Picking her up, thinking this was some sort of nightmare, he wandered around the cold room, finding the door to it and pushing himself through.  
  
"Navi, what's wrong with this place?" Having found a small candle in the next room, he lit a bit of Din's Fire on it and kept it burnt, recognizing this room as the same ones from yesterday, except rotten.  
  
"I don't know, but I have been having suspicions about this girl, she maybe a Itoki." She perched upon his right shoulder, the young girl was laying over his shoulder on the right, and pretty soon he dropped the candle and used the powers of her veil and his Triforce so that he held her in both arms.  
  
"An Itoki? What's that?" Curiosity pondered his mind, all these confusing words and all the languages in this land made his little head spin--Hyrule was so culture-referenced.  
  
"Itoki stands for a person who can manipulate the dead, or use them as some sort of barrier, but in this case she isn't doing it for bad purposes. She is keeping the ghosts here so that they can help her relive her life, something happened here a long time ago and this place was destroyed, so this land is just a mirage what we saw yesterday. What is before us is the true land, and it seemed that whatever happened wasn't good."  
  
"But we ate their food, we slept in their bed!" He stared in confusion from the room, coming upon the main room with the ladder; he stared around the room for a few seconds before locating the ladder. With all supplies ready for use, he scaled the ladder and appeared back in the normal shed, looking around to catch the sun rising over the horizon. Morning was finally here, the morning sun causing the boy to sit back against the fence and rest his back there with Kaci in his lap. It was sad it had to end like this--she was just a poor girl and he couldn't do a thing with her-- maybe if she stayed with Malon would be best for her. The Deku Sprout may of let her stay there, though he doubted it since he strictly said not to come back with any other people except Navi.  
  
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Six o'clock, of course he wouldn't be up, I will just change back the place and no one would know the different, her thoughts rambled as she felt the familiar damp feelings. Though as she was about to wake up, something grabbed her and lifted her from her old home, feelings of being kidnapped emerged. Staying calm, she was glad when they came to a new place, the scent smelt like the Kakariko except there were no Cuccos around. Kaci hadn't been out of the house for a few years now, she had just stopped caring about people and trying to move on, she wanted her old life back. So the Shaman's way was the only way, though it was a cruel one, she decided this was the only way to live onto her life?  
  
This kidnapper must have been a good person, she felt herself placed inside the person's lap, where he sat down in the grass and did something or another. She couldn't hear any of the conversation because she was half- unconscious and the fact that the voices were so unfamiliar. Whatever was happening was of no concern, she was going to wake up and knock him over the head, going back to where Link was. Yes, so as soon as she looked up at her captor, to see Link was staring at the sun with eyes glinted in small manner, because of the intensity. As she saw this, the hope of running was gone, all there was to do was sink down into his arms, cry out the words and hope for forgiveness.  
  
"Link, I can explain!" She stared away from him, expecting maybe to be left alone in the area; to be abandoned just like she had been all those years ago, though she wasn't. Turned so she was lying on stomach, he reached for those rags and removed the pants down a little, sending a swat towards her behind. She cried out in pain and surprise, this had never happened to her in as long as she could remember why was he spanking her? Her tears formed in her eyes when she realized why, they weren't of pain or anything like that, but they were of pure happiness. Yes, to be cared about was a thing she had only dreamed of, so when he took her off his lap and saw her sobbing, he began to hold her.  
  
She crying so badly that he couldn't help but give in and wrap arms around her waist, comforting the young girl, now back in his lap. With her so sad there was no trouble in convincing him to be nice, he didn't like swatting her, but he didn't think hit her that hard! There she sat with Navi hovering over her young body, keeping her warm incase a cold came in, but at the same time just comforting. Really all it turned out to be was a ploy to reveal that she wanted to be close to the girl, it was nice to care about someone--especially in this state. Finally the tears stopped, she hugging the both of them tightly with her embrace, but keeping herself quiet--sniffing up the tears.  
  
Frightened and a sad little girl, while the female had slept Navi had given in account what she thought happened to the young girl during this time. From the look of things this old place had been destroyed around the time that Ganondorf had started his reign--reason she was so sad about it. That meant that maybe everyone had been killed but she had been spared, she couldn't have been much older than four or five. So, maybe she was hidden in some sort of secret room and left there to reside on, even though there was no one to raise her. All the questions had to be answered, he was so curious as what was going to happen to her, but now that didn't seem too important, comforting her was the most valuable lesson now.  
  
With eyes faced upon the boy, those green eyes seemed to have changed a brownish colour, giving off the intention maybe she had hazel eyes, a unique feature. Such a rare colour in Hyrule, Link had never seen them before and just stared at the young girl's eyes with fascination placed in his face. There they stared at each other, her sobs having disappeared after a few minutes, that was good because pretty soon he'd have been in tears too. Well, this went on for a few more minutes before her beautiful voice rang out, the one he had desired the few hours before. Exquisite she even looked with those rags placed on her body, nothing dispelling her beautiful, clothes did not change the way she adorned.  
  
"Link.I'm--" She trailed off, glancing up at him with a nervous smile on, the boy just running his gloved hands across her cheeks, shushing her.  
  
"It's okay, Kaci. Link and I have a little theory on what happened, care to tell us?" The way the fairie smiled was so different, even as her boy was stroking the young girl; never did malice enter the girl's heart.  
  
Huffing in a breath of fresh air, the girl looked over to the fairie and older boy with wishful eyes, but they just shook their heads and motioned for her to carry one. "It's true I was born there, and I was five years old when Ganondorf attacked, it was so violent, somehow he found out about us and attacked this little shack. You see this had always been a secret hiding place for us, we hid here because we were the most secretive place in all of Hyrule. What we said is true, we do truly explore the Triforce and protect it from harm, we even had guards set up in hiding that would kill the first person who touched it, though Ganondorf was different. Ganondorf and his Gerudo women burst through our forces in a matter of days, seizing the Triforce and gaining the powers of the piece. I--I don't know how I was spared, but I think that maybe my father stuck me inside of some weird container and left me alone--the people either decided to spare a child's life or they simply didn't see me."  
  
"Knowing Ganondorf, they didn't see you. We met a Gerudo when I was a child--remember I told you? The one that pushed me off the cliff, though you are a girl, they seem to like them more than boys." Navi let out a little giggle and showed her agreement with the boy, maybe they thought she would grow stronger through this and live on.  
  
"But Ganondorf wouldn't." Navi blurted out, her words rang true, the Gerudo King probably didn't have a problem exterminating women--there were women in the Hyrule Marketplace. "He would have killed you."  
  
"And from there I survived, I was raised by some Hylian Shamans they raised me until I was ten years old, which they went to battle Ganondorf and never returned. I am sure they are now dead to the world, but when I was with them they explained about the Triforce even more depth and that a hero was going to be coming soon. Also they taught me how to be an Itoki, and by that I could control the spirits to my good, though I didn't do this scenery until after they left. We lived at the top of the Graveyard, a weird place that they could reach by climbing up hundreds of feet, or so it seemed. By the time they had left, they were sick of waiting and just wanted to get this over, I guess they lost their fate in the Hero of Time." She say Link wince at this, feeling the pain that he had, of course he would feel like this, but she didn't blame him in the least.  
  
"Well, I created the scenery a few years ago because it gave me comfort, but since I am not the greatest in the world, I can't hold the image in my sleep. Only masters of this technique can hold it in their sleep, which was why I was hoping that you'd wake up before me--so I could make it beautiful again. You have every right to be angry with me, but you aren't, and it's so weird how I can be happy when I know the way I look is horrible. I know it seems so weird about the food we ate and all the games we played, I think that even though everything was an image that we did have fun." Trailing off into some small little droplets falling from her eyes, Link took her back into his arms and began to embrace her.  
  
"Hey.did I swat you too hard down there earlier?" He smiled and kept her on his lap, not putting any pressure where he had spanked her, it would only cause her to cry more and more.  
  
"N-no, not at all. I mean I am all right, I wasn't crying because of the pain, I was crying because someone finally showing that they care about me-- that is if you do."  
  
"Of course I care for you, I wish I could take you with me right now on our journey, but it is much too dangerous for you, I have to find a place you can stay now. Navi?"  
  
"How about Anjou's until we come back from the Fire Temple, then maybe she can stay on the farm with Malon? She has to be lonely out there--I dunno if Talon is back yet, but it still has to be lonely out there being the only girl on a farm--doubt she trusts boys anymore." The smile was of sadness, Link staring at his fairie for a second or two, nodding his head and turning their attention back to Kaci.  
  
There was no time to celebrate with her, no time to ask the questions about where she would like to stay, there was nothing left to do, for soon something grabbed a hold of her, sending screeches of her down his spine. Spinning around, he caught the familiar site of someone being captured, this time it was the beautiful Kaci who was captive by something. This monster was clothed in a black cape, hiding its identify, but something about it was glowing as if it had a weird fuse on it. It was a unique monster, the thing jagged so spikes were sticking out of it, and while that happened, it reached down and threw something at them. Gathering up the young fairie, he leapt away from the spot where he was, a bomb blowing up as it hit the area he used to be, not even stopping for a fuse to light.  
  
With no time to capture her back, or fire an arrow at the creature, it let out a small squealing sound and spun around, throwing the cape in the middle of the air. As it floated in the air it seemed to erupt into a burst of flames, smoldering to ashes before floating right before him, somehow the ashes moving together. Yes, they moved together to form some sort of word, or a list of words that spelt out a message to him and his little fairie companion. Even before they read it, the monster was gone with the girl, not getting a good look at its face, but considering it looked like a dancer made entirely out of fire. Looking back in pain, a new friend was captured, he glanced down at the ashes, catching those words that made his own blood boil as when it was before.  
  
He was sick of this, he was sick of people getting involved for his fault, it was so sad that he just had to deal with this shit once and for all. Sick of everything, the dread coming through, Link just pushed the ashes aside, not even wanting to comprehend them in his mind. Navi was right at his side, trying to comfort him from the lost of a new friend--she was also in a bad mood, but didn't want to let it show. Not as bad as last time, the boy just curled up the fairie and smiled towards her, it wasn't so bad to have her around at all. Glancing down at what the words were, he thought that maybe they needed to head up to Death Mountain this time, not even stopping for Anju.  
  
"Navi." His voice quavered a little, holding back the tears that should have fallen, it was so stupid for this, why did they have to take captives, but he knew the answer--they were his weakness.  
  
"I know, Link, Anjou can wait."  
  
"Shouldn't we tell her we are going to be bringing a little girl back to her when we return." He flashed a grin at her, making her look down for a few seconds before bursting up near his face and mimicking the smirk. Yes, they were going to get her back, no matter what anybody said, there was no way they were going to lose her like they had Mido or the Kokiiri Children. Saria had been saved from the clutches of the Phantom Ganondorf, and now they were going to perform the same act with this little girl. How he hated being like this, having to save people when their only crime was getting to know the Hero of Time, exploiting his weakness. Smashing the boots deep inside of the ground, right where the ashes had blown away, he spun around and made his way towards Anjou's new house.  
  
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The remainder of the day they spent venturing around town and looking for the girl named Anjou, she wasn't at her new house (the one Link stayed at.) Though as they did run around town asking for the girl, some of the women of the town would turn a light crimson and point him in any direction they thought would lead them to her. Navi was getting annoyed at this, Link didn't know why they were acting strange, and both of them were getting tired of running around. Anjou was becoming a problem, they needed to head for the City of Gorons to get a hold of the tunic that the young girl had had, and even if it was real. That's what was on his mind, if they were even real--she had said that they still existed on the city of the Gorons, but she had never been there in her lifetime.  
  
"Why are they acting so stupid, Link?" Navi asked as they sat upon a small construction site, it looked like the one that people had been working on seven years ago. He was sitting down on the side with his legs dangling over the side of the platform that led to a seven feet drop to the ground before. Above him were boards that were starting to rot, as if the construction site had been left there since the war had broken out, so long ago. With her sitting on his hand, he was nibbling on his lunch of some dried fruit and a few extra things that the people had filled his pack with. Yes, they had refilled his canteens and supplies up to the top, he was glad that these things weren't illusions at all, they filled him up.  
  
"I really don't know, they did this last time Anjou walked me to where the carts were coming off." He looked down at his food of the dried meats, a piece of fruit and some of the water from his canteen, gulping it down in a few minutes. As he grew so had his appetite so it was essential to fill him up so that his strength would be ready when they faced any new opponents. Leaving early had disappeared when they figured out they may need a few things form Anjou, just some very essential needs. Navi had said this; Link didn't know what these items were though if his fairie said that he needed them then he would need them. Maybe something to protect him if the damned volcano were to erupt on him and kill him, the tunic may have protected him against fire (lava was a different story.)  
  
"Must think she is going after a younger boy." Those thoughts were raising up towards the heavens, going for her brain to infect her with those jealously marks she didn't want. Navi had promised herself that she would be grown up about this, she would take this and throw it back at that dark side of herself. Maybe everyone had a dark self, she wondered if Link had these problems with trying to be jealous of other people. Though he didn't show it, she knew that no one had ever shown the bit of romantic interest in her except Link, wishing that maybe they would to make him jealous. Of course it was bad to think that, she never wanted to hurt her hero of anything, but being wanted always would make you feel nice inside.  
  
"I guess, but Anjou is a little old for me." He chuckled and cleared his food, watching as the fairie just shrugged a shoulder and finished off her last splash of water she was given.  
  
"But what about me?" She giggled nervously and perched upon his hat, leaning over the edge so she could get a good look at his face, her own flushed.  
  
"Well, that will take some time." Just a ploy to calm her down, she frowned and stuck her tongue out at him, as he shrugged a playful shoulder and jumped down the seven feet. Landing on the two walking appendages, he began to search around the town as his thoughts wondered to what she had said. It was weird, but Link was feeling more and more that attracted to the young fairie as the time went on--it was something he couldn't explain. Being with her was like wondering in a dream, one that he hoped he would never have to wake up from (the fear of losing her.) That was always apparent, not really wanting her to throw her neck out for the boy, though loving that she had totally agreed with this quest for his own sake.  
  
When they were young he had said that they would talk about it when the quest was over, that quest was over, but soon a new one had begun. Both were connected by the infamous Ganondorf, so does that mean that they were to talk about it or wait until the two quests that entwined were over. The thoughts raced through his mind at long last he came to rest at the lady named Anjou's house, seeing no one was there, so just leaning down. As he sat there in the shade from the roof, his legs sticking out in the sun, he noticed his little fairie had sunk her down into dreamland. Pulling her off from her spot, his eyes met the lids of hers, just glancing deeply at her and trying to figure it out, it was so strange to feel this way about anything, much less a fairie.  
  
Why do I even put up with you? You are just as ignorant as I am; we both have some sort of blood lust, and refuse to show our tears infront of each other. Why do we even put up with each other, I always heard that opposites attracted each other, but we are two of the same kind. Of the same liter, the only problem before was that I was a Kokiiri and was to remain a child forever, but now I am a Hylian. Unless the Deku magic decides to make me a child (which I don't think I want to go back to being) we are even more apart than before. I just don't know anymore, should I leave you here and continue on my journey alone, or would you follow me to the vast of earth?  
  
You've put up with my selfish nature for so long, that would you follow me into the bowels of a volcano just to rescue a girl that I like. But you like her too, don't you? I mean, you wouldn't want a child to die, I haven't even seen you mad at the affection I show to her and that she shows to me. It's strange, isn't it, how I can just sit here and think about leaving you when I know the simple fact is that I could never leave you. It is either a curse or a gift, which one I haven't the slightest idea in, but the beautiful factor has to be we are stuck with each other. Maybe I want you to be my fairie the rest of my life, or maybe I want you to leave me tomorrow, I can't really decide which one would be better. For now we shall put up with each other until the day I die or that you die (whichever one comes first), though I can tell you this: you aren't a burden at all, you are a ray of sunshine in my gloomy existence.  
  
Link pulled from his pocket the renewed Fairie Ocarina and began to practice the old tunes of the world, the ones that he had learned as a child. Even playing that new song that he had learned, the place seeming to get darker than before, a storm starting to brew in the distance. The Song of Storms he had dubbed the newly acclaimed song, it was true to its words for within the fifteen minutes he had been thinking, and a storm did brew in. The wind and rain causing him to brush up against the house and hoping maybe the storm would cause the young woman to come home. He so wished they could get inside the house and wait until tomorrow to leave, he needed himself a good night's sleep before he faced his foes on the dreaded mountain.  
  
Whatever happened next was up to the Goddesses, whatever their plan was had to be decided by them and the power he pulled from inside. Of course Link hated them, he never honored them and took their names in vain whenever he had the chance, hell both of them did that. Though there was one reason he could love the Goddesses, there was one reason that he would always think of them with such regard. Navi was that reason, destiny and the holy ones from above had brought that to him and with that they were united in the bond of defeating evil. At any time he would let her leave, if she got scared and wanted to rest for sometime--of course he would let her go back to the forest. Going back might sadden him and cause him to venture into the land and die, but he wouldn't put that guilt on her, he would never.  
  
The hero was sitting at the building since noon that afternoon and at four o'clock that afternoon was when he called the storm, the girl coming exactly fifteen minutes later. Anjou must have been doing something that required the sun like gardening or something, because she was soon soaked with the rain. No umbrella to protect her--not that Link had one--he awoke his fairie with a soft kiss as he saw her running towards her house in the distance. When her eyes met his, they seemed to fill up with joy as she took off in a run for him, trying to reach him faster than the house. To Link's surprise, when the little fairie came out and floated around, staring around the area, that was when Anjou stopped dead in her tracks, looking dumbfounded.  
  
Older woman did eventually reach him, walking slower than when she was trotting to the house; as if not caring she would get wet. Link had pulled his ocarina back into its case and headed down after her, grabbing her hand and dragging her back towards the house as she reached to unlock the door. Him and his fairie just glanced at her with confusion as she slipped the door open and stepped inside the darkened house, the two of them following her. When at last the candles were lit within the house with matches, she collapsed down in the larger house and stared at them with a smile planted on her face. Link slipped off all his armour and stared in the downward direction at her, his face still smoothed out in the collection of curiosity.  
  
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How could she have thought that he was coming alone to see her, of course he had said that his fairie was recovering from some wounds last time. Even though that was a week or so ago, she still expected her to be back in healing, not really knowing how long it took a fairie to recover. She just expected after the last time that he might develop something for the older woman, even though she knew he was asleep when it happened. Just so crushed when she put eyes on the young fairie, feeling a twinge of jealously in her body, also happy to see an old friend after seven years. Now they were inside, she tried to cheer herself and smiled at the two of them letting out a small sigh of happiness, true feelings were hid inside of her.  
Tucked inside of the warm house was something that she hoped they were used too, for she was going to show them the best hospitality she had. Yea, she would give them a show they would love, it wasn't like they did anything bad to deserve this somber mood she was in. Staring at the two of them, settled on a new couch she had purchased, the jealously that was within her heart melted away in an instant. As they stared at each other, Anjou knew that she had no chance for the boy (she was under-qualified for him, that was apparent.) No point in trying that, the pain she had was hidden within her heart while a smile beamed upon her face and in the two's direction.  
  
"So what brings you two back to Kakariko." Sitting down in a new chair that she had gone, it was only a small table that separated them, watching as the young boy looked to his fairie then spoke.  
  
"We are on our way to the Fire Temple, which we imagine is inside of Death Mountain somewhere. Only problem is we need to go to the City of Gorons and see if they have an Adult Fire Tunic so I don't smother to death." Her shrugged a limber shoulder and glanced her way, seeing something hidden within her face, though he didn't want to pry, so away he stopped and watched as his fairie continued.  
  
Navi didn't speak, Link had thought she was going too, but the young girl just stared over at the older woman and studied her expression without flaw. Something was wrong with her, a very deep something--the way she stared and smiled at Link was that way a person smiled when they were hiding something. Her boy couldn't sense it, but she could sense it, though she didn't want to know the truth at all, all she wanted to do was going to bed. Ignoring her boy's thoughts, the young girl fluttered up into the hat, bent down and kissed his cheek before sliding down back into the bed. As she was slid into the pelt of the hat, Navi knew what was wrong and she just hated how this Anjou was hiding, wanting them to leave right now, though to tired to protest it.  
  
Even the voices were coming in, screaming at her for not to fall asleep for something terrible would happen to the boy if she did. Not terrible to him, but horrible for her it would ruin her life and literally kill her--though she didn't even heard their trembling voices. Those stupid things weren't going to win this time, for if they didn't trust their boy, but the fact of the matter was that she trusted him. Taking a glance at the felt of turquoise she was wrapped in, surrounded in the darkness, she could hear the silence and took it as bliss. Whatever was going down there was her business--of course it was her own business--but that didn't meant she didn't want any interaction with it.  
  
"Hm, she fell asleep?" His eyes roamed over towards the hat, not really able to see it actually, though he knew she was stuck inside of there, in her sleep.  
  
"Yea, guess she was tired, so what do you want to do?" Anjou clasped her hands in her lap and stared forward, it was not really late, she just couldn't understand why the girl was going to sleep.  
  
"Me? Well, I haven't eaten dinner or anything, so do you have anything to eat?" Link was sort of greedy that way, it was true he could be sort of a pig in some situations, but the truth of the matter he was tired too. It was so stupid what had happened earlier, he just wanted a good night's sleep and to take out in the morning reborn like a Phoenix. As he sat there with his stomach growling for food, not even caring if he got it or not--right now all he wanted was some good old sleep. Seeing that she was getting up to get some leftovers she had, or some stuff that was put up, though he saw that she was glad to serve him. Maybe she was lonely during the seven years and thought he was her one true friend, and he seemed to like that, after all Anjou was a very sweet person.  
  
Anjou didn't even speak; she simply nodded her head and jumped up, heading towards the new kitchen to prepare a meal for him. A natural house- wife, if she would get married she could of made any man happy with her ability to cook and clean whenever the time seem right. Yup she would have made a wonderful cook and maid if she would take up the jobs, though she didn't like cooking and cleaning for money--she thought it deserved no rewards. Whipping up some quick food, she prepared some fresh steak and even added in some fruit with the food (since Cuccos were gone, no more egg.) How she adored eggs, it would have been an honour to prepare them for him, but as she brought the food back to him, there were none.  
  
Pulling out the plate and some silverware, she brought them for the boy, he looked at the food he had never tasted and began to munch down on it slowly. Enjoying the food that happened to have a few spices, he suckled down the Lon Lon Milk that was shipped here recently, loving the fresh taste it gave. With that down, he finished the meat quickly and ate his fruit just as fast, finishing off the milk with a sigh of relief pushed out. Staring down at the plate, he left a little bit for the young fairie, wrapping it up inside of a napkin and placing it into one of his pockets. With that out of the way, the boy watched as she took the plates into the kitchen and yelled for him to do whatever he wanted while she cleaned up the kitchen and some other rooms.  
Shifting all his clothes off, even the suit and leaving only a pair of undergarments on for the keeping, he placed them right on the kitchen cabinet and yelled he was going to bathe. There he even slipped the undergarments off and had everything off but his little hat, taking it with him to the bathe area, noticing the change in size. The bathtub was much bigger than before, the other one he had bathed in wouldn't have even supported him with his new girth he had gained. With the hat put aside, he reached in for Navi and soaked inside the hot water that he drew, loving the feel of a bath, how it felt. He had had baths long after Lon Lon, but none as good as this one and the farm one had been (the others had been in lakes, streams and the Kokiiri bath-house.  
  
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With the bath put aside and everything else cleaned in the house, he was given his clothes a few hours later with everything clean and ready for the trip. Although he had been cleaned the night before, this time was for walking around in the rain and the sweat he put up for searching for Anjou. Nothing happened after that, the young boy going to sleep on the long couch that they had rested on a few hours later, Anjou in her bed. Although she was saddened by the events that they didn't get to be together, she knew it was for the best and that in the end everything would work out. With that in mind, they both slept soundly, the young fairie slept just as peacefully, waking up during the middle of the night and munching down the food in his pocket before resting down again.  
  
The next morning he was awakened at seven o'clock (like he requested) and that was when she presented him with something that he'd need. Navi had suggested it earlier on, maybe when Link wasn't listening, or maybe she even awoke during the night and asked the young girl. Anyway, Anjou presented him with a long black cape, a small holder that clicked to his collar, this no ordinary cape, though. Made of the hide of a Dodongo, Navi had seen it in her room so long ago, the cape having belonged to the girl's great-grandfather when he was a warrior. This thing wasn't made of the hide, it was softer and refined as if it was made with some other material with the ancient dinosaur.  
  
With thanks in mind, the boy slipped the dark cape upon his body, which reached down upon his ankles so he wouldn't have to slip upon it. The cape was beautiful, on the inside it was red so that he could reverse it around and hide in places that were red, not that that would ever happen. Anjou explained the cape prevented fire attacks, magma attacks and would protect you from certain enemies that were fired-based. The Kesse came to both of their minds, but she told the most important part of the cape--it protected you better than any tunic because it blocked those fiery rocks. Rocks that had fallen on him back in the old days, the ones that scared him to death (they were blocked) something those stupid tunics couldn't do, not that he still didn't need it.  
  
Navi explained this didn't mean that they didn't need the tunic, they still needed it, but if it weren't there, this would protect him from getting killed. Yes, that was all true what they said, plus they also mentioned that with the tunic and cape he would be more invulnerable to fire than even the ancient dinosaurs. This excited him; not able to contain his excitement, so he gave the older girl a long hug as they wandered up towards the gates. Lonely gates were just as barren as the day he had walked up them for the first time, still dreading the path to the trial, knowing he would have to go on this on foot. They had been walking up here and headed for the trail to Death Mountain, now reaching it when the end of her explanation had disappeared.  
  
"Link, I have a surprise. We found it on the trail and noticed something about it was yours." Opening her hands, she let out a giggle when a snort sounded in the air, the boy and his fairie spinning around into the eyes of Epona. He let out a small laugh and hugged his horse tightly, she nipping at his face and throwing him back on his back, letting out a long neigh of pleasure. When they had first approached Kakariko, the mare didn't want to come, she had shook her head and taken off back in the direction of Lon Lon. He had guessed that at the time it was the ash coming out of Death Mountain and the fact that she knew they were heading to the mountain. Now here she was here with him, giving her courage up and risking her own neck on the line to just to help him--a true matter of courage.  
  
Surprise was even gleamed on Navi's face as she nuzzled within the mare's hair, the horse already accustomed by the fairie, even though she had no veil on now. At first Epona hated the veil, even when it wasn't on (she knew who had the veil) and wouldn't let her ride that much on the mane of her. Now she was all right with it, happy to see the two of them after two whole days and showing it by screaming out another neigh of pleasure. Just a happy picture this was with the horse, the warrior and even the beautiful fairie who would save the world from the land. Courage was flowing from all three of them, she knew the horse would be scared to come on an even more active volcano, though she had braved the odds and pressed her dreams to help Link.  
  
The duo waved their goodbye to the lady named Anjou as she just nodded her head and waved back, tears of sadness rolling down her cheeks. Link sighed and gave one last sigh before resting his head on the mane of his creature and beginning to descend up the mountain. Nothing was in the way when they entered this rocky path, no enemies or those giant boulders that they had run across the last time they were here. From the speed that Epona traveled on the mountain, they would be to the city in less than a day, maybe a full day if she walked slowly when they slept. That was okay with them, they were in no hurry to go to the mountain, they just wanted to be on the way and take as much time as possible, to reach the place whenever. Going up the mountain did take only a day at the most, it about nine o'clock in the morning when they reached the flag and the pillars of the Gorons just around the corner. They were a little late because during the night Epona just stopped and rested for an hour or two, not that that was a bad thing. He didn't want to seem a both (knowing the Gorons were kidnapped), so he left some food and water to last Epona for at least a week. Nodding to the horse, he tied her over at the pole and pointed for her to say, saying that he would be back as soon as possible. Receiving a nip on the ear, shivering in quick response, the boy patted her mane with the sleeping Navi and continued onward the path.  
  
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"It's worse than I thought." Link spoke as Navi stared at the place in fear, the large stone that rested outside of the city was smashed into pieces, and something of immense strength pounded it into the ground. They weren't even inside this place and Link could smell the death in the air, no bodies around, but the use of the special crops was apparent. Taking a few glances around the room, he walked through the path that led to the city's entrance, grimacing at the splashes of blood that were on the walls right before he entered. The Gorons had probably rebelled against Ganondorf and with Daruina as the leader Link knew they would have done it eventually. The Kokiiri would have given in and with the Hylian King dead so would of those people, hell even the King Zora would have done it, but not Daruina.  
  
"Link, let's go." He had just started staring at the walls in silence, gripping at his wrists, noticing for the first time that his bracelet was gone, the Zora one still remained though.  
  
"Yea, you're right. Goddess, I can't believe this happened, they should of known that Ganondorf was more powerful than them, how stupid can they be!" Slamming his fist into the side of the wall, a bit of it chipped off and slid down to the ground, a small little map appearing before him. No, it wasn't map; it was something painted on the wall in some red paint, on further inspection revealing that it was actually blood. Link didn't want to read it--he truly didn't, but he knew if he didn't than he would regret it for the rest of his life, so he took a deep breath and deciphered. Gulping, he looked at the runics, seeing they were in the Hylian normal language and began to read them to him with shivers. As soon as he was done, he turned away from there and threw up some bile, puking his guts out on the other side of the room, to not shame Navi with his tears.  
  
Somehow the two of them could read the Hylian language; maybe they were taught it when they were asleep, that was a possibility. Of course there were other possibilities to consider, they did find themselves a bit smarter than when they were in the younger bodies. Glancing up towards the words, she could see why he was crying, there a bunch of curses and cries of pain of what he was going to do to the Gorons and the new little bundle he had gathered. Navi considered that was Kaci, so she just sniffed a little, reading that the monster named Ganondorf was going to feed the Goron race to a creature called Volvagia as a warning to others races. A creature in a language that she had never heard of, the world was as unfamiliar as anything in this new world, but knowing it couldn't be a good monster.  
  
The letter was even signed with the sign that they saw on the Milk Carts and said in the words 'Ganondorf', though they were in the Gerudo language. How Navi even knew that was beyond her, she guessed that they could read every language now since they were supposed to be the heroes. Pulling the block back up in place so that no one could read this horrible mess, she gathered herself up and floated over towards the boy. Being yanked into an embrace, he dried himself off with the veil she turned on, kissed the tears off of the barrier and turned towards the entrance. With only a sword and shield at his body, love within his heart, he was destined to find that tunic and get the hell out of this new temple, so he ran into the abyss.  
  
Out of the fire and into the lava pit, that was a terrific way to describe this place, the smell of death even harsher inside of this place. Down each pillar were bloodstained everywhere, lumps of Gorons in piles (covered with sheets to honour them) he knew the Gerudo weren't like this. So maybe there was someone still alive, and that rung true in his heads as he stared forward where the Spiritual Stone pillar used to be, cut down and at the bottom of the pillars. Well, in this knew form, he didn't bother walking down the paths, he just scaled down the arena since holes were now in the walls. As if Ganondorf himself had used magic here to blow this place up, the place was easier to get too and when he reached the bottom of the pillar, it had only been thirty minutes.  
  
"Link what's that!" Navi was right at his side and pointed over to the left, where there was a lump of a Goron, not covered up and shaking like it was alive.  
  
"Wow, a Goron! It must be the one that covered the rest up!" Racing out towards it, the boy tapped the Goron on the shoulder, the thing taking off in a spin and running around the whole first floor, slamming into the wall. As it hit the wall, it covered the entrance that led up so all it could do was spin around the room, coming towards the boy every now and then. Well, it seemed it was mad at him for some reason, maybe thinking he was one of Ganondorf's men back to finish the job. This stupid rock-eater had an attitude problem and Link was about to solve that, so when it came close, Link slammed the sword right down into it. That was a mistake, he should have known about the hide of the Goron, for all it did was make the sword shiver with vibrations.  
  
With her boy still shaking, the fairie took it into her own hands to get rid of the menace, reaching for one of the bombs and propelling it towards the lump. As it was coming, the bomb should have ricocheted and gone off to explode in their faces, but it didn't since she wasn't aiming at him. Aiming at him was what Link would have done the first time if he hadn't used his sword, but since he was incapacitated at the moment, it was her job. She was actually aiming the direction he was going (right away from them) and when it ran over the bomb was when the scream came out. A piercing scream of confusion and pain, the monster rolled over into the wall, slumping up and turning towards the couple that had hit him, Navi giving the boy a high-five, who had come back to his senses.  
  
"How dare you! How dare you punish the great son of Daruina! Feel my name and tremble.I am Link!" The little Goron piped out, having the same look of the rock-eater that had helped him get to Daruina's place when he was younger. Yup, except this one didn't have any facial hair and was a wee bit smaller than the other one (the one probably some sort of adult.) This was a kid, as it seemed with the squeaky voice and the way he rubbed his skin from the bomb that he was just fine, but overall with the tough skin he wasn't hurt. Link just stared at him with his hands at his side, whispering to himself that he had heard what he thought he had heard--were his ears deceiving him. Daruina's son was the only one alive, although he didn't have a son when Link was around, the kid had to be only seven years old.  
  
"Link? What in Goddesses' name are you talking about? My friend's name here is Link." Navi stared at the young Goron, trying to get it through her mind until it clicked: Daruina had named his son after the Dodongo Buster.  
  
"What? Your name is Link too? Then you must be the legendary Link who killed the evil Dodongo's long ago?" Link just smiled an impish grin and shrugged a shoulder as if he was so innocent, the Goron letting out a cry of job and getting on his knees infront of the boy. Eh, maybe he was a sucker for the public now that he was grown, but he sure did love when people talked about his past adventures. Grinning down at the boy, he nodded his head to him, which made another screech of joy enter his lips, this one of pure affection. Reaching down inside of his pack, he asked him if he would give him his autograph, making it out to his friend 'Link of the Gorons.' Signing the paper, giving his first autograph as the Hero of Time, he looked down at the boy who wasn't smiling anymore, he was sulking.  
  
With his lips turning grim, he turned away and burst into a handful of sobs, backing away from the two and putting his direction away from them. Taking a deep breath of sadness, the boy wiped the tears from his beady little blackened eyes and glanced at the man with hopeful eyes. Link didn't know what he wanted him to do, but he guessed it had to do with the race that had been captured by the dreaded Ganondorf. Well, he answered his prayers by nodded his head at the young boy, who broke down in sobs once more, sensing Link's curiosity. This caused Link to stare down at the boy in confusion, why was he sad if he had met the guy that he was named after--just now realizing the situation.  
  
"Link, he's crying. Maybe you should ask him what's wrong?" Navi saw Link shake his head in a little confusion; he was being stubborn now and really didn't want to comfort the boy. So while he just slumped down to the ground to think of another way to do something, Navi fluttered over to the boy's face and asked what was wrong. Nothing he spoke this time, not even hearing the little sprite until she got close to the hole in his head and screamed out his name. The boy didn't speak at first, he was too busy trying to catch his tears and finally when he did, he slumped down right next to Link. Speaking to both of them, mostly his hero though, he began to tell the tale of exactly what had happened to the Gorons and Ganondorf.  
  
"Well, father was out on business about less than a week ago when something terrible happened. Ganondorf and his women came here and demanded that we hand over something called a medallion, it was weird but since you had the Fire Medallion, we had no idea what he meant, so we said we didn't have it. That was when he captured the entire race, killing those who rebelled and in the process I hid within the shadows so he couldn't find me. Actually, I hid in my dad's room, the one that couldn't be opened without the tune of the royal family, so no one even knew I was there. I know I was cowardly, I do know that, but I'm no fighter, I couldn't kill the great Ganondorf even if I tried."  
  
"You did the right thing, kid. I am the only one that can kill Ganon, and even sometimes I'm not sure. So where is old Daruina now? I wanna talk to him about something." Link didn't approve of calling the boy after himself; 'kid' was something that he would refer to the later version of the name.  
  
"Yea, yea. I know. Well, dad got back about three days ago and was in out- raging form. He helped me cover and preserve the bodies so that when he gets back we can go and bury them. Well, he went to the old Fire Temple, because that is where Volvagia has been revived. I know you don't know whom that is, so I'll tell you the legend of it." From the look in Link's eyes, the boy knew that he wanted to know more about this monster, one of evil abominations, that deserved no mercy. "Volvagia is a legendary dragon that was here centuries ago, he was killed by the fated hero by a magical hammer, well father has gone to the temple to kill the creature, and he doesn't have the hammer, so I am worried."  
  
"Let me guess, you want me to go and vanquish the enemy? Well, I shall go do that, but I need some protection." The boy nodded in compensation and rushed off towards the small room where his father resided, not returning in about five minutes. Navi suggested that maybe he was being held up, so the courage-holder just nodded and got ready to head down there where the kid was. After that he was getting sick of waiting so he took off after the boy, ignoring the bodies in the corners and running through the familiar darkness until he ran upon the room. There the Goron named Link was rummaging through some drawers, looking for something, as Link leaned back and watched him work. It wasn't like he was going to go work for the boy, he was supposed to kill some magical dragon with an evil hammer (or however he said it.)  
  
Ten more minutes of going through the room and the now mussed up place was emptied out before the Goron pulled out something that was shining red, blowing the dust off. Knocking all the dust from it, he turned towards Link and unfolded the piece of cloth for him, checking for any moths that might have gotten it. No, the thing was beautiful in all its glory, a tunic that matched his to every aspect, except the signal that Kaci had sowed on was replaced by the mark that was on the bomb signal. Yup, he was readapted into the race of the Gorons, or maybe that was how he made it look, not that he wasn't fine with that. Glancing at the tunic, it would fit his own, he knew that the green one would have to come off and then the new one would take its place.  
  
"This is the legendary fire tunic of the Gorons, I don't remember how we got it, but they were reserved for when a Hylian had to journey with dad in Death Mountain."  
  
"Oh, we know where." Navi blurted out, not revealing her content and leaving the Goron in the dark as Link slipped the green tunic off and slipped the red one on. Tying it tightly so that it fit just right, he put the old one inside of his satchel, slapping it shut so that it wouldn't become hurt in the mountain. There was no way he was going to let his baby be hurt by this stupid fire, that was his own one that he would always wear with pride. As he checked himself out in the new little mirror that Daruina had set up in the right-hand corner, the Goron slammed his foot into the small statue. That little figure gave away and slid down into the ground, revealing a path of blackness--one Link had never encounter before.  
  
Link gave a gasp and spun around in confusion, seeing that the new door way was in his path, obviously a secret entrance of some sort. The heat was radiating down all over his body, it was weird, but probably glad he wouldn't have to slide down the descent of the volcano. With a nod, he was about to walk towards the door (already feeling the warmth of the volcano wash over his body) when the Goron gave out a cry. Well, that meant something, it wasn't a bad cry or anything, so he just leaned up against the wall, watching as the boy dug through the paths. A new item was just fine with him, whatever he could use would make him worthwhile, though he had a question and passed it out.  
  
"What about Navi?" His fairie turned towards him and looked at him questioningly, but the boy was just worried about his young companion more than anything was.  
  
"Navi? Who is Navi?" Link-Goron spoke out, digging through a small trunk that had had the tunic in it, growling out in the Goron language when he got something that wasn't needed.  
  
"My fairie, kid. What about her health in the volcano, I mean she doesn't have a tunic." Navi's eyes brightened up in surprise, she hadn't even thought of that!  
  
"Y-yea, I can't regularly breathe." Navi spoke out for the first time, glancing over at the kid to see what he was doing, but from the looks of things it was hard to tell. With a glance towards her partner, her cheeks began to flush, bringing that veil on as the boy turned around for a second to see them. Maybe it was when he saw the veil for the first time, which those hands went up and snapped those small, chubby fingers moving in a particular fashion. The snap went off, and he reached inside of another trunk, yanking out a bit of red powder, pulling it from a small purple pouch. Pouch went out and sprinkled the red powder upon the fairy's veil, reacting to it, she began to sneeze and convulse a little bit.  
  
"Hey, what did you do to her!" Jumping up from where he leaned, he tackled the boy to the ground, overwhelming the young Goron by more power. Raising a fist at the monster, he demanded that he tell him what the hell was happening to his fairie, Link acted as if she was dying. He stared down at the boy with those eyes pushed in determination, the fairy's veil remaining while she sneezed louder, and finally the sneezes stopped. By that time, the boy had accidentally knocked the young one out, him leaning against the door with stars dazed in his eyes. Spinning around, he caught her aura and saw that instead of the beautiful blue from before, it had mutated into a ruby veil.  
  
Navi fluttered over towards the mirror and stared at her aura, mesmerized at how she looked, the veil disappearing and checking out her new performance. The skin and everything was the same, her hair was still the blue that it had been before, and the aura the only part of her that had changed red. Now, however, her appearance was much more different than it had before for her hair was a different style than it had been before. Staring at the hair, it wasn't a bad change at all, her hair had gotten a lot shorter than before and now only stopped at her neck-line. So much for being mean, she fluttered with the veil off and spun around her friend's face, speaking that she was also fine and well.  
  
Words weren't spoken as he got off of the young Goron, who was obviously going to be out for a few hours, his hands going open for her. Not even waiting for her to come to him, he tackled over towards her, curling up the fairie in her hands and noticed her size was different than before. Four inches is what she had been when they stepped through the portal with the new bodies, now she was a gleaming five and a half inches. It was so weird, she was almost half a foot now, which didn't mind in the least in the young hero's mind, it was more to have. Clothes had also changed, the little skirt-shirt combination was now red along with her aura, and the skin still as pale as it was before.  
  
"Navi, you are bigger than before!" He squealed a little, and fell down upon the ground, laying the girl on his shoulder as he dug through the trunks that the boy had been through.  
  
"What do you mean?" Fluttering over towards the mirror, eyes set a wide when she saw how big she really was, she squealed and slammed down into his head, causing the head to slam into the wall. Gasping out in sense of distress, she readied herself over towards him, whom he shook his head back and forth, noticing that a hole was in a wall. Whoa, that caused a since of distress to go through their minds, finding out it wasn't a stone wall at all, some sort of fake one. With closer exception of looking inside of it, there seemed to be a note attached to a sort of satchel, but this one had handles on it, so that it could go over his back. A backpack was what it was called, something that Link had heard of in his time, though they were a rare delicacy, made of beautiful leather and just as big as his were own.  
  
"Link, I'm sorry!" Leaning over and kissing the forehead of her boy's, she went over towards the note and picked it up, reading it silently to herself.  
  
"It's fine, Navi, it's fine! But what is this, I've heard of these somewhere." Slipping the shield and scabbard for the sword, he placed the backpack on both shoulders, seeing that it could fit him so easily.  
  
Handing the note over to the boy, he picked it up and read it to himself, realizing that he could even read this old Goron language on the note, speaking out. "Wow, this is so weird, so Daruina left this for me? Guess last time he didn't like my satchel, maybe he thought I might be coming back, it looks new." Grinning at the girl, he examined the backpack one last time, slumping to the ground and took out his satchel, emptying all the crap inside. With all the stuff gone, he put the materials he used to sleep in the main part of the bag, pushing old stuff like the dagger, cooking-ware, food and drink in the side pockets. The beautiful pack even had a small little tie-string that could be fastened shut so that it would never leak, and from the looks of things it was waterproof. Of course it had to be fireproof from the way that it was made, maybe made out of something that came from the old Dodongo.  
  
"Wow, this will really help us out, you can just fasten your shield under it so it can't be hurt." He nodded with a smile and slipped the backpack on his back again, and this time slipped the scabbard right infront of it, connecting that to the shield. With all his stuff on, it was actually less weighted than the stupid satchel, which he kicked in the corner now, staring out towards the blackness. Kneeling down to the boy, he wrote a quick note with the pen he always kept, careful to make sure his ocarina and notes were in the new bag. It wasn't like he would leave anything like this behind, so that was where he stored the ocarina and the notes in the middle pack with his sleeping gear. Instead of in the side pack with the other stuff (yea he kept those things, of course he would always keep the pack with his weapons.)  
  
Stuff was already set, he was ready for the temple that was to come, and so he turned towards his fairie with a finger pointing at her veil. Admiring the new look, he sort of felt bad he knocked out the kid, but at least he showed that he was the better one for the name. Grinning at the bright red barrier went on, the smell of the veil was that of cinnamon, something that he not only dealt with enjoyed without any doubt. Breathing a small breath of fresh air, he felt around for the symbol of the Goron and pressed a button, something sounding up and making the tunic glow. Whatever it was, maybe it made his breathing with the smoke better than with regular lung, that was good for he ran through the entrance.  
  
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"My Goddess, I am glad we have these improvements." For miles and miles around all there was downward trailed molten lava in all different directions, far away from them, thank Goddess. Navi had spoken those words as they stared around the scenery; very surprised at the way this volcano was shaped, as if someone had built this place. Well, of course this place had been built, the temple was maybe built by the ancient Gorons to honor the Goddess of Fire, Din. Where they were sat up was on a large pillar, staring down would lead you into a world of lava and actually a place with the triangle upon it. Triangle must have meant like the place near the Forest Temple, so they might have to be able to warp there with that nice song by Shiek.  
  
Link wasn't looking at the signal, he was surveying that all around him were bridges that led down a path, not following them, but watching as the bridge broke off. When it broke off, the person who somehow got across was able to lead a path down towards the end of sanction (that led to the pillar with the triangles on it.) Not able to see what was on the platform, aside the Triforce symbol, he glanced at large rocks all in the lava and maybe able to hop across them. Getting across was the first priority, before even considering what the temple was located, though he had some sort of idea. Right across from the platform (south of it, north of it was lava) led to a long path to some sort of brick wall with a hole chiseled inside of it, he guessed that was the entrance.  
  
"Link, the Bolero of Fire! It'll warp up without the worry of getting there with burns." She remembered the tune by heart, going inside his pack and yanking out the ocarina, throwing it over towards him (the Ocarina of Time.) Snatching the blue cremation instrument, the first thing that he did was think in his mind back to the tune and that he wasn't supposed to play it. No, that was before he found out able to vest so now it was all right to play the tune, he could breathe in these nasty fumes without harm. Yup, that was a good sign of being friends with people, he could have some trusty allies and weapons that were at his arms. The cape that he had received was under the shield and all the mess, so that all his weapons were hidden from view, though the sword hilt pressed out of the way so he could retrieve it easily.  
  
Remembering the tune quickly with no avail to the paper somewhere in his new pack, Link blew out the lively tune that reminded one of a Spanish beat. With that in mind, the tune danced through his lips, his entire body beginning to feel as warm as when he had transported with the Prelude song. Giving into the warmth, he disappeared from the spot, Navi almost thinking she wouldn't come though she vanished along with him. There was darkness as they traveled, not knowing where he was or where he would end up, though he did have a pretty good idea. At long last, his feet touched the ground after what seemed like years, sitting feet upon the platform of gray, examining the signal.  
  
The Triforce symbol was that of fire, confirming that facts that this indeed was one of the legendary temples that Shiek had spoke of. No more denying that fact, he stared up and caught the inside of the volcano, giving confirmation that the path had led inside of Death Mountain. How could it be since they were still in the middle was beyond him, question the pondering to his young fairie, whom answered. Well, she didn't at first because she was beginning to think about it, first snapping out of the daze of glancing around the entire room. This place was so warm, though it felt not at all like the inside of a volcano would, it was carved and made into a temple, that gave way that no one would ever enter this temple, no intruders.  
  
"Well, I think because this is the center of the volcano, Link, I mean we are nearest to the lava, though because usually its incased in the rock, we never felt it whenever we were in the city. That rock may have been a barrier that trapped the heat, even though the Gorons can go down here, maybe if the King were to visit the city, he wouldn't fry." She shrugged and shoulder and surveyed the area in a matter of seconds, reporting that the only way out of here was an entrance blocked by humongous rocks, none that bombs could penetrate.  
  
"I see, yea.that makes sense, urm you ready?" It was a tradition to ask when each of them was ready, whenever they either faced a boss or temple monster, or entered a dungeon.  
  
She grave a small grin and nodded her head, the veil disappearing so it was like a tunic of her own, giving her the ability to breathe on her own. Link would just smile as always and think that this was the end, they wouldn't survive, and of course he thought it now--sort of realizing it wouldn't be. Nodding, he wandered forward to the entrance and walked inside of the carved area, seeing that there was a small hole carved into the ground. It was made very nicely, as if erosion wasn't in order, though both of them knew that Gorons had made it, he was glad this temple had Daruina in it. Inspecting the hole offered to reveal a ladder was there, so he pulled himself on the metal ladder (thanking Farore for gloves, otherwise his hands would be burning), and began to make his descent.  
  
The ladder led down several hundreds of feet, climbing down for at least an hour or two, he could climb faster than he was a boy. Dropping sometimes a few feet at a time, he loved the feel when he caught himself, the exhilaration that rushed through his young body. When at long last the end of the ladder was here, he dropped the last ten feet, shaking his head and staring around the place. Navi hadn't gone ahead like she usually did, she was worried maybe the fire would burn through those gloves and he would drop and die. Glad to have her with him, when he jumped the last few feet, he caught himself and took a gander around the room, surprised at how it looked.  
  
A long path led up to a pair of stairs that was the end of two rooms, one of them locked from the glance, the one on the left was open for him. Staring at the ground floor he was on, he saw two statues in the corner (not Armos) these looked liked they were constructed like a jigsaw puzzle. One single structure was in the middle of the upper room; it was the face of an evil demon placed with teeth bared at the young boy. Shivering at his predicament, he felt there was no smoke in this room, so he nodded for Navi to switch her tunic to, that she did with accordance. Ignoring the two puzzles in both corners, he began to run forward up towards where the doors were, not even noticing what was coming.  
  
"Link, watch out!" The same old one from before, being ambushed by those stupid little birds again, the Kesse were even back in this time of hell. Staring up, he caught wind of them, pulling the cape over his body and her form, not seeing as they jumped against it, and cried out in pain. Yanking the beautiful cape off of his head, he saw that they were not ablaze anymore and that staring around in confusion, missing some of their wings. Grinning, he reached for his satchel, throwing out the bow and arrow, nailing one of the arrows into the head of the first bird. Throwing another arrow with the graceful bow, this one hit the wingless bird that had fallen to the floor and was wriggling around helplessly.  
  
Both of the menaces gone, he easily slipped the bow back to Navi, who dispatched it back to its resting-place, the quiver not placed in there. Stretching out his arms easily, the young boy made his way up to the entrance, staring in both directions and see that he was right. To his right-hand side was a door just like the ones in the Forest Temples--locks surrounding the entire doorway--and to his left was a steel door cracked open for his exposure. Glancing up at the ceiling, he found there did pushing on the ugly statue near his face make no secret passages up or any. Since there were no other entrances to go at, he took the most logical step and walked towards the door-cracked open, pushing his weight on it.  
  
"Wait, Link, it's too heavy!" Her poor boy slammed into the door, ricocheting off of it and throwing him into the ground, with a grunt of pain entering out his mouth. While he did that, she walked over to the door and inspected it, throwing a pure energy beam up against it, watching the beam sink inside. With a few more zaps of it, the young fairie had the door starting to melt, and Link pushing at it--not slamming into it anymore. That was fool-hardy, the door was made of steel and left open for them, and by the way it had been pried, they hoped Daruina was this way. Finally the door had budged enough for him to suck in his breath and slide through, so away he went into the room, seeing no darkness since this room was full of molten lava.  
  
A full squared room, this one had a pillar where he stood, then another one at the very end was confiscated by a door with a bull-shaped lock. From the look of things off to the side, there were small pillars he could climb and small holes that his hookshot could shoot in to get him over there. Though there was no way to get to that spot where the door was, and from the looks of the lock it was the boss-room, which meant they were in the wrong side of the temple. Glancing in all directions of the hurry, he stared for whatever had pried open the door, not seeing a soul, then taking a few steps forward. When his footfalls echoed on the pavement was when something came out, it was a pillar in the center of the room, the thing sliding down the middle.  
  
Navi was prepared when the pillar hit for a wave of lava came up at them, Navi shoving Link back into the other room, and moving into it herself. Lava flowed all through the entrance, clogging even some in the door that immediately sank within the temple floors and disappeared. Must of have been a mechanism, either that or the floors were one to protect non- Goron people when they were wandering the temple. Taking a chance, they walked into the old room and saw that the lava had also seeped through the floors, and now a pillar stood in the middle of the room. On the platform was some being that was shadowed, head turned away from them, though from the looks of things he was heavily muscled. Navi had seen the entrance when they first entered the room--it was a room above them with a clog blocking it, the clog probably this peg they saw now.  
  
Reaching for his blade, the sheen of it causing the man to spin around, fire inside of those beady eyes as they stared at whomever was here. Link leapt back in fear at first, his eyes rushing around the body and filling up with extreme joy, because it was none other than Daruina. At the way that he stared at Link, Daruina didn't know who he was at all, and why would he when Link claimed to be a so-called Kokiiri. Glancing all over his body, the hero saw that the rock-eater hadn't changed over all these years, still as stubborn as usual. From the look at his hands, he didn't have that hammer his kid talked about, just a giant blade that was made of ruby, with a golden hilt.  
  
"Yoo-hoo! Daruina, it's me, Link!" He watched the expression on the rough man turn to explicit joy, his fact turning into a smirk while arms crossed over that deep chest.  
  
"Link? Well, m'boy, how have you been!" He burst into a barrel of guffaws, sitting down on the middle pillar as he stood, not patting for the young boy to join him in celebration. That could have only been a bad thing, Daruina was one to never turn down an invitation, he loved to celebrate when something good was happening. It dawned on Link that something good wasn't happening; it was something that he didn't want to have part of though had it. Blowing out a sigh of cool air (however possible that was in this environment), the boy took a seat where he had stood just seconds ago. He was studying the man whom had called him a brother, while the man in return studied him and the new appearance he had acclaimed to acquire.  
  
"Yea.it's weird, but I found out I am a Hylian, not a Kokiiri." He grinned out at him, as the man put the weapon he had in his lap, from further inspection it was some sort of club, not a sword.  
  
"I can see. I also see you have the old Goron tunic that we had delivered to us for such occasions, well did you get that from my little boy? Ah! You have the backpack, too, don't you? I can't see for that weird device you have on." Daruina was referring to the cape, it was something the King used to wear, but it had been so long since he saw a person with a cape that it was sad. Though, if you count Ganondorf as a person then maybe it had been sooner than he thought, yea, a lot sooner in his own mind. Ganon was still at it, though as the Goron sat there, he didn't want to trouble his young friend, and he wanted to rejoice at fond memories. Clearing that loud throat again, he stood his ground and picked himself up from that spot, taking the club at his side and putting it back into the right hand. A leap later, he was near the door and touched it with the club, the lock disappearing and going away for the time being, a little trick he knew.  
  
"Yea, your son gave it to me and even gave my fairie some special powder." Neglecting to mention that he had accused the boy of bad deeds and knocked him flat out, Link could only just grin and stare off to the side  
  
"Yup, he helped me. Hello Daruina." Navi had been quiet up until then, not really scared by the Goron boss just a little bit winded from everything, she wanted breaks more often.  
  
"Ah, and here I thought you had gone and gotten another fairie!" Daruina broke off into a barrel of laughter, the little fairie residing next to her friend and staring back at the Goron-boss, sticking her tongue out. Another gasps of laughter came out of the man, him finally retaining himself after a few moments and breathing out a sigh of joy. It was nice to be with old friends, especially the legendary Dodongo Buster and the chief employee in the tactics they worked out. With just staring at them, he loved how the boy looked in the tunic, he looked like what he was destined to be-- a true hero of the times. He knew nothing about the boy's destiny, though he knew he either had, or was going to do great thing in his astounding lifetime.  
  
With that pushed aside, he stared at the door; dreading wanting to enter it, though he knew it was going to come sooner or later. Just glancing down at the boy, he wasn't going to let him go and fight him, not with that legendary hammer somewhere in this place. If he couldn't destroy the evil Volvagia, then he hoped that the Dodongo Buster would go from Dinosaur- slayer, to the dubbed Dragon-slayer. Yea, he didn't trust himself to protect the boy, even though from the arsenal he ensued that he was indeed a great warrior in his own ways. From the looks of the sword he had sheathed, something was definitely up with him, that sword he remembered from some old legends, not able to know the name.  
  
"Well boy, I am going to go, you had better not follow me." With that in place, he spun around from them and clicked his fingers in a weird motion, beginning to whisper a mysterious chant.  
  
"Not go with you? What are you? Daruina, what do you mean?" Those questions flowed through his lips as the man continued to chant the tune, not even recognizing this as some of the Goronish.  
  
"Save my people, they haven't been fed to Volvagia, yet. They are trapped within these walls, don't worry about taking them out, lava doesn't affect them!" He only stopped to say that much, continuing the chant over and over, which was only about five words to say the phrase, he was just repeating himself.  
  
The Goron boss reached behind his back and yanked something out, tossing it over to the boy, never stopping in the middle of a chant to tell him what it was. As Link caught the thing, the silver shining reflecting that it was a key on a key-ring, this one instead of hooking it on his necklace with the Forest Medallion. One key was lined on there (probably to that new room) giving guidance that this was the best place to begin the search for something. He didn't want him going with them, for some reason, maybe he was scared that he couldn't beat this and was only doing it for his people. Whatever the case, Link wasn't going to let the boss stop him, so he backed up and prepared to jump across the place and over to where the man was.  
  
Link was astounded, the man had actually opened the lock without the need of a Boss Key, and as he prepared to jump, a pillar of fire surrounded the middle platform. Almost becoming burnt, he saw that the flames didn't lick towards him, they just pushed in the platform, not allowing him to aid his friend. Leaping to the side, he saw that Daruina had summoned it, whispering in the light Goronish tongue about something that translated to pride. Staring there in gasp, not able to understand the man, though reading his lips (because the fire was so intense) he stepped into the bosses' lair. Watching as the door slammed shut, the fire disappearing from the middle pillar and the door re-locking it self so that a key would only work.  
  
"Navi.." He whispered, curling his fist as the way he did when he was mad, how could the man be that stupid as to face an old dragon without the Hero of Time's help!  
  
"I know, he wants us to search for something, I guess. Maybe we should go try the lock, maybe we can find that hammer that the little Link was talking about?" From the look he gave her, he didn't appreciate her referring to the kid by that name, so she let out a small giggle and continued to keep quiet. Sliding out of the hole, seeing nothing would be up at those pillars if he connected his hookshot, Link continued over into the previous room where the door was. A small key sunk down into the lock as he pressed it in, tucking the key ring in the front of his side back, so there was easy access. More keys were available in this place, he was sure of that as sure as that the last place had those sort of keys, every temple would employ them. Some sick way to get their kicks, or maybe they were just mad at him and wanted to make these places even more 'fun' than usual.  
  
Now this door wasn't as heavy as the last one so all Link had to do was shove on it hardly to get the steel door to iron itself off the racks and open up. The next room that opened up was just a carnival of love, really, it was one of the most exciting rooms that he had ever laid eyes on. A rope-bridge led from where he stood and ran across the entire room until it reached the other end (blocked with a key) though that was only the tip of the iceberg. Surrounding to his left was lava, to his right was also lava, small little pillars going back and forth in two different directions to get you places. If that wasn't enough, the pillars were fire-powered and that was in a sense their gasoline, so that was how they moved on the surfaces. Blue bubbles were in the fire, diving out and in the fire like some sort of magma monsters, not at all affected by the fireballs . "Navi, those are?"  
  
"Red Bubbles, they are like Blue Bubbles, except their barrier is fire instead of just a blue shield."  
  
"Great, that's all I need." Chuckling a little, he decided that he might as well start by going right and hopped on the platform where it rested right next to the bridge. Thanking his stars that the bridge didn't set on fire, he leapt upon the platform that moved across the room and stopped next to a strange door. Faces were drawn on the thing he rode on, very much looking like the demon in the room, giving him the chills that this place was haunted. If that wasn't enough, something was starting to ring in his ears, a sort of chant from all directions of the room--a lot worse than the ones from the Temple of Time. Ignoring the Bubbles that seemed miles and miles away, he walked towards the door and peered open the door to the next room.  
  
This just looked like a typical dungeon with the door made of blackish gray rocks, and also having torches sprang on each side for the ten yards he ran. When at last he saw that a switch was in his way, he stepped on it and glanced forward to see that a Goron was sleeping in a cage. Bars made of bamboo slid open for him to escape, the young Goron springing awake and staring in different directions in fright. Link guessed he thought he was going to be fed, so he might give up a fight, though all it ended up doing was whining on the floor and wetting itself. Finally the Goron peeked up at the man, seeing the tunic of the Gorons and guessing he was an ally, let out a cheer of joy.  
  
"You are here to save me?" It wasn't one that had saved him all those days ago, though he couldn't tell one from the other, they all looked the same to him.  
  
"Yes, we are here to save you, Goron. You are free to go, but the place is full of monsters, it'd be wise of you to stay here." Nodding along with his fairie, Link spied something on his neck, the Goron seeing that he was looking at him, and reached around his neck handing him this key.  
  
"I found it a few days ago, I am sure it is of some importance, but as you can see there isn't anything that works on these cages, heh. Oh! Since you have rescued me, I shall tell you a secret. Some walls in this place feel different and sound different it you tap them with your sword. If they do sound funny, use one of our Special Crop's on them."  
  
That sure was something to take into consideration, so he nodded to the young Goron and went on his way, making his way out of the place. When at last he was back on the platform, he glanced ahead at the other side and peered that there was indeed a wall that looked weak. Weak sort of like the ones from the cavern though not made of the came materials as this, having a different feel from the others. That could only mean that maybe another one of those kin was in there with a key, if they had another, which was all he could wish for at this moment. Finally, he was back in the center, but instead of heading to the wall, he decided to test out his new key on that area infront of him.  
  
Hopping up at the ladder, the boy made his way across the arena with his hands trailed at his sides, holding the sword out for any attacks. Nothing was messing with him as he pondered up the entrance and pressed the key deeply inside of the locked door, watching it dissolve. Melting with the lock was some of the steel, giving him a good opportunity to knock it open and stare through the contents inside. What a break because each of them knew they would need to conserve their energy, the battles were only going to get much tougher. Pushing the door open all the way, since staring into the hole that was created just wasn't enough to satisfy his little curiosity.  
  
"I hope this works." He whispered to himself, trying to peek through it, not yet adjusted to the new weight of that stupid little door, it was a strange factor to consider.  
  
"Link, watch out!" She let out a scream of terror and pushed him away from the door, the thing slammed down into the ground, like it was aiming for him.  
  
Automatically the door slammed shut and exploded into a million pieces, Link grabbing his fairie and spinning around so the shards hit the shield as he ducked. When the madness was done, spinning back around, he caught whim of the key he had just stuck in, this one solid as could be. Looking towards his fairie with approval, she nervously nodded her head and retrieved the key for him, seeing that nothing was going to happen. You can say relief was on both of their brows as they climbed back down the drawbridge and continued back down towards the opposite platform.  
  
"Y-you all right, Link?" Curled up in his hands, the young fairie continued to stare through those fingers at where they were heading this time in the dungeon of horrors. Trap doors were never a problem they had faced before, it was such a stupid way to detect in this place, they hoped that no more were in the way. There might have been another way to detect these things--these creatures (if they could even be called that), who knew if they were monsters. With a small breath on the lips, she curled back into the hands, not caring where they were headed, only that the warm hands were near. It was quite fine wherever the area was, though she had an idea they might be headed over towards the other platform to visit the only room left.  
  
Link didn't say anything, only nodded a quick head in the position that he was just fine, heading over towards the end of the bridge to view around. Luckily the key was back with them or they wouldn't be able to venture further in this stupid shop of horrors, wherever the end was. There was no door from where Link stood, knowing that something was hidden between that wall, just sensing it in his mind. Maybe the pyromaniacs' intuition was inside of him, though if it was, the feeling was one of the most extraordinary he had ever felt. Curling an explosive out of the bag and holding it tightly in one hand, he nodded to himself that he was right about this intuition.  
  
"Think he was telling the truth? That other Goron." Pondered Link out to his fairie as they sailed across the ocean of fire, it was sort of lovely in a gruesome way, if not for the monsters.  
  
"I don't see why he would lie to us, he seemed to trust us."  
  
"But why would he trust us so easily, I mean he doesn't even recognize me if he was from that time." Link knew not when Gorons lived or died, he didn't know much about people when they lived or died, he hardly knew death at all.  
  
"Maybe the other reason you received those clothes." Navi pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone, it was so annoying when she did that sometimes, though he knew she was right and glanced down.  
  
"What about my clothes?" Then he saw the insignia and slapped his head as if he had known the answer to a problem in school all the time, never remembering it. Of course that would of made someone trust him, it proved he was that of their race, or not of the race, but a friend of some sort. Plus the fact he had blonde hair and blue eyes, showed he was a Hylian from the legend of the great boy who stopped the Dodongos from starving them. Smiling at his fairie sweetly, as the platform reached the end of the place, he jumped up with her curled in his arms and nuzzling. Yes, he could do this all the time, she was so much smarter than he (not that he was stupid) was the boy was so naive sometimes, that he even got sick of it.  
  
Jumping off the edge of the platform, feeling the ground sink below him, turning around only to see the tribal-masked square was down in the lava. No way out now, his thoughts rambled on as he stared at the wall, it was a solid green wall, with a small square in the center as if a way to get out. The entire block was seven feet tall, the small little block only four feet tall so that if he would blow it up, then would be able to crawl through on hands and knees. Kicking the wall with the toed boot, a clinking sound entered his ears, and tapping the other side of the wall just to be sure of it. A different sound came back; the first one sounded like it was hollow, big enough for him to go through if the time would be.  
  
His bomb was lifted from his hands and thrown down by the side, the faire now out of his palms and pushing him away from the site. Within a few seconds of the fuse being touched, he ducked down and the wall imploded, shooting pieces out in all different directions. Less brutal than the attacking door, this one was less brutal and didn't even hit him hardly against the defender shield he had placed on his back. Pulling himself up and examining the wall, he saw that crawling would be no little duty since there was a clear hole in the wall, this one leading into a new room. Not even a stupid door to block his paths, before he even walked into the new room, he tapped her for the veil to come on and ran inside of the enlarged crack that had expanded.  
  
"Why the veil, Link?" She was inside the veil as they entered, it on like some sort of tunic, though when she saw the next room, he didn't even have to answer. This vast floor was aligned with nothing at all, except a single circle in the center of the ground, fire bursting through it and heading up. Some sort of condensed beam, this weird fire wasn't ablaze, it was as if someone had conducted the fire and was controlling it. Pyromaniac controllers were something that he didn't want to deal with (even since that the only power he could control was that of the forest.) If that was true and someone could conduct fire, then they were in some serious shit with the boss of this little Fire mansion.  
  
"You know why, Navi." He smiled and glanced around the room for somewhere to go there seemed to be an empty room, the only room that was left, huffing some breath he leaned against the wall.  
  
"Man, I wonder where we should go." Huffing in her breath in a mad manner, the young farie crossed her arms and glanced across at her young partner, whom was silent as a wolf.  
  
Staring around the room, she caught where he was leaning on, it wasn't a wall at all, this was some sort of chain-linked fence. Glancing up at the fence, her eyes roamed upward to catch a hold of something else, another floor was above of them now. Yes, if you were the climb the fence--that could hook with his feet--the hooks were just small enough for them to brave through it. Extending at least thirty feet up, the climb wouldn't take long as the ladder had, because baring it was a lot easier than the other. This fence led over about ten feet and there stood a pillar, covered up so that she couldn't examine what was up there, though she had an idea.  
  
"What is it Navi?" He was leaned against the wall still, not even noticing the feel of it, for he had no skin pressed against it, though now that you thought about it none of his skin shown anymore.  
  
"Oh, Link stare up and look!" Spinning around with the fairie, his eyes widened some and he reached for his side pack and hooked out the Hookshot weapon. Without warning or some feeble pleas from Navi, he shot the hook right at the top area, the thing extending the maximum of thirty feet towards the fence. Cutting through the small holes, the thing shot up and propelled his weight up against the fence with all the might that it could muster. Now Link was thrown up with the thing, still amazed how a weapon so small could support his entire weight without breaking in an instant. There he slammed into the fence with a some-what medium force, grunting and yanking himself up the entire way and balancing himself up the gate with a eye staring around.  
  
"Hey, that was foolish!" She skimmed all the way up to him and slipped down inside of his white shirt, tunneling to look for the spot that he had hit himself. Discovering a bruise from where he slammed, she kissed the mark with her lips as a sort of motherly way to make them feel better. Out of his shirt was when she came, fluttering over towards him and staring around the room, spotting a few enemies was upon the top floor. Yes, they were up there and the Kesse were actually asleep, positioned on the gate right next to him, hence the reason he hadn't moved. Four shots of the small Ki beams were more than enough to take all four of the birds out, them falling down the feet and collapsing in lava.  
  
When all the birds had been taken care of, Link jumped the last ten feet upon the newest room and took a gander around; spotting a large block that seemed familiar. This block wasn't like the ones with the night-sky marks upon them, not at all since it had a tribal face marked on the top of it. Pushing against the smaller block that was just the height of him, the small block slid farther forward along a deep path that only led forward. Aside from this block there was nothing else in here, the places infront of the block was only another path, hoping that something clicked. Maybe like in the ancient Deku Tree that anything would snap and give him a secret passage to a new place, the only hope he had.  
  
More surprised than ever, he was greeted with nothing like a click, he was greeted with the entire block disappearing infront of his eyes. Blinking at the thing that disappeared, he stared as it vanished down inside some sort of black hole, not even seeing the hole infront of him. If that wasn't enough, when he took a step forward, he fell about thirty feet, knowing he would break his foot when he came down on the weight. Sailing through the air was quite fun for a while, knowing the end result would probably take him out of this place on some sort of stretched. Flailing his arms to catch something, not even seeing Navi at his sides, it was as if the magma in the place had suddenly shut off.  
  
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Navi saw when the block sank, following it with her eyes and seeing that there was a giant hole just the size of the block--carved as if for it. Reaching out to say something, she was caught off guard when the boy disappeared from her sight and even went out of the way for good. Glancing in all directions for something to say or do, she didn't even have the time do compute what had happened to him. Like she couldn't understand it at all, she was in a complete daze for some reason, like someone had hypnotized her to do that. Before she could warn her boy, he went sailing down with the block, seeing that the fire caught the rock and would do the same with her boy.  
  
Covering her eyes in fear and letting out a scream that never entered, the block didn't sink the entire thirty feet like it had planned. The roar of fire blocked the scream out, the roars that caused her to cover her ears and not even hear her friend's last cries. Yes, that was a wonderful way for him to die, though she wished she could reach up and grab him, keeping him all to herself. Somehow the beam of fire had caught that stupid little block and propelled it up; her boy situated on it as it sailed up in the third floor. Fluttering up after the young boy, before the block closed and shut them off forever, she was up with him when another floor appeared.  
  
This new room was as blank as the last, with a door that led into another area; this room painted a complete green like the bombed door. Without further ado, she just grasped upon him and was taken into his arms, kissed and snuggled up the only way she could of known. That was good for him and for her, since with all the excitement they needed all the comfort they could get with this in order. It was weird because she knew the door would never go down and there was no other way into this room, they would have been trapped. Knowing in good health they would be together for many more adventures, Navi snuggled back against him with due force.  
  
"Navi, the floor!" She glanced at him in confusion, seeing he was on the other side of the room now, the block that they had been sitting on was shaking. Light entered the normally darkened room that was lit with only the glow of the green blocks, giving off a weird unnatural beam of light. The crack sank down into the ground on the second level, probably passing for the first level and coming to a stop now. A few minutes of silence and the block returned to the spot, seeing that it was a routine thing and her almost getting squashed in vain. However, she did not doubt doing it, there was nothing that could of stopped her from leaving this place to find him, even if death waited. When she was picked up and carried out of the room, nothing but peace was inside of her mind, loving the mixture of warmth and love inside of palms.  
  
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Layers upon layers was what these rooms were starting to bring, the entire place already giving Link the willies around here, especially the green aura. In the previous room it was bad enough, but now it had expanded and lit the entire room around him, barely enough room to see around. From what he saw with his good vision, there was a small block to his side, something muffling and scratching it, unable to get at it for there were no weak spots. When Link tried to kick it, all he ended up was hurting his toes in the process, the scratching becoming louder and turning into a whimper. Whispering something in the old Goron language to the fool, it calmed down and only a light scratch sounded every now and then, he scratching back and it stopped.  
  
"What did you say?" She whispered as they continued forward, discovering that there was an entire stepping-stone form infront of them, leading up to the top of the room.  
  
"I really don't know what I said, I think it was that I would come back." Shrugging a shoulder, the boy stared at the rest of the room, glancing in different directions for some new type of enemies in the way. Nothing was there except a pile of ashes infront of what looked like a crystal trapped inside of a white casing that made it shape like a diamond. Climbing up the first stair easily (more like a giant's stair, then a stair in general), there was nothing on the first floor except the excitement of climbing up the second. That what was disappointing about this temple was the lack of new enemies, because so far he had seen Kesse and a Blue Bubble gone fire-type. Nothing else was going on, and even in this room he sensed no malice in the room, thinking maybe they were saving the hard stuff for the boss.  
  
Up the second pillar he went, moving past the pillar of ash and bending down to inspect the little light, or crystal, whatever it was. This thing was not worth anything, nor was it for the taking, since there were bolts all around it to keep it from getting into the wrong hands. Tapping on it made a sort of clicking sound, the inside of the crystal shined a bright yellow, a small timer taking off for about thirty seconds. After thirty seconds of fear, he just sat there and realized whatever trap or something he was to do had to be stored in this ancient clock. Yea, that was the only word for it; there was no other way he could determine what it was, either that or a timer of some sort.  
  
"It looks like this could be useful." She nodded out to the boy, he shrugging a shoulder and tapping it again, the thirty-second time meter springing up again, this time they looked and saw nothing.  
  
"Navi, could you go scout ahead while I hit this thing again?" She nodded and took off in a flash, wanting to do anything that she could to aid her friend in his search to end this stupid place. Glancing up above the next level, she saw that there was a small chain-link fence like before (this one connected to the wall) and surrounded by fire. She was about to go down and report it when he tapped the clock once again; the fire subsiding and disappearing until the timer disappeared. All of a sudden she knew that the answer had to be that when the clock was hit the flames were gone for a person to be able to climb up and get to the new level. It was dangerous and too slow to hit it from there and then climb a level and expect to reach the top in time, though with a projectile it was possible.  
  
Fluttering back to his side, she reported what she saw, the boy nodded and leaned against the crystal with his weight, just shrugging out a shoulder. "What else could it be?"  
  
"Maybe some sort of trap made for the people of here, though I did discover if I were to hit it, or you use your arrows then you may have enough time." Using the arrows was the wisest choice to keep his practice up, reserve her energy and flat out save time for her charging up a chi ball, anyway?  
  
"A trap?" He whispered to himself and the fairie, the both of them examining the clock, when the fire came out of no where and launched at his back.  
  
Crying out in surprise and pain from the heat of the flames against the back of his head, he fell flat on his back, something screaming in pain. When the boy jumped back up and glanced down at the enemy with sword drawn, he saw it was the ashes from back a while ago. Yes, the thing was alive and able to connect itself, looking as bright as a piece of skin when it was alive, this time just a bag of dirt when stomped out. Grunting out mercilessly, it crawled back to the side and began to click its hands--or feelers--together to conduct another sort of fire. That was put out when Link smashed his foot down into the rubbery body, something coming out of it (a green liquid, probably blood), dribbling to the side.  
  
"You all right?" She checked his back and was lucky to see that the cape had taken most of the damage, the boy's hair was singed a little, but overall he was fine.  
  
"Yea, it was just a mistake, should have kicked it off to the side. All right I will try to arrow, Navi." Pulling himself up the last pillar- stair by using the crystal as a pushup, he yanked himself over the side and saw what Navi had. There the flames licked the gate and prevented him from even using the Hookshot to get up there--provided it would stick in the bars or the stone. Glancing in all directions for some sort of guide, the first thing he did was spin around with the bow drawn, ready to fire a good one at it. His aim had perfected since the Forest Temple, practicing whenever he got the chance, so hitting this broad thing would be a walk in the park. Pulling back the arrow on the string, he let it fly through the air and come to a rest at where his target was aimed at: the crystal's center.  
  
The click was the sound of a racehorse, sounding for all the people to take off with a charge, and so did the boy, stuffing the bow at his side and racing off. There he jumped up two feet and landed on the gates, beginning to scale it as the timer ticked on, Navi fluttering at his side and cheering him on. Keeping with the breeze, he scaled the feet in what would be an hour spending more time focused on the area than anything in the surroundings would. As it turned out, the flames only rose about ten feet, not at all harmful to him, not that that stopped him from completing the journey early. Turning around an hour was when he reached the top, figuring he had been in the temple two hours and maybe thirty minutes, not even having a map to know if he was near the end.  
  
Over the top of the third level he came, with nothing in return for his duties except a door that was standing ajar for him, no keyhole needed. Bracing his luck, staring down one last time to see the flames lick at the iron, his prayers were answered that the place was closing, or so he hoped. A rumbling feeling came out of the newer room, getting the feeling maybe he was in some sort of giant's lair, though there was nothing to stop it. All he could do was hope for the best and that it was he did when he wandered ahead, the fairie right behind him towards the wake. Sliding into the iron door, nothing was kept him aghast at what happened next to him, a reckoning beyond all imaginable thought.  
  
"It's like that tale with the stalk, are we in some sort of fairy tale?" He was extended at the place, there the walls reached above his head, made of solid brick, but more baffling was that this looked like a maze.  
  
"A fairy tail?' Navi rolled her eyes in confusion and in a bit of a teasing anger at the boy, up until she was curled up and apologized too, which she gladly excepted. With that over, the young kid just stared blankly ahead with the fairie staring and starting to go forward and explore the area around. Boy was she glad she had, because as soon as she got in the center of the room, she had enough information to fill his entire little head. Floating back towards him, the rocks and cages glowing inside of her mind, she just fluttered back at full speed for the awaiting boy. At long last she reached his area, he leaning against the wall and listening to the rumbling of the rocks from inside the deep maze.  
  
"Well what do you got?" It was the rocks that he guessed, remembering the huge boulder when they had retrieved the sword, seeming a million years ago.  
  
"It's a huge maze that stretches out several hundreds of feet, there are two unlocked doors and a locked door at the very end of the maze, to the north. Also there are rocks like down in the Kokiiri Forest, they are many plentiful and go in all sort of different directions, so it is very confusing. I know it'll be hard, but I also have a gift, from someone I found." Navi had had a bit of luck on her journey, seeing that above the pillars were actually places one could stand and saw a switch to push, revealing a Goron with a key, throwing the same one at him.  
  
"Wow, another one." Hooking this one up with the other one, Link grinned at the fairie and stared out at the entrance, waiting until the rocks sounded the least away before venturing out. Maybe they were tricking him with sound, because when he first stepped out, a rock was coming towards him at a speed very fast. Sprinting forward until he saw some sort of crack, he dove to the side as the rock passed by, panting loudly and no longer trusting sound. What had ended up doing was keeping Navi ahead of him and flying above to see if there was a rock headed his way or away. That actually wasn't a half-bad plan, it gave everyone happiness from surviving this maze, the creators obviously didn't know of the Forest guardians.  
  
It was a hard adventure to the reach the very first door, his fairie mentioning that it was on the right (along with the other door), the last one in the center. Keeping his back pressed against the wall really knocked out the need of being warned, which was good because he hated making her work. When a rock came close to him, it always stopped right before it hit the wall so that it wouldn't bounce off and hit the other ones. Only problem was that the flaming balls were so close that they singed his tunic, the thing repairing itself since it was immune to fire, though the thought counted. At long last the door was within reach, unlocked for his pleasure, so checking to see if it was alive and well--he ventured to it and opened up the door made of a thin layer of still.  
  
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The terrible smell was what warned Link that this room had some wrongdoing in it, maybe it was the smell that warned him, though the silence was enough to spook anyone. Some sort of prison like before, and Link wanted to see the Goron and maybe the person he had to kill either to survive, or a Gerudo who attacked him. No Gerudo could stand up to the power of any Goron; they were just so strong that Link was glad they were on his side in the battle. No smell of a Gerudo was in here; it smelt like Goron and only Goron--causing him to think of cannibalism and shiver in annoyance. A similar gray-stoned door as the last prison cell, when he reached the end of the case was where all the horror was stored inside the celled gates.  
  
"I'm almost afraid to look, Navi." She nodded with some compassion, knowing his nose was strong so he smelt the most of the disease, whatever it was had been sitting here for quite a few hours, or maybe it was more like a few extra days (neither could actually tell.)  
  
"Oh my Goddess, no." Navi was the one who blurted it out, she covering her eyes in horror, only to feel a hand escape off of him, patting her with some gentleness. It was just so horrible to explain that neither of them wanted to see the scene, only bowing their heads in the pure shame of the allegiance. Cannibalism wasn't the case here, because there was only one carcass of a Goron, some weird teeth marks on the little thing that had died. Whatever had gotten it had made it struggle, the guts ripped out and torn all over the place, like some sort of monster got at it. Not even holding back the tears, they streamed with full force, each of them letting them out to no avail of comfort from the other one.  
  
Around the fat, bulbous corpse was a key, stained with blood from the attack, yet never letting the enemy get a hold of the treasure. The creature died protecting that, they could see from the teeth marks on the key where the monster had tried to get at it, seeing that it had died alone. After the monster left was when the man had died, in his own guts strewn around, never letting go of a simple key to a damned door. With Navi still sobbing, he had dried himself off and yanked the freshly chewed key from the area, noticing that nothing was coming. Whatever was here would be back for the key, they had best escape this dreaded bloodshed room before it wandered back for more.  
  
"Navi we have too--" He was cut off with a small little squeal escaping her lips, she sinking down to the ground with no longer able to control her little wings.  
  
"I can't do it.." She whispered to herself and began to sail down into the blood, the liquid that was all around her, not caring if it stained her all insides.  
  
"What in the world are you--Navi!" Letting out a cry of worry, he tried to catch her, though she just slipped through his hands and went inside of the stuff, not even being able to grasp her.  
  
No longer caring about the monster returning, he saw his fairie had sunk into the blood and gone under, driving a hand down and retrieving her form the liquid. As if born from a mammal, she was drenched in the blood, still crying as he took her and tucked her down inside of his tunic, wandering out of the room. The tunic provided a good cleaning source for that of liquid maybe, but against blood it just wasn't going to work; nothing was going to work. As he walked along the path to the second room, hoping for not another blood path, he continued to scrub with the tunic harder. Nothing was able to make this disappear, so he was about to give up when the second door came into view, hoping to get some luck from the door, though not from here (who was still crying.)  
  
"You really need to calm down, sweetheart." When she didn't answer, he knew it was in vain, though he wiped the blood from her face and kissed her lips softly, feeling so warm in his heart now.  
  
The second door turned out to be a fake, though not an attacking one, this one simply fell down and busted into two large pieces for him. Grunting in displeasure, the girl was going into hysterics as he broke into a crazy run and trailed himself forward until a corner came in the process. Just as he headed for it was when a loose rock was diving his way, knowing that running wouldn't do it and something would have to be done. Tucking the fairie under the cap so that she was secure from the consequences, he prepared himself for the run for his rubies. Tucking the black cape forward for some sake and pressing the button on the tunic, the rock started his way when he broke out into a faster run.  
  
It took all the wit and luck he could muster up to make the jump, though as the rock slid down towards the rock, he wanted to take a chance and slip through. It was a tight squeeze from the looks of when he ran, he knew that he'd have to take to the air to squeeze through and hopefully not burn himself to an early grave. Leaping into the air and using the sides as a sort of propeller, it launched him straight into the air and diving for that little crack that seemed less and less smaller. The crack was worrying him, knowing that if his fairie were halfway sane that she would have scolded him for taking such reckless actions. Sucking in the air from here, tightening his chest and trying to sink himself into a smaller position than before, he just waited.  
  
Capes were protective in these situations, especially for someone as reckless as the boy that was trying to slip through a small crack was. The rock did come against him, rubbing against the cave and deflecting most of the damage, also causing him to get a little singed around that cloak. Sliding through the rock easily, it touched against his pants, well the parts that would consist of socks and burnt them a little. Skimming through the hole had to take some fake practice tests, though by the time he did it, he knew that getting through was a breeze. Along with his shoes, so when he pulled from the crack and measured the damage he would realize it was time for some new shoes.  
  
Sliding down into the corner, it wasn't a room, but by the time the rock had moved, he realized it led right to the door that was in the center, well maybe she didn't get it as well. Seeing this as a good as time than any to test his little water out, he pulled the girl down and laid her on the cold floor (cold.how funny.) When she was there, he stripped her over her uniform, heading not to look, where he poured some of the whole canteen of water on her. Some of the soaps he had collected on his adventures, washing her with a bit of his torn tunic were a breeze, the stuff coming off. That was great, because he was glad to see her doing a little better, the tears gone, and soon her tunic was washed and drying as she was curled inside his own tunic, to keep her from catching her death.  
  
Usually this was the part where he settled down, so following the course of time; he was soon sinking down into a light rest, not worrying about the temple. Whatever they were rescuing would have to wake until Navi woke up and what better time to be with her than with the dreams of her. Nothing was better than being asleep, that way you could never get hurt and with no enemies about it was the perfect place to nap. They would eat when they got back, get some healed up with the power of sleep and then be on their way to take out this Volvagia. It would pay for stealing a girl he had just met, he would make sure of that, and inside his mind was where he fought the monster--and won.  
  
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What went in the mind of her, though she had a small recollection of the events after finding the dead Goron, she had nothing really large to go on. Though the dodging of the rocks was there, nothing else was there, simply because there hardly was nothing else to recollect on. Just the feeling of her boy travel through, also remembering that she was washed and still she shivered at the thoughts of him scrubbing her. Yea, she was in a weird mood tonight, or was it today, she didn't even know how long she had been out--if she was even awake. It was fine with her to be out or awake; the only problem was what was going to come next, her answered before it even happened.  
  
Scenery changed from that of the room she was (which had been pitch black) to that of a beautiful white room, nothing about here. Unable to see what was around, Navi realized she couldn't even see herself, all she could see was that there was something different about this room. A grand holiness was in this room, though from the looks of thing she saw no one in here, the presence was what she sensed. Nothing of honour was in here; the fact was she didn't have much of that for anything, when usually another type of person would have. Her and Link were the same in honour, they weren't knights or anything, they never wanted to be any such thing, they were both just fierce warriors.  
  
Knights had explanations for things, they had bigger problems than regular people did, and they always had that stupid Code of Arms they followed. Now in the case of Navi, she thought it was the most moronic thing she had ever heard the code sounding like something a pussy thought up. Both of them weren't knights and they had more of a responsibility than any of the knights who had died meaningless deaths that fearful day. If someone could have warned them that the hero would be here in ten years, than maybe some of this could have been prevented. The biggest of all pusses was the Sage of Light, he reminded her of someone in the distant pass that she had never taken a caring for either, though she couldn't recall who it reminded her of.  
  
Everything was bizarre in this place, the scene trying to take form and sort of relishing the thoughts of a temple, not like the Forest or Fire, though. This temple was worse than before, this temple was black with contempt, a single white beam in the middle of the entire room. Floating towards the light revealed the entire room to be engulfed in a pillar of white, making it seems like the land of white had won. That was fearless for as soon as the white let down its guard, the black retaliated with a force to be really reckoned with, this one more powerful. Nothing could stop the black side from winning, the holy judgement finally giving out with some struggle, she trying to figure this out.  
  
From the way it happened, she thought that the first war had come and gone and then in the time of peace was when the Gerudos attacked Hyrule. The beginning of the Imprisoning War, that was a good title for what had happened, and it just went to show when you dropped your guard. Although she couldn't say anything about that, since the innocent boy always dropped his guard, he had it gone at this moment in time. Resting was all right, as long as you knew the room you were in, seen the entire room and made sure that no one was around to get you. Sleeping in the temple was something that you just weren't supposed to do, it not only was rude to whoever was trapped, and it was pretty stupid, in her opinion.  
  
Link is stupid? A voice had commenced; she sensing it may have been the voice of the holy being that she presented at an earlier time.  
  
No, he is just naïve. This wasn't Navi that answered, this was another, this the present of a girl, from the sound maybe a wise girl, while the other was of a woman with strong issues.  
  
Hero is not stupid at all; he just is so innocent. A third sound of voices commenced, this one she couldn't distinguish the personality, sensing that they were two of the same with Link.  
  
Who are you all? She whispered out of her mind, the three voices didn't speak after that, just revealed themselves to the fairie who had invaded their territory. Upon three chairs that were equal in size and shape were three young women, them being all about the age of twenty-two or twenty-three. One was with long green hair, the other one with some shorter red hair that stopped at her neck; the last one has the matching hair colour as hers--though longer. Each of them was dressed in ceremonial robes with a piece of the Triforce symbol on each of the foreheads, knowing that one of them was different from the other. Navi didn't know whom they were, what they wanted, and mostly she was scared senseless of the beings, their powers far greater than imagined.  
  
Fear not, for we are no one, though we are all and yet are none. We are all of the same, the one split between three and yet fought over for the control of the world, some call us Gods, while others call us simply the Holy Being. Some fear others and us just disagree that we even exist though we are honored that you are here for this special occasion, uninvited. You believe in us, you and your partner think we are around and even sometimes curse us. Though it does not matter since if we were in the same spot, we would curse each other in the exact same manner. Now all questions won't be answered, the tale is far from over, with the answers then everything would be clear, that wouldn't be too good, now would it? The Goddesses are our names and you are the one who guides Link, the one who seems to be in love with a little Hylian. Each of them spoke this and burst into streams of giggles, though all of them were blushing for some strange reason, so weird for a God to be embarrassed by something.  
  
What do you want from me and Link? She cried out in desperation to make herself come true, trying desperately to find out what they wanted with her and her partner. Protecting Link was now the only purpose that she lived for, the other dignities of the past had disappeared all so long ago. No one was going to hurt her partner, she would make sure of that, and it roared through the eyes of hers, the Gods all staring at her. So strange how they stared, as if surprised at how angry she was, now really knowing what to say to one another, though they could probably speak otherwise. Telepathically was what Navi was thinking, they might even be able to reach her own thoughts, the mind of hers being controlled was scary enough.  
  
Link? We didn't call Link, nor did we call you, the simple face is-- wake up. Strange thing was that the last part of the sentence wasn't what they sounded like, that voice was something more male to the extent. More of a voice that she had heard once or twice (or even a million) times before in her lifetime, it was hard to tell who was who in a dream. Each of the Gods disappeared from the sight they came from, the sky ripping open and the face of her boy appearing before her. Flying up towards the face, she was stretched to find out the hole was open for her, almost expecting it to shoot her back into darkness. Nothing to do except go through, was her thought when she zipped through and hoped that she would appear in a new place, the original world of her love.  
  
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"Wake up, my fairie." Her eyes poked open to see that Link was back in the real world, the transportation had been a great success, she was back in the real world. Beating this old world had given her some confidence to go on and face the world they were in now, wanting this hellish place to end. With that in mind, she wanted to go ahead with no more breaks, skipping the food they were supposed to eat and to end this. Link was just staring at her with those eyes of concern lifting and a cute little smile abasing his lips, then leaning down to kiss the body.  
  
"Link.wha-what happened?" With the concern in his face there from before, she wondered what had happened, and where in the world they were, they were in a new room. Not the room that Link had gone to sleep in, this room was a complete circle with two barred doors at each end of the circle. The farthest end of it was a door with a lock, the key sticking out and melting as she stared, seeing Link had come in here to recuperate. Yea, that was good, it was soon to go on, though this new room wasn't full of anything, the perfect place for some sort of safe haven. That was good, for they wanted to have a place to recover their power, Link probably taking that in mind and moving while she was out.  
  
"Well, you passed out and I went through the rest of the maze, found another key so that makes three now, well two since I just used one. Anyway, I came to a small swallow and there I cleaned you off pretty well, your clothes are a piece from my red tunic, the others were ruined. I went to sleep in the swallow and woke up about two hours ago, then I moved us to the room right next to it--right here where we reside." Smiling, he patted her body, letting her notice that she indeed had a small piece of cloth tied around her body, snugly so it wouldn't fall off.  
  
"How long was I out, Linky?" She shivered and curled herself up inside of the stuff, the new clothes, glancing over at him with a smile-- knowing how sweet he was.  
  
"Well, I can't really judge, but I was out for about eight hours, I think. So, you were out for ten hours altogether, this has been a hell of a long temple." He shrugged a shoulder, not even noticing that he cursed, it was as if in this situation that nothing mattered, not even bad words.  
  
She nodded back and floated over towards where the key was, assigning the lock by snapping the key inside and the rest of it slid down and melted. Two more keys remained for they're beckoning, feeling confident that they couldn't run into a locked door, the keys always made her feel this way. With another key gone, this door was sort of like the doors from the Forest Temple; it was made of wood (not Deku, of course.) That was just, since the door had no handle and when the young boy walked ahead and stood infront of the door, hands at his sides. Automatically the thing slid open towards him, giving access from the young boy to a new room, one that just beckoned to be explored.  
  
This new room was a complete duplicate of the other one with the stones, except where stone had stood in the old room, lava replaced in this room. It was duplicated because the thing was in the same shape as the last one, on further inspection it was known that the room was shaped in a half circle. Half a circle for each room, though, it wasn't that the whole thing together was a whole circle, the room in the middle some sort of barrier. What was guessed had to be that this stupid middle room had those bars that led to the other room, of no importance for them ever. Two halves were put together and she guessed that this made a complete circle, and what a circle of madness it would of made.  
  
Just giving a glance around the room made each of their stomachs churn, for this was not going to be a very nice ride through. In this room was a small gate that ran over the entire room, it held up by the ceiling supports, so that you couldn't fall in the hot lava below. She and Link was sited on a small platform before the metal, safe from something that might of tried to get at their legs or something. Nothing could get through the gate made of metal, that was secured tightly by the small holes that fire might be able to seep through. That was bad, for there were Red Bubbles below, where the thing broke off into another (there were actually two with close speculation).  
  
"Link, you ready for this?" She was staring at him; her eyes were close towards the ground, seeing that the bubbles didn't hide under the bridge, just under the huge gaps.  
  
"Yea, I think I am, let's just do it and get it over with." Blowing out the blonde tresses from his eyes, he pulled them over so they were out of the way and leapt the first gap to the end. That was when his gape almost got thrown off, something turned up around him, making him spin around and see that a wall of flames was at him. The flames were baring towards him, some sort of defensive mechanism to protect the people and kill intruders in this place. Out of all of his deals, he had to deal with something like this bearing towards him; it was almost too bad to be true-- if so rudely used. Traps were bad since he was trying to save it, though you couldn't stop things from the past, things made that people were long dead from the making, no one to blame.  
  
Singed a little from the back, the pain not that apparent, the breeze through here wasn't going to be as simple as he thought, the little bubbles were the least of his worries. Taking off in a gallop, the flames didn't catch up to him, as if they were meant for the lazy or slow Gorons, though they were naturally slow. Yea, that gave him an advantage, for soon he was at the gap in the middle, leaping across the thing without a stupid bubble coming out for him. When he was across, that thing snapped, missing him up by a few feet, causing him to take off incase the Bubble jumped up and decided that it was mealtime. Link was sick of those dogs, he had had enough trouble with them in the first temple, and this time around wasn't going to be the same mistake.  
  
While he pounded away at the flames, Navi was busy trying to find a way to get rid of the flames, her past experiences not working in the last. Nothing seemed to be working against this creature, the tactics she used was sort of abnormal, wishing that maybe she had some water on her. At first she had tried blasting it with all the types of rays she had, none of them working, they just seemed to annoy the fire and making it increase speed. Not the thing she was going for, the young girl continued to think of ways, tearing some of the cape and throwing it in the fire, the small threat erupting out. That was a bad thing, the fireproof cape had disappeared in the flames, only an inch of it, so Link didn't even notice that it was gone.  
  
Now she had one last idea, readying herself to attempt it, but swallowing and shuddering when he leapt over the gape, helping him across. The flames were coming closer and closer at the moment, knowing that they would be upon him before he was able to get away. Only choice she had was to dive into the stuff, regretting how the sacrifice would be, although glad he would escape unharmed. Not even warning her boy about what she was doing, the veil shined a bright red, as she slowed her energy into one big attack. This would burn up her and the energy, slowing it down for him to get away, knowing it would end and flaring down towards the wall.  
  
Yelping out in pain, she felt a hand smack her, flying forwards and disappearing over the end of the metal, seeing there was a rocky mountain just ahead of them. She saw as she flew, that Link had smacked her and leapt off with her, slamming into the rock with a pulverize cry of pain. Now before he could have slammed there, he only hit the sides when the idea of curling up was in his mind, that way to protect him. Rolling up as he came, the roll protected his body, making a few bruises on him, saving him the trouble of burning up at this place. When the flames came towards the end of the rock, it turned back around and went the other way, the trap only ending there.  
  
"You are so stupid, my fairie." He chuckled a little and stared towards the ground, the tears leaking from his eyes, staring at her with them red as his tunic.  
  
Staring at him confused, it took her a few seconds to comprehend it and then she just let out a little chuckle of nervousness and came up towards him, hugging the boy's face, trying to calm him. It was so strange how the emotions felt, knowing she had meant to kill herself just for him, though not thinking he deserved as much. Tears streamed harder and harder down his cheeks, not noticing anything in the world, everything else was ignorance, and this was bliss. Pure and simple bliss was the only way to give it; nothing else would have separated them, even if Volvagia showed its face here now. Her affection towards him caused more sobs to break down, the boy hardly aware of whom or what was watching him, sort of sensing something.  
  
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That trap was meant to incinerate everything, it was meant to kill everyone in the room, but luckily you had someone good on your side. That side-- whichever one it would be--would prevail or no one would survive, it was as simple as that, the switch had been thrown. He just wasn't ready to face it, he wasn't prepared to deal with the consequences, and when she had thrown herself, he knew that the hero would die. Of the death would cause him to break down and probably throw himself into the lava, knowing how dependent he was on that fairie. After all, he had faced him in battle and the source of the battle had been that the fairie would have died, that sped up his power and vigil.  
  
Deciphering the trap had to be done within the shadows, though it was done with some skill, remembering what had happened only a few days ago. It was weird, the medallion powers, though it wasn't a bad thing that it had activated (bad in here, he wished he had started with the water.) That way, in here he could have done the entire one in just a short while, maybe the medallion of water could floor the volcano. This place was messed up; his powers weren't well developed more than they weren't should be he thought the temples were supposed to be easier as they went on. Maybe the boy had gotten it wrong and that they could have been done in a back-wards situation, whatever the case, it had to be done since the hero was deep inside of here.  
  
Somehow he will survive this, the thoughts rambled on, as he followed them onward, never keeping in the sight of them, somehow seeing that ht would fail them if that happened.  
  
No more turning back, that was for sure, it was last thing that he wanted; for the hero to just give himself up, then he would have to show. Maybe somehow it had to do with being abandoned, or the fact that no one was around to show the love to anymore, everyone was dead. A whole race wiped out because of the despicable Hylians and now he was helping them, the biggest one of them all--even if he didn't think it at first. That was just some stupid cover -up, he knew he was a Hylian now, so there was justifying his ignorance about his past anymore. Shiek hated showing himself to people, it was degrading to reveal his presence, and to be detected by people made him even angrier  
  
Maybe it would get better as they went out, that was all that he hoped for, he didn't want to have to save the legendary Hero of Time's ass. The Volvagia was being dealt with at this time so that it couldn't come for Link early; a boss of the Gorons was taking care of that. Shiek forgot his name, though he was a strong man, he wouldn't last much longer against the evil dragon, the hammer wasn't set. Without that tool, defeating the monster would be useless; the man had tried to brave the temple and had given up about at this part. So he hoped that Link wouldn't do the same, since now he would have to give on and retrieve that beautiful hammer to strike down a reptile.  
  
--------------------  
  
Whatever luck was in store had sure given them out in the end, it had ended the triumph of losing and entailed a new dungeon for the both of them. Above the way they set was a small set of steps that they had to climb (the giant steps like before) these a few more and trailing them in ten minutes. Reaching the top of the area, he glanced around and saw that there was triangle-shaped gate right at his side, a barred door that was empty. A chest was there, but someone had invaded it, he hoping that maybe the map would have been there, though it was long-gone now. His newest door had a key, using the second-to-last key and getting even more unhopeful as the chains melted away and that door slid open, going inside with all force in mind.  
  
We're back in the boulder maze, great! From where they stood, they were at the top of the maze that Navi had described a while back, this one now looking the same as it had ten hours ago. Boulders were tall enough to knock him back, so when he jumped, he'd have to be careful not to jump infront of one and lose his footing. That would cause them a whole commotion of going back through the maze--not to mention being squashed to death by the rock. Glancing around each top of the pillars, he spied where the place she had let the Goron out, seeing it was at the other side of the room. Denying that pleasure, Link hopped from away from the doorway and a few spaces over, exploring the entire room with his eyes.  
  
"Where shall we go, Link?" Resting on his shoulder, she didn't notice anything in the weird, everything was ordinary, something to take into the view.  
  
"We could try by just exploring the floors, nothing else seems to be working." Walls were bare and had no potent to break with the feel of a sword or that of a bomb; the cage he viewed was empty with no hidden rooms.  
  
Stance of their footing was sort of eerie, it was the place they had heard the person crying out and a giant crack was in their way. Down at it was this huge crack, nothing like he had ever seen the air from below even bustling out and letting him feel the cool atmosphere. Taking out a small bomb, he tucked it down inside and pressed the fuse, leaping over to the previous ledge, and covering his ears. On impact the thing blew up, chunks sinking down and revaluing a huge hole, the screams even louder now that the barrier was gone. Leaping for the new area, he caught his balance since the footing area was smaller than before, most of the top gone from the explosion.  
  
"Navi, could you go down there and explore.I would, but I don't see a way down and it's completely black." He grinned a chuckle and leaped back across where the old ledge was, sitting on the skinny slap of rock, staring back at her.  
  
"Sure, Link, I'll be right back." With a small smile to her lips, she just glinted back at him with that grin and fluttered down in the darkness, feeling something familiar. The scent was something she smelt, of course knowing that the room had to be the one with the fire that they escaped from. A switch was down there, the exact room that had been covered up from before, the switch right outside and inside was a crying Goron. Letting the thing free, it stayed in the cage noticed that the place was empty and dashed against a wall, making her way out of her and into the temple.  
  
She would have to do this on her own; knowing it was one of the first females of the race that he had ever seen the eyes more glamorous. Almost a beautiful aura was around her, not as beautiful as the Hylians or Humans, though pretty in comparison to maybe some of the uglier races. The blonde hair was a bit longer than that of the other rock-eaters, a little slimmer than before, though muscles were seen pulsing all about. Making her think the females may have been the more dominant than the males, for the guts weren't on them, though beer may have been a cause. Guys could have been good alcohol drinkers, which would explain the so-called 'beer-bellies' there were on them, that did happen.  
  
Where she stood was another key, almost baffled that all these people had keys, maybe they were assigned them for a reason. Volvagia may have wanted someone to face him, so he just left them behind and the Gorons would explain that they would want to keep them and said they found them. It didn't explain the death in the other room--with that Navi dropped the subject and starting floating away from the cell, scared. She didn't want to think about that, that one had been the straw that broke the camel's back, something that they would never speak of.  
  
"Nothing will happen, I will just forget it and it'll go away." She whispered on the way out, and the funny thing was that it did disappear, the voices not even bothering her about that worry.  
  
On the way out, nothing was boiling through her mind, she only minded that the key was in her way, becoming somewhat of a heavy burden. Burdens were all right to carry for her boy; she would be able to keep for herself until the light on his face was beaming about the present. The way out was incredible, how the darkness broke into light, how the light, the dream revealing itself back to her, conquered the evil. It was scary, she could remember vague parts of it--just like every other dream she had ever head-- though some parts were so dumb. Darkness was gone all the way as the holy matrimony opened itself, the young boy watching her float out of the area, key in her arms.  
  
"Navi, how sweet of you!" He was like a giggling schoolgirl, the way he sat, not sitting up, but the arms opening to embrace the one whom retrieved something for him. No, he wasn't ignoring her when he grabbed for the key; this was just his way to tell that the item had to be given before importance. He guessed that there had been a Goron (hearing a crash) so he knew it wasn't dead and just went out on its own, through a wall it seemed. At long last she appeared near him, the boy clinking the key to the ring and slipping it back in, his fingers curling around her. There the embrace went in, gathering her up tighter and pressing her against him; the burden she had suffered disappeared there.  
  
Confusion plastered upon his face as he glanced for a door, where were they to go since a key had been found, he had seen none. Hopping across each of the ledges without the slightest inability to where he would fall, the kid went for the gate where the Goron had been. Yea, there just had to be a hidden door there, that was the only chance that they had, to find a hidden door, no way they were going back. There was maybe a door in the room where the flames chased them, but Link was no taking the chance of getting burnt again. He had not even considering looking around back then, so seeing or noticing any door was impossible, that was good enough for this young one.  
  
At last, the boy stopped right at the gate and viewed the jump; it was quite a long one than the ledges had been this one at least thirteen feet. Staring at the deep distance was something incredible, he could have been jumped this thing when he was smaller, though the situation was different now. Legs were longer; making more room for some strong kicks, though leaping could have been a little shorter with the larger appendages. Gulping in some air, he bent down and stretched his bones out, cracking some as he prepared for the long run that was in order. Crossing those legs in an Indian-styled position, Link stared forward at the ground, trying to measure his aura and further his jump.  
  
"Think I can make it?" He whispered softly to his fairie, looking at the height, also staring down to see none of the rocks were in his way that was good.  
  
"Yea, give it a try. If you mess up, I am sure I can pick you up and pull you back up, or catch you in the air." She nodded, her power was stronger, and she wasn't able to handle his larger body, though now her confidence had grown as long as they had been at this,  
  
Pulling himself up and glancing nervously at his young girl, he backed up the entire length of the slap, summoning up the courage once more. Running full speed, he jumped the entire length, seeing that he would indeed make it, as those legs slapped on the edges of it. Crying out as the edge would either push him over or throw him across, something pushed him forward and slammed him into the wall. As he flew through the small square, the place he slammed opened itself up to reveal another hidden door for just the taking. Being locked, the thing was easily opened up and the third key sunk inside of there, giving them a duo of keys left to explore with.  
  
"Navi, what happened?" He was flushed with embarrassment for missing the jump; something had to have pushed him away, given him fair balance.  
  
"It was me, I saw you weren't gonna make it, so I pushed you across." Patted on the head for her good deeds, the boy nodded sweetly towards his partner and glanced at the door that had opened up.  
  
"Oh great." He sunk inside of the next room, the fairie floating over forward a few paces and screaming back in fear, as a sudden flame appeared a few inches near her. Scooped up by the young boy, the C-shaped room was an odd one, there was nothing in this room (from what the eye could see) except small poles. Navi had ventured between one and that was where the fire ignited, trying to burn her into a fried little girl, instead of herself. A terrible thing, another one of those stupid traps, he believed that this temple had more traps than the Forest one, and they would just get harder and harder. Well, this would have to be dubbed 'fire curtains', the name just seemed to click well with that, picking up some rocks and testing the curtains out.  
  
"Flame Curtains, I have heard of these." Navi gathered up a few rocks of her own, and threw the first one at in-between the flares, watching as they caught fire and burnt.  
  
Link caught up with the idea of the trend, so he reached for the rocks piled into his hands and threw five into the five different directions. Four of the rocks blew up in the flames, each of them disappearing except the last one, the one in the northwestern direction, that one just went through. With the joy blasted in his face, he ran for the direction, passing through with no harm to his body at all, gathering up more rocks. Each time they passed by an area of the curtains, they would throw rocks and that would be just fine with them, it saved time. A lot of curtains were in this place, so many that they were afraid that the rocks wouldn't last; though it wasn't very likely. This room was made of solid soil, different from the other rooms of rock; it was as if this was the only way to get through this little puzzle.  
  
At long last the time was given up and the two ran into a set of five curtains, throwing all rocks and seeing as all of them blew up in their hands. Blinking out, he thought that maybe it was a mistake and threw the last five rocks inside his palms, the curiosity all used when they burned. Gasping in confusion, he didn't get to surreal his surroundings until his fairie tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to his left-hand side. To his left was a small stone structure, bearing nothing in particular, though when the right-hand side came up, that's where the money was. There was a simply locked door, this one ready for the taking, meaning that going on was going to be impossible, since the flames rose to the ceiling.  
  
"Navi, I see something beyond us, it is like a platform, wonder why we can't go there?" Taking the second to last key off of the rink and sinking it in, the despair of no keys was flowing through his blood, denying it intentionally.  
  
"I don't see a door ahead, not even a chest, so there isn't anything there, even if we could get across." Navi would test this by throwing her last rock not at the curtains; she threw them above them, seeing the flames did indeed extend to the wall. The rock sailed through the air, not even reaching end of the place, stopping exactly where Navi had halted, a few feet before. It turned to pure dust and she smiled towards the boy with a small shrug that they weren't going over there any time this century. With a grin back towards the faire, he watched the door open peeking through and seeing nothing in the way that meant surprise was in order. Biting his lip, reaching for the Hookshot, as though he would need it, the young kid stepped through the door and prepared himself.  
  
As soon as footfall was in the room, the door slammed shut, revealing that something was about to happen in this little room. Crying out, thinking maybe that the boss was going to come early, the Hookshot was aimed through the air, trying to scan the darkness for something. To his avail, the entire place consumed in the blackness, a ring of fire seemed to be propelled in the air, not near the ground, floating. Link knew it couldn't be, the fire had to be placed on something, something that was a platform or a weird kind of elevator. Whichever the case, he wasn't waiting for this and jumped up and down, hoping that some sort of lit energy would light up the room.  
  
No such thing, all that happened was a screech came out in the room, the same kind he had heard when Kaci was kidnapped. This wasn't exactly the same, the scream made him shiver a little, though not as much as the earlier had been, something of a cousin to this one. Not able to see it, the appearance from the darkness was a dark silhouette, the scent smelt just like the one from before--gunpowder. Reaching for his gloves, he ripped them off and threw them aside, the Triforce symbol lighting itself up, and blowing across the entire room. Yes, the entire light lighted the room; it wasn't like what had happened in deep caverns, this thing had brightened the entire area.  
  
It was only a twelve feet long room, reaching up about thirty feet, though not enough room for a particularly big battle with a dragon. His prayers were answered once the thing revealed itself, not a dragon at all; this creature was exactly the same as the one from before. It was dressed in a beautiful blue cape of fire, the flames interrupting his eyes, to glance past them and see that it was only a play. Yes, this creature was nothing but a small little bomb, a living bomb, the fuse were just past the ruby eyes, them glancing at him evilly. Now, no one could regularly see this, it was a sense down inside of him, his particular eyesight also helped him reveal the creature. There seemed no way to get the stupid creature out of its alcove, though Link had a small plan up his sleeve, gripping the Hookshot tighter.  
  
"Link, it is called a Flame Dancer! Its cape is just a cover up, you have to find a way to draw it out!" Navi screamed over the flames of the evil monster, and the aura that was over the huge block--looking like the ones that drug across the lava. She guessed it would bring them up to the next level, since there was a clear hole in the ceiling that was just the same size as block was. Charging up a small aura, she fired a beam at the creature, it denting and un-lighting the cape some, becoming back to normal colour in a matter of seconds. That wasn't going to work, hitting it with energy is what the cape was probably made for, it absorbed the attacks and didn't hurt user. Speaking out the weakness to the boy seemed to empower him; she guessed that he had had an idea about how to kill it and with her true facts had just done it.  
  
The monster screamed out in fury and shot began to spin around, as it spun, little spikes had shot from its body and were heading towards him. Crying out in surprise, Link gathered Navi and spun around, ducking down as some of the spikes hailed over his small body. As a child this would have been a lot easier, now he had to take the chance of being hit somewhere, the entire shield didn't cover his body. Yes, they zipped through, him curled up in a ball so none of the spikes would have gotten at his ears of head, and all the ones that hit were for his body. The good thing was that the cape was protecting spots that weren't protected, the spikes consisting of fire-elemented attacks.  
  
I think we'll survive this, his thoughts were saying when one of the spikes hit him in the middle of the shield, the thing sending him flying across the room and into a wall. Grunting with pain of the bruises, he brushed his body off and spun around in anger, the last of the spikes had already come and gone. He was quite lucky the thing had run out of them, he hadn't even known and could have been hit with full force of sharp objects. What had happened was the spikes were getting explosive, they only hitting the cape and tearing a few holes in it, this one hitting the shield itself. Yes, the cape had stopped the blast, now his back hurting like hell and bruises all over his face and chest area, agony in it.  
  
"Link, are you okay!" Firing up a blast right for the head, not a blast that would hurt him, a paralyzing blast that would knock him out of commission for now. Navi had just expected it to stop and float in the air, though to her surprise she was met with a wonder beyond the wonders. That was a savior key, for it couldn't control that stupid flaming suit and it disappeared, the thing falling to the ground with a cry. It was zapped with another paralyzing beam, Navi seeming to be able to take the energy it drained from her, not as bad as before. She just let out a cry of joy and surrounded him, checking him for any wounds he might have collected against the spike that had blown.  
  
"I'm fine, 'Nav." It was a nickname he had thought up a few nights before, sort of what she called him; he smiled towards her and saw the creature.  
  
"Link, those things are explosive, but I found a way to get it out of the suit, you see! I know it'll drain me, but I can take the pain." She knew that even about seven blasts would make her pass out from exhaustion, though it wouldn't take that long to get the one dead.  
  
"I got it, Nav', we just use the hook!" Spinning around, the monster still frozen in place, Link got for the Hookshot and launched out at towards that stupid monster. The hook slammed down inside of the monster, the thing was smaller than the Hookshot itself, so he thought that maybe this was the end. Blue fire must have been the last suit of armour on the creature, for as the thing was hooked on, it propelled back to the user. The hero had the Master Sword ready, and just like an ancient Japanese Samurai, he created a slicing attack across the creature. Sheathing in the sword with a magical embrace, the creature--no longer on the hook) slid into two separate pieces, blood gushing from within.  
  
With remorse in the soul, the young hero had the Hookshot held in his hand, keeping it held there as the flames disappeared. The body began to light up, remembering the Dodongos, so he got away from it as the carcass blew itself up right then and there. Right where the elevator was, the flames disappeared and gave him a way to step upon them, giving a nod to the thing as if it spoke. Stepping on the switched proved it was an elevator, for it brought him to the fourth level of this entire place, enchanting his desire. The room was a familiar shade of dark green, the colours he had imagined all so before, groaning that maybe he made a wrong turn.  
  
"Are we." He gasped and stared around, the room seeming so familiar to the last one, that he couldn't help but cry out in agony from being misled.  
  
"I'm pretty sure we aren't, Linky, you just need to hang on." She went throughout the room and examined all the rooms, her eyes pretty misty from the way the aura left, exploring the smaller room.  
  
"Is it?" He whispered when she returned to him, letting out deep hyperventilating breaths, this place was going to kill him, with or without the tunic.  
  
"No, Linky, it's okay. This isn't the same room, it just looks the same, take a look around!" The boy did what the fairie asked, and to his surprise this wasn't the same room at all, the details gave that quickly away. Giant stairs weren't there, only a small crystal and the gate of flames, the stairs a main key factor in realizing where he exactly was. That just proved he was in another room, the agony disappearing and a sudden reeling of triumph appearing inside of his very own soul. Even without a map or anything to guide him, he knew that he was near the area of the end of this place, it just had to be the very last one coming up.  
  
His fairie had given him confidence, and for that he would always love her, a small smile beaming his lips as he stood and waited for her. She struck the crystal with a Ki shot and zoomed up towards him, he already up the smaller pillar of stairs and climbing up until the end came. About twenty minutes instead of the longer time he had spent another room like before had appeared the room that led to another room. Picking the last key of his off of the ring (leaving it there because newer ones would eventually come)--he just slid it inside of the hole. Melting away, he didn't even wait for it to open before slamming against the door and propelling it open for the kid, a bigger room than ever.  
  
Grunting with anticipation, the hexagonal-shaped room was something of a disappointment, not the end of the room, for one he hadn't that beautiful key. Two, he needed something to extinguish the flames from that pillar so he could get across to that place and open up the door. Now, all he was near had to be a long path that led to a chest that was surrounded by flames, a small switch as his side, probably that opened the switch. Wanting to be a little daring, not caring that the Keese from above were headed for him--or would be since they hadn't even noticed him. That was in mind with a footing slammed down onto the switch, the timer getting off and taking off like a wild horse in a race it wanted to win.  
  
"L-Link, wait!" She screamed out as he took off, the footing was light so not to disturb the birds of prey, that was the last thing that he or she needed.  
  
"No time, Navi, cover me!" He screamed back, turning around and flashing a grin at him, at that moment screwing up his chance of getting through single-handedly. When he turned around to smile, he lost his footing and tripped upon the ground, falling down the bath and down into the darkness. Navi's eyes widened and she took up after him, seeing he fell off to the left-hand side, hoping it wasn't as deep as the other side. She had only seen that the right-hand side was full of blackness, the right one had always been guarded by where the Keese circled around. It was apparent she was scared of how deep the fall was, if she could catch him in time, and knowing that if he died--the cause would have been her fault, and a stupid one.  
  
She sailed over the horizon, her fear implicating from relief to the over expression of laughter when she saw exactly where he was. Poor Link hadn't seen that there was a small amount of stairs down there, falling off and hitting his head against the solid stone. Laughter was the best medicine in this case, the fear of him dying disappearing even that the Kesse heard her was gone from view. All that mattered now was that he was going to be just fine, maybe a few bumps on the head, and a sore pride was there. Now clutching his hurt head, the hat off to the side, not even noticing anyone in particular, the laughter seemed to seep through his ears.  
  
"Navi, stop laughing!" A huge bump was pulled on where his head was, pulling the hat from the ground, dusting it off, and slamming the piece of him back on his head.  
  
"I-I'm sorry.I.just thought you were going to.d-die!" She burst out into another stream of giggles when she thought about the bump and how she wouldn't be able to enjoy the new pillow that he had gained.  
  
"I don't see anything funny, be quiet or they'll hear!" He whispered in a hushed tone, hearing that the timer was still ticking, and putting his hands up to push him over the edge, climbing back up. Only about four feet, he yanked himself back up the path and took off down towards it, keeping the footing back up now. There was no time to pull out the bow and kill the altered Keese, he needed Navi for that and wished she would come through to him. Running the way over, he sort of admitted that if the roles had been reversed he would of burst into a stream of laughter, all the same. There was no doubt this was how she coped with sadness, knowing she would have been horrified had the land not been of stone and of the exact opposite--nothing.  
  
It was better that way, Navi couldn't have put her hands down on the switch and opened it, so the only thing she could do now was provide a cover- feature. Not wanting to waste his arrows--she guessed--Link just ran along the thing path, sometimes losing his balance and having to be pulled back. The good thing was that it opened up and left him with the path getting a bit wider, the necessity of being knocked off wasn't apparent. Creatures were starting to notice him, knowing he was going for the brown-shaped chest (probably the temples' weapon.) Maybe a defense system for them, they began to fly along the paths, wanting to strike him down for what he was seeking, the legendary weapon.  
  
Summoning up some measly energy attacks, they didn't drain her at all, and best was that there were only Flaming Kesse in this room. If anything else and she would be warped, but they have been facing these guys since the legendary Spiritual Stone of Fire. The blasts sent the things to cry out in pain and sink down into the darkness, not even getting close enough to touch the tiles. Others were blasted and sank on the small path that Link had fallen on just before, not even getting close to the path Link was on. True that this thing was getting a little boring, the monsters couldn't even shoot projectiles, at least it would be more fun by that.  
  
At long last he reached the end of the path, the light beginning to flicker, which meant the flames were about to ignite, though Link was ready. Leaping forward with force, he didn't even stop and hit the ground, his hands grabbed the end of the chest and flipped forward, tearing the thing away from the block. He flipped from the chest and fell off to the side, grunting as the wall pressed against his tender wounds, giving him some time to whine. At least the thing didn't go over the edge, he'd have to curse himself it if did--all the chest did was move in the air at the wall. The chest slammed into the wall, shattering to part and with that something pushed its way out, moving towards him, a shining metal.  
  
"Link, I think that's that." While he recuperated his small bruises, aching for this place to end, she fluttered over towards the large tool and tried to lift it. As hard as she tried, she just couldn't move the tool, seeing that what had to be a giant hammer, this weapon was encrypted in the Goron language. Ignoring the script, for now, she saw that the end was made of a beautiful ruby, having grips on it so that it could have been lifted. Metal was the shiniest one he ever saw--beating the Master Sword-- that it gave the feel of a giant hammer; the end you hit with was larger. The smaller end was the other part of the hammer, this one solid instead of two markers to pull out nails--like regular hammers were.  
  
"Navi, what's it say?" He was still leaned up against the wall, reaching into his backpack and taking out some 1st Aid tape, wrapping it around the bruises on his chest.  
  
"It says that 'this ancient hammer is for the one of the chosen hero, the one who is not divided by race, a hero to all of them, one that shall be protected through the ages shall wield the Megaton Hammer.' Also it speaks of the grips on the side measure for the weight of what the person can lift, that means if it chooses you, you don't have to worry about it becoming to heavy. I can't lift it, so I am not chosen." That's why she couldn't bring it to him, just waiting by the hammer for him to get the power to stand up and get to the new tool.  
  
He nodded and yanked himself up, it wasn't that he was out of power or anything, he just felt so tired after being hurled into so many walls. Reaching the hammer, the size seeming to him feel a little weak, the Hookshot was inside of his backpack now, reaching for the tool and pulling it up. The Megaton seemed to shrink in his hands, originally meant for a powerful Goron, it was twelve feet when he first saw it, now at about five. Five feet was just enough for him, the weight also sinking down a few tons, this thing was good enough for him to bare alone, now. Breathing a sigh, it felt a littler heavier than the Master Sword did, so he could not hold it for one hand, spinning around was his only defense.  
  
"How does it feel? It looks like it weights a lot, but I mean you have gotten stronger, and the thing shrank itself when you picked it up." She appeared by his side, she had spotted a small little hole in the ground where something was sticking up, having an idea how to get out of this new room.  
  
"It feels all right, I mean.I can't get my shield, this is a two-handed weapon, that's for sure." He smiled and glanced around the room, the only exit was down in the path, that led to the elevator room, there wasn't any other way.  
  
"Link, try smashing this block, it is big enough for you to fit through, I am sure it must be an exit." She fluttered over the block with the tribal face on it, this mark seeming to be the mark of the ancient Goron, or some sort of demon.  
  
Glancing at the scenery, he took a guess and prepared his hammer at the block, pulling above his head and slamming all his weight into it. Muscle and sweat poured as the hammer touched the stone, the thing sinking down into the ground, the boy also on the block. The block just went down and disappeared, it was going to the next floor below him, probably a hidden floor that the two of them had missed. Navi tucked under his hat and stayed with him, so not to lose him, as they would go down, that would be like the Water stone all over again. With a squeal of surprise--not even expecting this to happen--he sank into the ground, the hole disappearing with him, holding onto the thing for dear life.  
  
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No one passed out; the small little blocked slammed right on the ground, causing both of them to be thrown forward and off of it. The two of them were inside of a small green room, this room filled with those blocks like what they meant at the beginning of the temple. Where they landed was right next to it, the imprint of a large door right behind it, the things not being able to move them with sheer force. An idea popped into his brain, it was the an idea that just might of worked, and one he could use whenever they got back to the entrance. Grinning, he walked over to the large statues, pushing them at first, seeing that indeed they couldn't be moved, and prepared he.  
  
Swinging the hammer like a baseball bat, he slammed it into the top part of the statue, the thing falling aside and hitting the wall, blowing up. Gasping with realization, his hammer fired a second time across the statue, sending the body of it aside, this one also blowing up. Wincing at each of the blasts, they weren't as powerful as when the Flame Dancer got after him or the bombs that they always used. Each blast was all the way across the room, so they didn't have to worry about the shards hitting any of them, it was that they were perfectly safe. At long last, he slammed across the smaller part, the imprint of an unlocked door in their way; a metal door cracked open for them.  
  
"Good idea, Link." She fluttered over for the door, helping the young boy push on it, intrigued how he thought it up; they hadn't seen those things before. Then she remembered the older room where they first entered, snapping those small digits as the last of the door swung itself open. In this new room was another green room with an elevator that didn't work, that was changed when he slammed the new weapon into it. This room they were standing in was completely empty, it was just a transport from one room to another, a vex in the gateway. With some shaking, them on top, the hammer did its job as the platform rose itself to the newest room, the previous one the same.  
  
A long L-shaped room was next, this one completely empty besides a switch with a crescent moon upon it and a box right at his side. Stepping on the switch didn't do anything, it just caused him to look at it with some frustration, slamming it harder and still nothing. The thing must have been renewed, the other switches must have been, and maybe no one had ever gotten this far into the temple before. His courage was renewed when he realized how good he was to get into her; it was great to have been nominated for this thing. Groaning, the hammer sort of becoming a burden in some cases, readied the hammer to put it down where the middle of the switch was.  
  
"Link, you are gonna try to put it down by force?" She surrounded the box, illuminating from a pure red, back to a yellow, indicating that it was the trick to putting this switch down.  
  
"Yea, sitting on it won't do anything. You guess people haven't been down here for a while, huh?"  
  
"It seems so, those other switches have been checked." She smiled at the beaming boy, which the boy slammed the hammer down towards the end of the ground, hitting the crescent.  
  
This slammed the switch down and all of a sudden, the wall that was ahead slid down into rows and rows of stairs heading down into the ground. A secret switch, it was, and with that another smaller switch was down there, him grabbing one of those boxes and walking down there. Reason he brought the box was because the switch down there was smaller than the others, reminding him of the ones in Jabu were. When, at last, he reached the end; the thing was put down on the switch, seeing that the bars around the door slid open for him. Kicking the box aside caused the switch to push back, knowing full well it would happen, it was triggered by weight put on it all the time.  
  
"Just like Jabu, eh?"  
  
"Yea, so it seems." Link glanced at his fairie, the glints in his eyes revealing that he indeed needed to talk about something, the same one again.  
  
"What is it, Linky?" She appeared right by his face, sitting on his nose and staring down at her, the eyes somber with some forms of compassion.  
  
"I.you know what I want, if it doesn't go through." His eyes formed into tears and he nodded, pointing that he indeed was a little injured, maybe too injured to endure the fight against Volvagia.  
  
"Link, please don't do this, I would never desert you. I don't care if it is called disobeying you, but you aren't my master, and I will never contribute to leaving you to die." She wiped those tears with her hand, the bigger one able to push the tears away without the fear or being soaked down in them.  
  
Navi kept her silence, both heading for the new door and pressing upon it, the thing bearing no handle and sliding itself open. With a sigh, the two of them entered the room, finding another gateway was here, this room a sudden green with the lift in the way. How long it would go on was up to the boy, she just wanted to get this temple over and visit Kaci again, meaning she was still around. A pain sulked in her heart, thinking that maybe the kid was dead, that was bad, for it would have shrunk badly inside of his little heart. No matter how old he looked in his body, the heart was still that of a child, not being able to adjust his mind yet, though it would eventually.  
  
Slamming on the platform, the lift once again went a direction, this time it went down instead of heading in the northward position. Leaving the beautifully green room, he smiled as the room came to an end, getting the feel of the end of the room appearing over here. When they set down right at the bottom, he stepped off of the tan block, and stared around the room, thinking that maybe he was imagining things. Where they faced the flame curtains, they were in the same room as before, except just like it had been with the boulder maze. Yes, they were above them, above the place where the flames had so scared them on top of that structure that seemed to have no end.  
  
"We're back in the same room, but where do we, Navi?" He was staring up, down around him, in the left and right directions, but there wasn't anywhere to go, not a single place to view.  
  
"Link, you are standing on a switch, silly." He stared down and love is it, he was standing on a rusted switch, no door to open it, though it couldn't have hurt to try it out. Stepping off of the switch, a few feet away from now, the hammer was still lying in his hands--not an area to assign it now. It would go inside his satchel, or maybe slipped into the side of the side pack, which was the only ways, he could think of a place. Pulling the hammer directly, the wall around him slid up, Link spinning around to see that a door was hidden behind a propelling wall. Gasping, he walked over to the unlocked door and crewed himself inside of it, the newest room being a sight for some sore eyes.  
  
He was on the second story of a room; the room below was a small cage that concealed a Goron, the thing crying out for some sort of help. A sigh blew through his lips, another rusted switch to his far right, not even knowing how he could get across to the thirty feet jump. This jump couldn't be affected with any power, it was too far across, and no way he would be able to climb up the seven feet on the solid rock. Seven feet deep, he would be able to jump down, something else baffling him that was sitting down right next to that little switch. A blue block with the insignia of the Temple of Time was right there, the large blocks that they had encountered in the Forest Temple.  
  
"Link, the Song of Time!" She squealed out, floating over to the switch and slamming on it, the thing was no use, and since she couldn't pick the hammer up, that made it even worse.  
  
"Song of Time.ohh, yea, the blocks!" He had almost forgotten, so he retrieved his ocarina and blew out the tune that was taught to him from the beautiful Princess Zelda. The tune was the somber one, the one that just made you feel the land crying out, and a very sad and beautiful tune he had learned. Blue light appeared around the block, his face lighting up, as it didn't disappear out of reach, the thing just moved ahead a few feet. Dragging like the ones that he would punch, he knew what was going to happen next, the way it was shaped just had to be a great thing. Slamming into the ground, the block created a very good entrance, it was able for him to climb the block (it only five feet tall) and then climb the rocks. Jumping across, he slammed into the rock with two feet on there, the hands going and scrambling up towards the rocks, able to scale the two feet. Already throwing the Megaton Hammer across the land before he jumped, the boy scaled there with all his might, getting up easily. Pulling back up the hammer, which reverted to its normal form, he slammed it into the ground, the thing cage opening up from below. Making his way down on the block, he saw the Goron had already tailed it, a small key was left for him, the thing throwing it on the rock. Grinning, he linked the last key and played the song once more, this time it appeared on the side of rock he had gone through.  
  
"Where do we go now, Nav'?" He whined, glancing in all directions--except the door they came through, and saw that nothing was in his way, it was empty.  
  
"Well.I guess we go back, I mean there must be a way out, maybe a hole or something on the other side of here, or something." Navi tried to add some insight to the situation, though she was a little confused on where to go, the temple wasn't over until they found that stupid key.  
  
"There is another side?" He gasped and remembered back to the previous room, there must have been, because the structure was a complete circle, the other side he never thought of.  
  
Nothing else was in this room, so he entered the door to whom he had come in to get to this room, the second floor below him had nothing in it. On the sides were no doors, so into the old room he went, glancing in all directions for some sort of way to leave, some way to find a way back. In fact, he saw that it was over their, another side of the circular platform that was in the way, making his way to glance over towards it. Then he went around to the other side, seeing that indeed there was a hole there, a small little platform going upward and downward. Jumping on it as it came up, the thing went down with the sudden weight, slamming down into a familiar looking room by his side.  
  
"Link--Link look, we're back in the middle room, on the platform!" Link had sort of went out of it on the way out, knocking his head a little, though when she whispered those words, he was up and at them.  
  
"What, the room--the flames, how can that be?" Staring down at the ground, they were in the middle slot, the pillar must have smothered out the flames, enabling him access to here, but what about the key?  
  
"I think I know where the key is, let's try the first way we came in, to the right-hand side, there were some blocks like we knocked away, I am just sure of it that behind those things just has to be a room to the key."  
  
"Wow, I was thinking of that, too. I mean, something has to be behind there, since the other door was. Navi, you are a genius." Let out a squeal of joy and leapt to the first platform, going over from the first one, heading to the slab of rock that the door was on. Slipping through the cracked door, into the Kesse grave that they had made when first entering that hellish territorial place. Now that they knew it was almost over, relief of the burden was on both of their shoulders, nervous that the Goron boss wasn't back. Obviously this hammer was needed to crack the dragon's skull, or maybe it wore some sort of mask that this hammer was powerful against. Either way, this hammer would help him, guide him out and make that dragon regret it was even summoned back to life by the evil Ganondorf.  
  
Nodding all the courage displayed through his heart, he stood over the seven feet tall statue, and the hammer prepped like a batter would. Grinning, he remembered how they sometimes played games in the forest, baseball being one of the favorites he loved to watch. Taking charge, he swung the Megaton as the slots slid down one by one out into the wall, disappearing before they could explode. His fear had been since the statue's height from the wall up against the stairs was a very small area, just enough to survive a blast. Luckily, it just tore through the wall and disappeared, about a few seconds later, something exploding inside the wall, each having a feeling what it was.  
  
Yanking open the door, he ran into one of the very ending doors, gasping in surprise that what was around this room, the things he had been dreading. Enemies were not very in the Fire Temple, though as he peeked across the corner, this room must have been where they were all residing. Although with all the enemies in the room, he saw there weren't many in the Fire Temples--a good variety of them didn't seem around. The things that pushed him, the ones you could stomp out were varied about seven of them and flying Kesse were storming in a dozen. Also around was a new enemy, something like he hadn't seen before and just by the looks of it, he had the chills down his spine.  
  
"Look's like an enemy hold out." Navi whispered, scanning the ones that they had seen before, though not taken the time to even give the best consent too.  
  
"Yea, they all must of thought I was coming later or something, so whatdya got?" He wasn't looking at her right now, just glancing back and forward to see if any of them had noticed him, and fortunately they weren't noticing.  
  
"The thing you stomped out is a Flame Slug, I'm pretty sure you know how to get that, the other is called a Like-Like, yea I know, it's weird, but I don't seem to have a reading on him, all it says is tunics and shields." She spoke out for the boy to listen to; her advice had always seemed to save him in the nick of times, now it seemed just confusing.  
  
"Shields? What are you talking about?" Shields and tunics were like that sort of riddle, that maybe attacking it with a shield would do more damage then a little sword-slashing.  
  
"I really don't know, I mean its confusing to me also." Navi's powers could work against the slugs, though the first ones they would need to take out were those damned Kesse. Her boy's powers could handle anything that these enemies could have been dealt with in the younger state, all except the Like-Like, that one was shrouded in mystery. Annoying was how much they could be described, the creatures the most irritating that any of them had ever run into--and guessed would ever confront. The slugs weren't a problem at all, he could outrun and smother them with his boot, and he never had had a problem with them. Since they were naturally slow, if he attacked them last was quite up to the both of her boy, she knew he would probably go strategically.  
  
They could attack them from behind, or something, while she knew the slugs were as slow as usual, the Like-Like so much bigger than the rest. Standing beautifully seven feet, it could curl and twist its body in any position it wanted, right now just staring off with that eyeless face. Sickly white colour, it reminded one of a tapeworm, the slithering suck hole for a face was open, no teeth apparent in its body. What it could do was probably swallow someone, though she was baffled by the readings she got on this stupid creature's data. Usually, she could scan anything and get a reading on it, but if its energy was so dark that nothing came out (in Ganondorf's case.)  
  
"You are ready for this, Navi, right?" His comfort was pressed, the boy reaching down into his satchel for something, not yet able to retrieve it just at this moment.  
  
"I'm not ready, sweetheart, but I think I can survive."  
  
"So, shall we get the Kesse first, and then go ahead with the slugs and the Like-Like?" He was prepping his bow and arrow out, while she just fluttered needlessly by his side with that red aura shimmering upward.  
  
"Y-yea, I'm ready, just make sure that we don't get eaten." A nervous chuckle entered her throat, she fluttering right above his head, so that the most aerial Kesse could have been taken out. Her boy smiled at her, a gloved hand coming up and rubbing against her small body, ensuring her that he would never let anything happen to her. The courage was sparked back into her, the form of her aura swirling around her hands and deliberating it into a huge ball of energy. Not a lot of her energy, it would condense to kill a small Kesse and take out several of the others with the aftershocks. That was a new technique she had come up with, the attack that shot the afterwards, killing or injuring the weaker one, while the stronger was hit on full assault.  
  
".Go on my mark." He whispered out to his fairie, she nodding in compensation that this was indeed the only variable moment to attack the creature who killed an innocent race.  
  
Link prepped his hand and did karate chop to signify that it was time to attack, time for the war to break out and slaughter ensuing. Leaping out towards the right-hand side, he kept the jump in the air, landing on his knees at the beginning of the wall and firing arrows. At first the things didn't even hear him, since he was as silent as a mouse, not making the slightest sound to ensue their confrontations. People who preformed war cries were just asking for trouble, they wanted to be beaten and killed, that wasn't what he wanted. Not even noticing what the young Navi did, all he did was aim the arrows and shoot at the Kesse, the first one getting it dead in the head.  
  
She soon leapt out after him, letting out the blast at the first of the Kesse, the one hitting the largest of her six--she was taking the ones on the left, he on the right. With that, the aftershocks rumbled all over, altering the monsters around and taking three more of those stupid Kesse out. The other Kesse squealed in shock over the death of their siblings, them all blazing a bright and headed over to the source of the killing. Maybe it was a bit of competition for them, because when she looked over to Link, he grinned and was firing two arrows at once. If it was a competition he wanted, that was what he was going to get, she charging p another one of those huge balls, it taking a few moments to let loose.  
  
"How about a little competition!" Link yelled out to his faire, the slugs beginning to slug over towards him at inches in a minute, the Like Likes just spinning around angrily.  
  
"All right, I've got three, how many to you have!" She wasn't staring ahead, she had to keep her eyes closed when performing this slightly larger attack, and the regular ones were done in her sleep.  
  
"Five!" He screamed out, the last arrow sinking down into the last Kesse, the arrows being thrown off to the side, while he reached behind the cape and unsheathed the sword. Not even caring what was happening for Navi, he would check in every now and then and see how she was doing on the monster- wise. The Blade of Evil's bane was prepared up, as the slugs headed over towards him, staying to the right so none of Navi's birds got him. With a leap of power, he swung the sword forward and sliced that stupid fire slug in half, the skin turning black as it died itself out. Stomping it, just to make sure it wouldn't ignite itself once again, his ears were held with a shriek, something of a monster that was heading out towards him.  
  
Spinning around, something hit the sword he was using for defense (the Megaton now off with his arrow) and prepping him up against the wall. Letting out a gasp of pain on his bruises, he stared deep into the eyes of something strange, something familiar, though not in its true form. What he was staring at was some sort of Goron, the skin so different that it was believed to have been a Goron at some time. Not Daruina, it was one of the stronger males of the tribe, scaling about a few inches below muscle mass in comparison to the Goron king. What his hit sword was some sort of claws that were now sticking out of those chubby fingers, the things almost as sharp as his sword.  
  
At long last, the sword broke away from him, flinging off to the side, the claws of the monster working there way into his soft flesh. Now he wouldn't cry, the right arm was being clawed at in a desperate manner, his hand reaching for the Hookshot, another claw knocking that aside. Actually, the monster just ripped his side back off his waist and threw it back into the wall with the other weapons, leaving him defenseless. This was only when he had an idea what to do something that he had wanted to do for the seven long years of slumbering. Eyes filtering up with the tears, the pain and fear of dying, he cried out his fairy name in the blubbering tone like he had with Gohma.  
  
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Navi was busy handling her own to catch anything of the action, the assortments with the monsters had seemed to all has turned on her. She couldn't even glance in another direction, the slugs eyeing her and she doing the exact it to them, cursing at how her bad luck was there. No idea what was happening to Link, the shriek hadn't let been ensued, so she figured maybe some reinforcements had arrived. Since the action with Link, she was left with six slugs heading towards her, each one gnashing hideous teeth that had seemed to not be there. More dangerous to her, than to her partner, it was hard to picture being eaten by a fire breathing slug, her third charge attack hit up.  
  
One had been fired before at a Like-Like, trying to get it out of the way, the attack being sucked up by the thing, then roaring in pain as a little blood dripped. Nothing else was wrong with it, just licking up the blood with a long and nasty-looking tongue, seeming to grin a toothless one. Not that the thing could move, it was stomped right where it would remain until they came over towards the thing and approached it, she wishing it would move. Although it was a long shot, it was thought that maybe this thing had the key somewhere, maybe sitting on the box or had swallowed the key. That would explain at how weird it was acting, no legs on it either, so the fact could be that it couldn't move that bulbous body.  
  
As if by destiny, the slugs had lined themselves up in a very hungry fashion, one right behind the other, the teeth bared as they came closer. Whatever fate there truly was, it was on her side when at that same time her aura had stopped charging and coming to a complete shot. Forming the hands quickly into a thick beam of energy, instead of the ball, she was switching strategies and going for an over-kill. That would be the best of all, taking them out with just one shot, this time the truth seeming to be revealed to the loving fairie. Taking a chance and living some lives, she let loose the blast from her hands, not wishing for aftershocks, but for something that went directly through.  
  
Here goes nothing. Pushing all her weight upon it, the beam bounced off her body harmlessly and soared through the air for a few feet, coming to a halt when they appeared. Nothing happened for a few seconds, the slugs obviously not very intelligent when it came to the arts of energy, each of them sniffing it. When sniffing it, nothing happened, the beam being manipulated by the girls, whose arms were close for it to be still now. A curious one just happened to stick its nose against the beam, not able to control it as the tip of the nose was burned to a crisp. That alerted some instincts, the one who was burned let out a cry of fury and backed up against the others, they still in order.  
  
It was actually sort of saddening; the creatures all had been in the way when the beam shot through reach of them, reminding Navi of compassion. However, that wasn't the case as the flames were dulled by the energy, each of them being impaled all at once with the beam. Just like a sword, it stuck and slammed down into the wall, the wall that was near Link, she only paying attention that was happening to the creatures. Her full focus was on the energy, making it radiate pulses of beams that would shatter and disfigure their appearance even more than it had been. The energy remained there, not disappearing, granting them her wish of a slow and painful death for residing on the side of evil.  
  
After a few minutes she was getting tired of this trouble and just resonated one giant blast that made each of them sink down and burn into ashes. Leaving the stupid ashes to rot and blow away, she was actually about to make the beam disappear and collect the lost energy when she heard a shriek. Nothing Hylian or Kokiiri, it sounded sort of like a Goron when it was pissed off, but why would a rock-eater be angry with the two of them? Leaving the beam where it was, she began to ponder it in the seconds that passed through her mind, confusing her thoughts all up. With all six of the slugs gone, all that remained was the Like-Like and Link and she, seeing no reason why a Goron would have been here.  
  
She was about to turn around a when a cry sent her down into the deep road of remembrance, a cry that was always in her mind. Even though the voice was deepened, sounding more like a teenager than a little child, she glanced through her brain, eyes widening. Spinning around the entire length, she saw that something had her boy, a dark Goron with the eyes of red, she fluttering at its side with anger. H-how dare they hurt what was hers, it was an unforgivable, something that just couldn't give the remorse to the entire creature. Shaking with anger, she fired off as many of those Ki blasts as she could at the things head, seeing the claws were digging deep in his shoulder.  
  
There wasn't a thing working, this entire place was like some sort of hellish maze, the time when they thought it was good, and the worse turned out bad. The shots cleared the stupid head of the rotting Goron, she scanning it and getting no data, realizing just what this evil creature was. Similar ones were Ingo and the thing that attacked them in the castle; they had been daemons that were possessed by Hylian men. Now, these were the Gorons that were possessed, she getting the idea that any race (even the Kokiiri) could have been knocked by these things. No idea where they were, it was shrouded that they were working for the Great Ganondorf, sort of like parasites that took over your mind.  
  
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Crying out for his fairie once more, the thing was right in his face, so that he couldn't speculate if she had heard him, or was dead her. With no weapon in his hands, he did feel really weak; just like Shiek had said would happen if he weren't properly trained in the arts. If they ever got out of this, he would be trained by the mysterious Shinobi, and learn some fighting styles incase this ever happened again. Pure strength against the monster wasn't something that could work; the thing overpowered him, though if he knew the arts of fighting, there were pressure points. Growling for his incompetence, not even able to move his arms, he was pushed off the ground and held up against the wall.  
  
Fangs came out of his shoulder, the boy feeling the rustle of them as they interloped out of the skin, fresh blood matting his new tunic. Prepping himself, he stared deeply into the eyes of the Goron, them having changed from the beautiful midnight colour, to a menacing red. How he detested red in some ways, it was a beautiful colour, though he would forever think of blood from this point on, after this was all over. Yes, he believed his fairie would come through for him, there was no doubt he believed she heard his cry of despair and fearful intentions. Nevertheless, he did prepare himself for death, not yet ready to die, although denying the inevitable always seemed to make you a restless spirit.  
  
Death was not a pretty thing, it just wasn't something that he hoped it would be, and the time would come when he would eventually die. He knew that he would never be a Kokiiri, just like Hylian men he would age past this serene age and enter his twenties, thirties, forties, and beyond. After that he would start to get slower, older, and degenerate until finally he depended on people for care, becoming like a baby again. How he wished it wasn't like this, the cruel destiny that he would indeed die while the beautiful Saria and wonderful Navi would live. As these thoughts brushed through his head, a crackle of energy surrounded him, yanking him and launching him through out the air.  
  
A dying penalty is not what he deserves, were her thoughts when the special something zapped against the air and knocked him carelessly out of the grasps from the monster. It was gonna be a painful ending, though not as bad as what would happen to the creature, now utterly confused by the actions. Not even seeing Link disappear, the monster was looking up and down, seeing if it's pray had some sort of teleportation attack. Navi just grinned; staring off to the side with her palms open and motioning for the zap of energy to come back to life for once more. This had been the energy that had zapped Link away, it hadn't been harmful at all, and she could control if her power was good or bad.  
  
"You shan't' kill him!" That was when Link spun around, he not even being able to see anything, though he knew in his heart that his protector had been.  
  
Screaming out in fury, she threw her hands forward, the beam that had been stuck in the wall--still remained there--began to drag itself towards the monster. It was so sad, for when it stared at the way Navi screamed the beam penetrated through it and slit itself in half, keeping the monster intact. Normal cases the monster would of slid in a complete half and died from the point of losing his lower half, some blood loss. This wasn't the familiar one here, because it kept the monster intact, she throwing her hands up to the side and throwing it over at the other side. Monster on the beam was thrown right into the mouth of the suckling Like-Like, she was going to kill two birds with one stone.  
  
Clapping her hands together in sort of an orderly fashion, she went from her spot and over to Link, covering both of them with the cape. Before anything happened, in the darkness with him, she was kissed deeply, better than anything that she had ever received was. Not even complaining, the kiss that he gave her was of happiness and joy, the tears streaming down his eyes and covering the young fairie. She was soaked in the tears, not caring in the least how salty she would become; there was no feeling for what she could feel now. As she was done this way, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, there was no words that could describe how happy he was.  
  
The explosion didn't even break the kiss, whatever happened out there, he couldn't begin to guess, though he did hear the splatters of something. He had to guess that maybe something had happened to the Like-Like, it was the only one that could protrude that sort of feeling. Along with the splatters, something clanged on the ground; it sort of sounded like a key that they had heard from before, though larger. Just like the sound a silver key made when it hit the ground, this one was a bit harder sounding than that one, giving it an edge. Not that they stopped kissing, when the gut-shower was finally over, he pulled off the cape, still locked lips with Navi, looking in surprise.  
  
Gasping for breath, he broke the hold as they looked around, seeing that indeed she had shot that beam inside of the worm's giant mouth. At that time, she covered them both up and clapped her hands to signal it was ready to explode, them back in the corner they had started. Over in this corner, they were safe from the guts and all that even the weapons of theirs weren't harmed since they were so far away. Relief was in his mind, as he stared at his feet, a golden key with a jewel stirred in the middle of it, no chest at this time and place. Maybe there had been some sort of chest, the thing probably under the worm and was blown sky-high when the energy went off.  
  
"We're lucky the key wasn't destroyed.you are really something, you know that?" When he broke the kiss, she had resided inside of his hand, though now she wasn't speaking at all, her face was in the semi-conscious state.  
  
"Y-yea, I am going to rest, okies? Be sure to patch yourself up, Linky." Not even waiting for a response, she clunked herself out to the world, disappearing from the aura, the small aura-suit on to keep from dying.  
  
"Goodnight, my own." It was a term he had thought for her, it was like they owned each other, and as the hands went through the pack and patched up his hurt shoulder, he just thought of that.  
  
I dunno what I would do without you. Picking up his weapons and supplying them up, he slapped the side pack back on, and held the Goron's hammer in both hands. She knew he wasn't ready to face the boss, so they would have to wait a few minutes for her to regain her balance before Volvagia. Lifting into his backpack, out came a small little slosh of water he had gotten from the Kokiiri, the special water of the fairie-magic, preserving it for later. The Boss key was tucked on the key ring, hanging from the pocket in his pack; ready to be used when the door was coming into reach. Knowing exactly where it was, he ran out of the empty room of blood--seeing no door to get out of here and retraced his steps back into the main room.  
  
What an empty tomb this temple has become, all because of us, his thoughts rammed on as the door to the downstairs section creaked open. He let out a shrugging sigh as he passed up the long case of stairs, coming over towards the door to the left that had been cracked open for him. Who knew how long they had been in here, though he guessed about fifteen hours was the better predicament of the time, since they didn't sleep all night. Yea, they didn't sleep all day like before in the dungeons, though this was longer than the Forest Temple, hoping the same results came through. The same, except no more of those visions of bad things, that was something he didn't think he could keep up with, the torture of those photos in his head.  
  
Slipping through the cracks, the molten lava was something of a remembering feeling, spotting some pots off to the side, ignoring them, he wouldn't need them. Fairies sometimes receded in temples; they were trapped by the evil masters and inside plots of the ground, or pots, though he didn't need them. Plus the trouble of getting over there was a bad case; it could be done with the Hookshot, though getting back was a bad problem. Somehow in his heart, as he hopped across the three platforms, he knew in his mind that nothing would be need for this large battle. At last he reached the spot he had never touched: the area that Daruina was at, the final confrontation was coming forward.  
  
Final battle was in place, and he needed his fairie all he could get, sitting down on the ground and pulling her from where he tucked her. The hat was out now, she residing in a corner, instead of near where he had bumped his head retrieving the legendary hammer. Speaking of that, he put it aside for a second and pulled out the thin bottle of fairie water, magical water that would help. On Kokiiris it just subsided pain, though on fairies it did wake them up and empower them back to full strength for about thirty minutes. More than enough money to beat this dragon, he fed her the whole bottle, since there wasn't that much left, pulling the little bottle back into his backpack.  
  
"Come on, you need to get up." Feeding the water did the trick, for a minute later the eyes awoke themselves to the young boy, seeing that her power had reserved.  
  
"Hm, I am back to normal, how long have I been out?" She glanced at the room where they were, seeing that maybe he had waited for her to get up to get in the main battle--leaving Daruina alone to battle.  
  
"You have been out about ten minutes, I took some of the Fairie Water we had left and fed it to you, so we have more than enough time to battle through, you can protect me if they get too rough." With a small stream of laughter, he hoped up and took out the Boss Key, throwing it towards the lock, scoring a pairing with it. Huge metal of gold sank off as the key went inside, the last key of the temple out of the way, giving them more time to get ready for it. Hammer he picked up, holding it in both hands, grinning towards the steel doorway with no handle, someone was behind there. Whatever sealed down there would have to be dealt with sooner or later, the sooner was better than the latter, and everything else got ruined if you waited. Daruina and someone were battling it out, whether it be some sort of dragon or even some evil man dressed up like a dragon, if that was the case.  
  
"Wow, I forgot about that completely. So, how do you plan on defending with that stupid hammer in the way?" She was trying to be sort of smirk, the truth was that the question was that of fear, that he wouldn't be able to get in with his shield in time and be gnawed up into pieces.  
  
"Navi, you see this hammer?" He reached with both hands and raised it into the air, showing it off as if he had just retrieved the thing from chest minutes ago.  
  
"Yea, I see it." She was just staring at him like he had lost his mind, of course she had seen the hammer, it was so huge, and who could miss the thing?  
  
"Shoot me with a Ki energy attack." That grin came up, he acting like the big shot he never claimed to be, preparing the bat like some sort of batting technique.  
  
"Are you nuts, I could kill you, I have a lot of piqued up energy!" Her boy was nuts if she thought he would directly fire an energy attack at him, and why in the world would she want him to anyway? From the way he held that hammer, he guessed that he could either deflect energy or even his own attacks, or something like that. How surely she doubted that that would happen, and there was no way to tell, for he couldn't make her do what he wanted. It was a stupid move to make; he would end up weaker than before and lose against this dragon just for trying to be so cockier than usual. Even on the half chance that he could, if the boy could deflect it, there was the chance that he would miss it and get himself injured.  
  
"Fine, Nav. But the fact is, I can use this hammer as a defense against the dragon's claws." He smiled a little and stared up at the door, those eyes forming in the desperation of hope, a step forward revealed that it clanked open. Well, it was so strange to be here, the darkness was forming in there, though he didn't feel he was ready to face this monster with a clean face. Backing up a few feet from there, he just glanced at the darkness, hating the feeling when the room wasn't brightened, it was so unearthly. A pair of hands pressed against his back, the hands making him stop in his tracks, causing a burden to be lifted from his face. With a glance towards his back, he saw the five-inch fairie was smiling down at him, the bigger form was hers was so much enjoyable.  
  
"I-I hope Daruina is okay." Just trying to make conversation before they walked in the middle of hell  
  
"I'm sure he's fine, Link, he is a tough ole' Goron." She smiled sweetly towards him, making a gaze.  
  
I'll be with you forever. That was what her gaze told him, the gaze was what prepared him for this place, it was enough to make his heart swell with joy. Instead of taking a few steps back, this time he took some back to the door and stared down at it with those eyes glancing in every direction. Strange to be in this situation, though he was ready for what was to come to him, the dangers and flames ahead of the powers. Again, he knew that this was only the second temple, there were three more of them, and they weren't even halfway done with this quest. Gulping in breath, he just thought of her and Saria, the only two he lived for in his live, the courage remaining and running through the darkened abyss.  
  
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The pressure was going on, the battle lasted for as long as he could have wanted it, there was nothing left in with this body, it was failing. No, it wouldn't fail, for if the body failed then the spirit and soul would leave forever and the race of the large body would have been ruined. Huge sword held forward and clashed with the spiteful dragon, the one whom had been racing with him for Din knows how long. This thing hadn't gotten tired over this time and speed, the man having gotten tired, though Gorons did have a nice recovery rate and could go days without rest. Although when that was established, it didn't mean they were battling fucking dragons for about fifteen hours or more straight!  
  
Heats of the flames were all around on that small little platform that they fought on, a piece of land that Volvagia had chewed off before. Now it had carved some holes in the ground, not using them, though that would have to mean that it was on the run to hide in there. This sword did nothing to it, the head and body of it were impenetrable with some sort of skin, and the head seemed weaker, though. A hammer of great measures may have cracked the skull, but no one would have ever gotten through the hide he had been hacking on. His initial plan had been to hack away until the skin gave away, though more than half a day later he was still struggling to prove it to himself.  
  
That wasn't the worst of it, the creature was actually talking, could curse him in the ancient Goron, a weird tongue he guessed was Dragonic, and even the regular tongue. It was hard, for he explained what he had done to come of the already extinct members of his race, how he loved the chopped up meat of them. Only this was part of the plan, he guessed, for soon it saw he was angry and let him beat out all his power on it, tiring him even further. Having a temper now was not one the greatest things, it really was a burden to deal with when every time he said something, you got mad. No amount of anger would prove this, all he was doing would be a stupid self-sacrifice, and he knew that regrouping for the hammer was much safer.  
  
What Daruina should of done was head with Link in the temple, if they both searched then maybe the hammer could have been found. Ah, the kid is probably dead, he thought in his mind, for a few seconds actually accepting it as truth, when he remembered exactly who Link was. Not that he had forgotten or anything, it was just it had been so long and his Goro brain was getting a little rusty after the years. That kid wasn't dead, he had named his son after that kid, and the reason was had to be that one-day the former-child was going to be a hero. The Kokiiri stripped from him (he guessed it was because he left the forest) the boss couldn't help as how strong he had gotten.  
  
He may have made it through the temple, but what were the chances that he found the hammer, all he would do if he appeared in here was be a burden. Daruina saw that he had a longer sword than before, the sword reminding him of the ancient legends, though not sure of it at that view. However, it was just a sword, and those sort of things didn't work on the evil beast of fire, he was immune to those measly blades. If only someone would have stored the hammer closer, or at least inside one of the ancestor's rooms, that would have been better suited. Though, it could have been ransacked when the sluts of that bastard were going through and slaughtering his own people.  
  
Now at the edge of the platform, the dragon tilting above, only about fifteen feet away, it had stopped speaking because the speech was over. Tired of him, he guessed the thing wanted to finish him off and get away with its meal, which meant it had been toying with the boss. Anger raised in him, but before he could let out that last smoke of steam, there was a crack in the room, both of them noticing it. Next to Daruina was a door, the one he had entered and left a spell in the room to keep Link away, the very same entrance. Hope was in his face, as the door slammed open, footfalls walking down the long corridor and inside that lava-lit room was the silhouette of a Hylian.  
  
In the shadow's two hands stood a hammer, just as the legend had shown in a very indistinct carving from the ancient times. Yes, a little shorter than described, the shadow definitely was the owner of the legendary hammer, this person trying to find some light. A red dot was fluttering at his side, so Daruina knew that hope had come that Link had appeared with the sacred Hammer of Megaton. Megaton, the god of the Gorons, would have been considered like a Jabu that the ancients used to worship back in the old days. Forged by the Megaton--no one knew what it was--it was crafted so finely the best pieces of armour that you have ever seen, his only weapon was the hammer.  
  
"Link!" He cried out, the dragon seeming to be baffled by the situation, the descent in its face was something that Daruina would never forget. How he saw it was that the Gorons were able to see in the dark--they did live in caves--and when he saw it, he was filled with joy. What happened next was even more baffling for the man; the boy set the hammer down and pulled off one of his gloves, stuffing it inside his pack. A golden light shot out of his hands and as he picked up the hammer, lit the entire room like someone had put a giant torch in the middle. The symbol that he saw was three triangles, the ancient legend was known to him and with realization he called out three words: Hero of Time.  
  
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Hearing his title being called, he looked around the room with his fairie, baffled to see that they were indeed in the center of the volcano. Yea, they were on a small ledge that led to what looked like a rock staying afloat in the lava, this room sealed so hard that there was no way out, except the one they came in. Down near the piece of rock (which, evidently, had holes all through them, looking like cheese) were a long and skinny thing, and a Goron. The one whom had called his title was the Goron; the boy pulling his hand forward and showing whom the person was-- though he knew. Daruina, as plain as day, though from the look of things he did not look as good as usual, several parts of him were flowing with blood, looking close to death as his skin was sickly pale.  
  
"You look horrible, Daruina." Link whispered through those lips, the man with no ears catching it, and keeping his back turned away from the evil dragon, a bad mistake.  
  
"Yes, yes, I thought I did, though we happen to require the ancient hammer to crack this bitch open."  
  
"Daruina, what happened? I thought you had it handled?" Navi let out a chuckle, trying not to intimidate the dragon, though she saw the vile persistence was flowing through its face.  
  
"Mm, young fairie, don't make me bottle you!" He broke into some beautiful laughter, the deep voice was so strange to the dragon, from the look, and it had pissed him off profusely.  
  
"Daruina, look what we found!" Link was persistent with joy; Daruina was like a big brother or something to him, they had had that Sworn ceremony back then.  
  
"Link, my boy, you have the ancient hammer of Megaton? Throw it to me! I shall finish this vile creature off for you, I can see you've had many troubles in this temple." Several times had he been through here, so he knew just how hard it could be, some parts he had never been to, the ancient switches. Yes, Daruina had done that several years back, maybe as much as twenty, he decided the place was falling apart and fixed some. Though, some parts none of the Gorons could get through, so they left it as it was, the place they couldn't reach was obviously near the Megaton. Seeing that he was going to throw it, he cleared out of the way when it was launched, seeing it reached the beautiful seven feet when coming done. Also, down with it, was Link who hoped over on the rock since it wasn't that far away, wanting to at least offer some sort of help.  
  
With a 'umphing' sound, he came to rest right near one of the holes, feeling all hot and bothered around here, this place was so hot. As he watched the man go over to the hammer, he had his doubts since the inscription said that only one could be chose, or did it? He didn't know, he had just learned to read Goron, so maybe he had mistranslated it, sometimes that happened to new people of a language. Hoping he did, he didn't really want to fight with all these wounds, though from Daruina's appearance, and he was okay--at least he looked his natural colour! Shaking his head when the Goron tried to lift it, he knew the text had been right, the one true hero was the only soul that could budge it.  
  
"It won't budge." He yanked on it once more, throwing his power into it so far, that he went scurrying back a few feet, a long and rambunctious chuckle hitting the air.  
  
Spinning around with fear in his voice, the eyes of Link's caught that indeed the laugh had come from the dragon that was standing before him. How he shivered when he knew the monster was capable of speech, all of the generals of Ganon must have been able to talk and at least Semi- intelligent. At least, after all these years of dreaming to fight, he had always fought dragons, now it seemed that the wish had been granted. Maybe he didn't want to come out of there, and maybe becoming a little boy with dreams was better than getting your head eaten off. Now, he knew there was no one to help him, everyone else was weakened or just could not touch the hammer--Navi and he were left.  
  
"It won't budge because you aren't the chosen one, I am." He whispered, those eyes placed on the dragon, trying to take in a strategy on how to take care of him, dispatching was hardly a choice.  
  
"Are you sure, Link?" Daruina was baffled that an ex-Kokiiri was the leader of the Gorons, instead of the rightful King, not that he was mad, just a little surprised.  
  
"Yea, he's sure. I tried to lift it and it didn't budge, it shrinks down for him, meaning he is chosen." Navi whispered, floating over to Link's side and beginning to examine the creature with all her glory, sensing fear in Link. Her readings were just like the other temple monsters; she got hardly any data on them, just their name and maybe some strong points of theirs. Otherwise, there was no way to do this, they just had to guess, and the most obvious choice of throwing water on them, was just stupid. Water could have been summoned if they had some, but the Fairie Water was gone, and the canteens had evaporated because of the intense heat. She saw him goes over and retrieve the Megaton, but that wasn't her main concern here, she was worried about this ancient creature.  
  
If you were to stand it right up, it would stretch out a measly forty-five feet, that may not have been much for them, but it was more deadly than that. All around its skin, the beast seemed to be as hard as some of the strongest diamonds in the world, maybe even better. On its belly were not even no soft spots, the armour stretching all over it, giving not of a hint of weakness on the torso area. Not to mention that the skin on it seemed to be on fire, right down near the tail, where none of the ancient markings were displayed. This seemed to realize that maybe the thing had always been evil, it had been sealed for some reason, that having to be the disposition of bad deeds.  
  
Along its head was also some fire, the dragon was different from the ones that she'd always read about, this creature had a full head of hair. No, it wasn't a head of hair, it was actually something that resembled hair in the form of a blazed ruby--yes there were flames all around its cranium. The fires weren't crackling and burning abrupt, it was like the red fire had been settled, at the same time burning consistently and burning anyone who dared to touch them. Hair or flames stretched down its entire body, stopping right at the tail, giving it a big advantage in the battle they were about to fight. If it thought that the time was losing for it, then the thing could just as easily sling that fire at both of them--this is if the entire thing fought dirty.  
  
The only good thing about examining the upper area was the head, which she explained in her mind was something of a weakness. Goat horns sprung upon the fiery beast, the horns being in the way, though what was remarkable just had to is the mask. Either a mask, or some sort of hard material, the thing didn't resemble a dragon, more like some sort of bird with the beak sticking out. Masked green eyes were deadly, not the colour of his tunic, sort of a tealish nature, that a very bad sign in the hands of some people. Speckled spots were reflected all over his face, the idea of what it was doing was apparent, they either some sort of sickness or markings.  
  
Long arms stretched out, at least ten feet long, they had expected since it was long to be short of short-armed, though this wasn't the case. Back to the face, the hammer could have easily cracked the place where the speckles were, or so it seemed from the distance. It was weaker than the material all over its body, that was apparent, and since the fact that the face was the easiest place to hit. Going for the face seemed a very good idea, at the time, and probably for all time, unless they wanted to try the King Dodongo-strategy. This was a semi or very intelligent creature; there was no way it would be tricked into something so stupid, not in a million years of their dreams.  
  
"I think the head is the weakness, Link." She whispered this as he came back with the hammer; the boy blinking towards her and sort of giving a nod, that just had to be it.  
  
"Daruina, are you strong enough to battle? If I hit him with the hammer, I think his armour on his head may break, you able to fight?" Link wasn't facing to Goron, though the larger man did come up at his side--Link still much shorter than him--and gave a quick nod at the boy. With some expertise in his voice the calmness of the situation went down the hole, gripping the hammer, he readied himself. Signifying the fight, was as good as anyone's guess, maybe they would all throw out a war cry or something like that, he knew he wouldn't. The grip on the hammer was turned his bare hands red and irritated, knowing if he put the gloves on that they would make the room shroud in that darkness.  
  
"You think you can be me, boy? I am the Ssssubterranean Lava Dragon, Volvagia. You will perissssh!" The think let out a cry of joy and leapt for the duo, the determination spray-pained upon the dragon-bird's face, the one of pure fury. Volvagia was obviously after him for saying that, he should have kept his cool and whispered to the boss of the Gorons, though that wasn't his style. Link had no idea where they went, all he did was leap to the left, since the thing was coming after him, and it was headed over in his direction. Spying Navi, she was right above his head, the fury of her face revealing she was trying to summon up a paralyzing power. Gripping the hammer tightly, staring in left and right directions, he saw that the monster wasn't anywhere to be found, it was useless.  
  
"Boy, up above you!" Something went twirling past his ear, the shine of it making Link cover his ears and pain, knowing the voice that went at him was Daruina. Following the weapon with trained eyes, the sword was what Daruina threw, the one he had been using to fight the evil dragon. The gleam of the ruby in the light made Link push a hand over his eye, the hammer sliding down a few inches, but grabbing it before it fell and broke his foot. Passing through him, the hammer was headed right for the dragon's head, though it didn't expect to do any damage at all. He knew that the Goron had been fighting for more than half a day, how could this expect to work when fifteen hours of labor hadn't.  
  
A little dense in these measures, his surprise was waited when not only did the hit cause the monster to stop in its tracks and stop moving towards him, there was also something shot at the sword. Filtering the air was a red shot of energy, the boy not realizing who it was, until he sensed the energy was just like Navi's old chi shots, only red because of the aura. A gleam of Ki was shot at it (from his fairie) this probably intensifying the whole sword into one big massive stroke of energy. That was apparent, for the sword shattered into a million pieces, they piercing the armour on the face, not even breaking it, at all. Good thing was that the pieces were stuck inside, that meant that maybe the faceplate had been weakened enough for a stroke.  
  
"Daruina, Navi, good tactics!" He jumped up into the air, the monster had sunk down about ten feet from him, the pain something it had never felt in so long. As Link came down, he wanted to finish this in just one shot, so the hammer was positioned for the center of the face-plate, all weight on there. Gripping the hot handle with all his might, all there was to do is pray, the prayer was something that he believed to work in these cases. The screech caused his ears to shatter in some blood, just like the Poes had created in an earlier temple, every time they were like this. Screaming was a good sign, the weight that he had placed into it had obviously worked, or so that was where he thought.  
  
Thrown away like a rag doll, the boy kept falling through the air-- obviously headed for the rock's edge, when something hard and soft stopped him. Glancing up at the figure, there was Daruina with a big grin on his face, giving up a thumb's up sign to the boy for his good work. Returning the mark, he saw that Navi was resting on his shoulder and testing his wounds, the head of the dragon was what hit him. A good thrashing show, was what he got, being collided down and probably sent to his doom if it hadn't been for a guy like Daruina. Luckily, he was nowhere near the flame; he had been right in the forehead, maybe the monster in to much pain to counterattack.  
  
I thank you two. He breathed silent thanks, jumping from the man's arms when Navi had finished the check on him, and prepped back to see if the battle was over. Surprise and guilt were on his face, the dragon throwing its hands off of the face when Link was within twelve feet of the monster. There were a few cracks on the monster's face, though there was nothing to be celebrating, the skin was still there and ready for more. Not even a few drops of blood were related for him, rendering that in fact this would be a lot harder than the first exposition had wondered. It was a wonder the great hero of the past had sealed this thing up, he should of done what was right and killed it (maybe he died before.)  
  
"You insssssolent basssstard. You have the hammer that ssssealed me up, ssseveral thousssand yearsss ago! The ancient Megaton of the Goronssss!" Maybe every part of the generals had some sort of speech impediment, the dragon maybe related to a snake, so the S's were very apparent. Whatever the case, the way the dragon stared at him, made him wants to run away and hide, to let down his guard and be eaten. It was a horrible sight, especially with hardly any damage done, but he would make sure to kill the ancient beast this time around. He was no regular person; he was the Hero of Time, which showed no mercy to the evildoers of the world, the ones needed to die. Shivering in fear, both hands were tightened around the hammer as the dragon prepared to go for an assault, the thing actually surprising him.  
  
"And you two, I sssshal eat you both for plotting my down fall, no one sssshal live to tell thisss day!" Roaring with hideous laughter, the situation of this seemed to go from bad to worse, each of the members of the Hero's team were feeling their positions in helping him.  
  
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Daruina had his hands prepped together, watching the battle go on, hating how he was sitting on the sidelines, but with no weapon it had to be done. He said he would help Link, now he saw his chance as the boy was quivering in fear from the situation, helpless to the dragon. Yea, there was nothing more to do but help the boy, so he would do that with all his own might, even if it meant some self-sacrifice. Holding the palms out in an orderly manner, he started to hum a beautiful chant, one that none of them had ever heard the words to. Glancing out at the monster, his eyes seemed to get bigger than before, shining out with a perfectly ruby red, the blood of the Gorons filled him.  
  
No one seemed to notice as he did this, it was a good thing, he didn't dare want any last regrets from this, watching as the dragon just watched Link. From the look of things, it was a sort of standoff; the dragon probably not decided what he would do to kill his prey, which was fine with him. Slowing down the time was a good thing, hoping the Volvagia's manners kept up like this all the time; something could be done now. At first he had worried maybe the boy would be eaten before anything could come about, the way that the dragon worked was horrible. That didn't give him much time, though more than he had believed before, so no way to rush meant the better chance for a score at victory.  
  
Navi was over at the side towards the boy, so it was good that she wasn't seeing this, the light seemed to calm down when Link was scared. Daruina was in complete darkness by now, a bright red aura appearing around him, not really an energy reading, more like an actual flame. Flames that were so powerful, they could incinerate your appendage if they were touched, so hot that Din's eye looked like a cloud in the dust. Actually, maybe not, because the power he was tapping into was that of his own Goddess, the one whom had made him for the world. Nodding to all the powers in the world, he was incased inside of a giant piece of flames, them boiling all around his body, causing grunts of discomfort.  
  
Trusting in his creator and birth mother, he let the fires go loose, the flames evaporating around him, the sickly white skin disappearing. As it disappeared, so did he, something was wrong with the spell, he was supposed to incinerate along with the rest of the fire went forth. Bright red appeared around his body, the symbol on his hand was reacting to the light, seeming to get bright and transform itself. The light was comforting, the light was sort of like something you could go to sleep with, and never be harmed, and no pain was in his system. Goron's had a high pain tolerance, though in this case, he should have been in agony of the situation (showing nothing but sighs.) Moving for a flame tattoo, the symbol actually did change itself, the flames becoming hotter than he had even imagined.  
  
Something had chosen him, whatever it was, he had been told to shoot the flames out and help the Hero of Time--that's what the voice called him. More powerful than ever, the flames were just rearing to go, he pointing in the direction and letting out a furious cry from the pain of battle. This sent the flames out in the direction he pointed to, hoping that this would work, maybe fry the skin off its head, or loosen the mask. Daruina never got the see the end of the battle, he should have been burnt to a crisp, though he wasn't burnt at all, he was whisked away. The light had appeared more intense, lightening up the entire room, his skin restoring it and making him whole again, years of pain gone when he floated out of the fields of fire and into his new home.  
  
Just as fate would have it, when the flames disappeared was when Volvagia had decided that it was time to get down to business. Something stopped the monster in its tracks, the scream that intensified the entire volcano; everyone around the entire area heard it. Even people in the village of Kakariko heard it, the voice that of power, that of something that would do anything to win and anything was done. Later, it was described as if the Mountain of Death had started claiming lives, so hence the name, and was back for some more. No one was safe around here, Hylians, Fairies, Gorons, and even monsters heard the cries, they holding their ears in wincing pain.  
  
The stopping had incited the attack, the final attack from the man named Daruina, the flames shooting out of the pitch-black room. Everyone saw as it headed for him or her, the flames dodging Navi and overlapped Link, almost hitting him, but directly avoiding him. He just stood there in a dumbstruck phase, as Navi had, the monster somehow seeing what was becoming and letting out a scream of terror. Bright flames went about its body, making it surround in a world of terror, the fire leaving alone his entire body, except one spot. The place where he pointed was where Link hit, a small dent in the face plat, where all the fire stormed in and exploded itself.  
  
Two partners stood in satisfaction as the attack absorbed into the face, it swelling and making the entire room sort of light up. With gloves placed on the hero's hands, he could grip the hammer more easily, and soon he would need it, the open spot just dying for a hit. He swung at the area with all his might, the fire had lit one certain spot, the dent, and the rest of it was unprepared for the beating. No one said anything; it was quite estimated that Din had been in this room, in some shape or form, she was helping him get through it. Funny thing was, as hard as the monster tried to slip away, a force was holding it down, they both seeing that as it wriggled away.  
  
As it turned out, the thing was a faceplate, or maybe part of the face, whichever one it was would mean all the more painful for Volvagia. When the hammer slammed down into the skin, it tried to cover it, the hands not able to move as something began to crack inside of it. One huge crack appeared in the dent, It leading up ahead until it formed right around the tip of the mask (or face) the thing getting ready to blow. The mask was what cracked, shooting out into five different pieces and appearing off to the side, falling into the lava pit. Inside there, never to be found again, the pieces burnt themselves up, so that armour was never a choice for him, always withheld out.  
  
--------------------  
  
With that, the entire room went blank; the room only lit by the single hole that was cut inside of Link's gloves (the one he had cut to get a flashlight.) Staring back at the room, the light brighter than it had ever been, the piece of Triforce actually staring to shake and rumble back and forth. No earthquake was around, though as Volvagia wallowed in pain, his suspicions were staring to disappear and go even further. When looking for the Daruina for some sort of explanation, he was baffled to find that his former Sworn Brother was no where to be found. Fearing the worse (even though they survived under lava) he raced for the edge and peered over the corner, relieved to find no one.  
  
"Link, where is Daruina?" She appeared by his side, her fears running that maybe a piece of mask had gotten him, though he wasn't there, he was no where.  
  
"I dunno, I just looked over the edge, he's not in there. Where in Faroe's name could he be." Another rumble, the nervous Link staring around, thinking that maybe a girl in red was somewhere in her, mad for not using her name. No one was around but the withering dragon, it wasn't dead, the thing was just in pain, blood spewing all over its entire bird- like face, the thing in deep pain. Wanting to finish this now, he ran at the monster with the hammer prepped in the air, ready to strike the beast down where it lay. There was no way he was taking the chance of it getting up and regenerating the mask, the power of Din only came once in a battle. You had to take what you got, it was either that, or deal with nothing, he always got help and for that he was grateful to those three spoiled women.  
  
"Link, I think he's--I think he's gone." It was sad to say who knew someone could take him out, but that had to be the only reasonable explanation for this, he was nowhere in sight.  
  
"I will extract revenge for Daruina, wherever he maybe." The boy blurted out to the world, not caring who heard him, it was a time and place for that and now was the exact time and place.  
  
Obviously the dragon wasn't going to put up with this, for it saw that Link was coming at him, the thing wriggling with all its might to get out of the way. Maybe it was enough, or maybe it wasn't, all that he knew was that this thing was going down before anymore harm could be done. He was misguided in his thinking, the hammer slamming down into empty ground, as he staring around for the dragon's whereabouts. A scream from Navi made him check to the direction she ha called, seeing that there was something slithering in those little holes. Of course, the creature went in there when it was scared of dying, down into the lava, since it was a dragon of fire, the lava did nothing to it.  
  
He tail was right out of his sight, afraid to grab the fiery hair that was wrapped around it, anyway, he wasn't going to risk burning his hands. Those gloves were good, but he doubted that they seriously were that good, there was no way nothing could outlast the magma, they weren't Goron-made. Glancing around in the directions, he was reminded of a game that he had played when he was a child, a very small child. You had this little box with sixteen holes in it, sort of a motor skill game, and with that you were given a small mallet to hit something with. Every now and then, a mole would pop our (or maybe a weasel) and you hit it and earned the points for that, this was just like that.  
  
"Oh, my Goddess, it is, even down to the mallet." He gasped in realization of the situation, the hammer held tightly in his hands, as he spun around and looked in all directions.  
  
"What is it, Link?" She stopped and made him look in the west and north direction, while he stared in the east and south directions, he wouldn't be able to hit if he was dizzy.  
  
"Remember that game in the forest, you had to hit the rodents, this is just like this game, except it is with a hammer and we are after a dragon." He gave the thumbs up sign at her, he was really good at that old game, it was him and Saria who always won at it, and they just had nice hand-eye-coordination.  
  
"Y-your right, Link." Fairies didn't play it, but whenever they had the annual Deku Festivals, they always had a carnival with games, this was a game that one of the ancient Kokiiri made up, and it was a great game to play. Such an adventurous puzzle, this one would be solved very soon; for she doubted that not that much pressure could be applied. The mask was gone now; the terror of the dragon was gone, being replaced by the utter fear of maybe losing itself in the darkness. All there was to do now was wait, wait for the inevitable of the dragon to come forth, for something to die with in these walls of hell, and she had a feeling it wasn't a Hylian or Farie. Her gaze focused upon the boy as something was coming out of the ground, a burbling sound was making both of their eyes stare.  
  
There the head popped out of the lava, nothing seeming to affect the lava as the dragon stared forward at them, inspecting to see if they weren't looking. What the plan had been was some sort of sneak attack; the monster was semi-intelligent, so it didn't really know if the sounds affected the Hylian. Any idiot with eyes could see the ears on the Hylian, which meant when a pen was dropped, the creature of that race was to hear it. This was not the smartest of the bunch, so it didn't know any of that information, probably when it was around that Hylians weren't about. Gorons weren't that quick in hearing, so maybe it had planned on only fighting the rock-eaters, how its luck had run out now.  
  
Link had been ready ever since he saw the rumbling, the head, only up to five feet, was sticking out of the hole and glancing in all directions. Maybe the dragon noticed Link--it wasn't that stupid, and when it noticed him, that was the signal to get its arse out of dodge, before it was. Over before it began, the boy was already halfway in the air, the hammer gripped in the fist and holding more power with gloves upon. A glove prepared more of the heat to be absorbed in there metal was very harsh to handle in the temporal degrees that were all around. That was good, the weight was all they would need against them, the ancient Goron-friend was gone from their side, vengeance in the wake.  
  
A clanking sound hit the area, the boy wasn't aiming for the face as a whole, he was aiming for the same place all the fire had went into, where he had dented. Such a soft spot, it would be the most easily perused, thrown aside more than usual, much quicker to dispatch the creature. Maybe he wanted to do this in quick and easy spot, to end the life and not make it as torturous as the last that was the right thing to do. A grin was displayed on his face as the hammer slammed down into the spot; the farther down he came, the more he knew it would hurt. Nothing was displayed in his mind but the revenge for Kaci and the Daruina-boss, if either of them were alive was his guess more than anyone else's was.  
  
Before the hammer had hit, the two of them got a good look at the dragon, seeing how bad the damage was before they even went through. This dragon was soaked in blood from the tips of all over the face; a claw had kept it out of the eyes, though exposing the weakness forever. Maybe another patch of skin would grow back in a while, though not for a while, the flesh revealing all through the body that it was flesh. A mask plate wouldn't have done this much damage--unless it was nailed to the face-- seeing now screws of anything to keep it in place. Besides the blood over the face, the damage before hand wasn't all that bad for the given senses; it was sort of healthy at this point.  
  
"Navi, Navi!" He let out a shriek of terror, the form not moving though it would have been better if it had, the cries not ceasing until he saw that she was near him.  
  
Navi wasn't even able to see anything as it came into contact with the hammer; the entire room went completely black, the Triforce light giving out. What she heard was the long and frivolous scream of the dragon, the boy with a huffing sound, him rolling over towards her and clasping against her. Her aura was the only light in the room, crushingly, he headed for it and stood at her side, the mallet was soaked deep in blood. Crimson liquid was splashed all over the hammer; this giving off the extremity that they had really survived in this battle, maybe it was over. The cries weren't those of pain, well they were, but death didn't seem to be inside of this, it was letting out one of the fullest battle cries ever let out in the place of battle.  
  
The screams went on for a few more minutes, the form in the light darkness they could see withering around, guessing that it was Volvagia. Lava gave off a little light that was how they saw, but soon something happened, something they weren't expecting to happen. A rock that they bad been on, sunk down into the ground, the rocks spreading out in all directions to keep this place intact. Holes closing themselves up, so that there was no escape from this battlefield, even for the ravenous Volvagia, thinking it was his doing. Maybe it was better than ever and wanted a final battle before the time went up, or maybe this wasn't the doing of it at all--but have Din's fury.  
  
Slapping his Triforce symbol with all his might, the entire room shot out in a burst of light, the entire room becoming lit, they seeing there predictions was true. When the place closed up, it was completely dark for a few seconds; the most scared that Link had ever been in his entire life. Fear erupted during the time; it seemed that even back to those seconds-- which lasted a lifetime for him--that nothing would be the same. Against other enemies, there had been some lights around, though back a few seconds he was trapped down inside the gates of darkness. Long last, the room was brightened back to normal, him taking a look over at his prey, those eyes widening up in some ounce of fear.  
  
"By Farore's light, he can live like that!" Navi let out the speech, Link stopping in his tracks, almost dropping the Megaton, fumbling with it for a few seconds before getting it back. Volvagia's face was no longer that of a bird, this time there was a big dent in its face, not its mouth, but the entire form of its face. Yes, the Megaton had grown a little; a lot bigger than any of them had expected and slammed down into the face that once was a dragon. So gruesome, the eyes smashed out, blood and pus running down the face, almost pity as inside of the lone face of the hero. Almost was the keyword, the hammer was dropped to the side, Master Sword drawn from the sheath and prepared up in his hands.  
  
Indeed, the monster was well among the living; the eyes were gone, though maybe it didn't expand on those things, maybe just the nose. Busted in, the nostrils did stick out and start to sniff the air, ears also unaffected from the region of it, another bad part for him. Hair was a bit dimmer than before as he took off into the air, it was beginning to float around, though there were no wings that kept it up. That wingless body was beginning to entwine the thirty-foot radius where he, knew the precise location of where the time hero was. Fear was rushing through him, beginning to do what they preformed when the thing hid in the holes--the back to back combination.  
  
"Link, he hasn't much juice left up inside of him, we don't even need the hammer anymore!" She was grinning with power, what they felt when the boss was almost dead, the familiar feeling was one that didn't want to disappear. With that in mind, she was now glowing a bright red, almost turning the transformation into a bright pinkish colour, one that would blind even the fiercest enemy. The enemy saw the bright light, the eyes mesmerized upon it, this was some sort of distraction for when the boy should go in for an attack. Shield of his wasn't in the way, that meant if the dragon went away with the claws, all he could do was bend down and hope for the best. With such enthusiasm, she cheered him on mentally; talking would break the spell and attract attention back towards the boy.  
  
Link saw the open chance; he had actually wanted to face the reptile in battle and do some bad to it, maybe hacking it up into a few pieces. That wouldn't be; though he knew when Navi had him beat and instead of going for a horizontal or vertical attack, his was a stab. Right up the middle of the area, where that head stood in the way and could of easily been struck, that was the dented place his sword went. Sword slashing was good at sometimes, it was beautiful to be here and do this sort of thing, the ambition flowing through his bloodstream. Yes, if that went there, then maybe the brain was in the way, the cranium would of held that sort of tissue, one that controlled it all.  
  
Yes, just like that! Navi screamed in her mind, she was getting so overtly excited by this, the tension of the battle seeming to flow through her young veins like they had never done before. With a grin plastered upon her face, she enhanced, as the blade sunk down into the skin, seeing that it fully wouldn't have made the way. The dragon would be up in a few seconds from the way he was moving; the hardness of it was just so intense that nothing was safe. Luck turned, the dragon was coming out of the trance at a very slow rate, and giving Navi just the time she needed for the next installment. Installment of it was to charge up a blast, not even a huge one, all it had to be was something that could give the way in, summoning up the energy as the eagerly watched.  
  
Navi was watching, meanwhile Link had leapt up into the air to press all his weight to get a good grip on it, the shuddering from it causing nothing to happen. So much pain had been established, and so much fury had been wasted to get this thing in tow, only to be outdone by the mass of a skull. There was no way that he was going to let this happen, no way that something so measly was going to beat the legendary Hero of Time. Not even thinking about what he was doing, the airlift had been an act of justice, trying to get rid of what was in the path of him. Also un-thought of, his hands grazed to the Medallion of Forest, trying to conjure up the Spirit of Saria and maybe get some sort of guidance.  
  
No such luck, all that happened was the familiar smell of her was on the pendant, the thing was almost a clone of her in the shape of a circle. Everything was on stake and he was going to somber up around this time, the lives of them depended on that he won this very battle. Besides, if he lost, then the evil Ganondorf would have destroyed the fantasy of all his old Kokiirish love, in a more violent way than the Phantom had conjured up. Images of that was what kept him going, the realization that somehow he would make it through for them, never doubting all the possibilities. Tears had been pushed aside from those thoughts, gripping the thing harder this time, knowing that something was going to burst through.  
  
Maybe the Sage of the Forest had heard him, either that of the legendary courage piece of the Goddesses had heard his prayers or answered. Gripping the pendant in one last fury of pain, something touched the master sword, he glancing towards it and seeing Navi was shooting something. Right as the ball of energy hit the sword, he knew another energy had been summoned, this one was making the sword brighten green. His power was in there, the invisible aura that he felt around there, whenever he used the sword, which was always in the ways. Overlaying in joy, he couldn't express the joy as his energy, his partners and an alley's were concurring up the strength to break the skull.  
  
Pushing together with all his might, the powers from within had formed into a single energy; they burst through the defenses of the skull. Breaking through, the sword sliced through the wet mass in the middle, slamming through the end of the hardened cranium, not stopping there. Not at all, because he let a slash backwards, the sword seemed to cut through the entire body of the creature, especially the hard skin of the abdomen. Goddess power was something you didn't mess with, although he knew it was from Saria when a glance down to the medallion, he saw it shaking brightly. Sage powers were not ones to full with, the sword being yanked out of the area and revealing a pile of blood surrounding it.  
  
With one last breath, the last of its strength in tow, it was trying to fall away, the shattered skull floating along with the body, until something hit it. The red beam that neither of them had seen until now, it penetrated the being and a fire was in the meet for the one trying to escape doom. Link watched in horror as it burst into flames, the skin and flesh of the creature all smoldering down into a smoking hilt of a caress. It was a sad sight to watch, everything burning into ashes except the skull, which remained intact and was actually fixed by it. Sheathing the sword back into its holster, he reached down for the Megaton Hammer and put it into his pack, feeling the weight of the world as he wandered up to the center of the fire graveyard, watching the skull for any sudden movements.  
  
The remains of the corpse were all that was left, the skull being a feeling of sudden importance, that aura springing down from it. His brain told him to destroy the thing into small smithereens, though something else told him to keep the trash, for it would be important. What could be done with this, was it some sort of key item in unveiling another mystery, or simply the fact that it looked nice. Importance was a beautiful thing, he needed this for some strange reason, and the feeling was just too weird to pass itself up in coincidence. Nothing was going to keep him from throwing the hammer at the skull; it was already tucked back into his bag with the safekeeping.  
  
"Navi, why is this thing still here?" He was just leaning over towards the skull, determining whether grabbing it would be an excuse or not, either way was a hard choice.  
  
"Hrm, I dunno. But let's not worry about it, if it is bothering you so much, let's just get it." Navi wandered over towards the skull and picked it up by the horns, the thing in the perfect shape that the dragon had originally been in. Not a singe of burns was on the skull, fluttering over towards her partner and placing it down inside of his backpack--he sure had the room to handle it. Nervousness had been in his mind when it was down on the ground, that maybe it would come to life and get him, the revenge of the monster. It was weird, but soon as it was in there, he felt it was okay for it to be tucked inside there, nothing was wrong with carrying it around. Spinning around, the light that had burnt the dragon was glimmering a bright red, mixed with some blue, the same thing that happened at the Forest one.  
  
He thanked her silently and went for the light; the ruby beam was just streaming down in a perfect angle, Link sort of nervous to step there. Reason being was that the dragon had been burnt to death by this light, that sort of frightened him to touch the abnormal light. No reason to dawdle anymore, if you did that and wandered around for this place, there was no way out of this hell-hole, anymore. Yup, the rock had sunk down and closed off his way to the light, so it was either this or they would both just starve to death, which was how it worked. Grinning, you had to take a chance before you could get anything in life, it was exactly how the world worked in this place, for the Goddesses' sake.  
  
Throwing his hands up in the air, the beam was directly infront of him when he dove in the front of it, his hands secured at his sides in a painful grasp. Holding his fingers together and clenching them together, he just stepped forward and let the beams hit all around his body, the familiar feeling returning. A summoning feeling of content, one you had when you with the people that were loved, the ones that loved you back the same way. Grinning as the portal was making its way, he knew not where to go from here--though he had an idea the sage of Fire was on it. As what happened when he transported with the transformation spell, the light from the temple of Forest was the light he had not seen.  
  
Each covered their eyes in surprise of the situation, and the light making them cringe in terror from what was happening, the land disappeared. As if falling in the holy light, the beams were cutting up his body, or so he imagined as his physical being was transported from one area to another. Yes, the volcano was gone from sight, the white light appearing and disappearing a few seconds later, another scene in its place. A familiar scene from before, one that would make the memories push themselves into view, the ones he didn't want to think of. Inside the old temple from before, the place where he had woken up, said his last good-byes to the beautiful Saria, and expressed his love.  
  
"The temple, that means that when we beat an area, we get put back here automatically." He spoke aloud, glancing around the rooms and viewing the same scene as before, he turned towards the specified medallion and no one about in his way, even Saria was gone.  
  
"I think so, though this is the first time." Remember that she was asleep the last time, up until they left, out even longer than the Hero of Time had been incapacitated.  
  
"This place is so foreign, it makes me all gooey inside." He shrugged a shoulder; maybe he was over-reacting, though at the same time, he knew this place was as old as Hyrule itself.  
  
"Yea, it seems so, I mean--this place is sort of creepy, though." Navi wrapped her arms about her body, rubbing herself as a shiver brawled through her body, the light appearing right at the north of them. A spinning flash, it was, this like something was warping in the room, though they couldn't see what the room had been, at this time. Although the entire room was lit so brightly, when the figure appeared, they couldn't see who it was--and they cared for whom. Risking their lives for some sort cause, they would of at least liked to know who was the savior of the Din's spirit, the one whom had lent them that power. That was apparent, the sage had lent them the powers, instead of the Goddess, for the sage lending the incredible strength was more believable.  
  
An incredible pillar of mind entered his brainwaves when the figure stepped forward; it was a menacing form, the light so bright, at first. All that could be seen was a friendly hand, the sage maybe thinking that it knew them, though they didn't know who exactly it could be. The question pondered in their minds when the beams of ruby were pushed aside, the fire medallion in the ground was brightening up. When this happened the first time, Saria hadn't shimmered, she was maybe too small to make such a light, and her powers were weaker. Not that the medallion of Forest was weak, by no means necessary, it kicked the ass out of the evil that incinerated the Fire Temple.  
  
Flashing beams were now all gone, the fire in the mind was also gone, Link were only met with a big grin of a Goron, presented at them. "Daruina!" He shouted out in surprise and pleasure, which must have been where he had been during the battle, the attack one last blast of energy. Sacrificing himself, that was what the creature used to turn into a sage, the physical body was along here, though maybe he was a spirit. Death was probably the certain choice he would of have, if not faced with the power of being a sage--he was ready to make that choice. It was a possibility; he had kissed Saria, though she hadn't been harmed--as far as he knew, otherwise the anger would have swelled more.  
  
"Daruina, what are you doing here?" He repeated, still not believing he could possibly be the legendary King of Fire, the Princess of the Forest had been his very own Saria, the legend of such things were prosperous on this, nothing could have been that real.  
  
"He must be the legendary King of Fire. I think that title would suit him better than any." Navi whispered out in a small breath, sitting on Link's hat and staring off at him, she was a little tired after the fights from before, even though she hadn't used up much power at all.  
  
"King of Fire?" He looked up at his Faire, not able to see her; yet, he still wanted to know what in the world was going on around this little place. A king of fire sounded something like a title would be, though Daruina wasn't the king of anything, he was the Big Brother of the Gorons. It was strange, the title did seem to suit the overbearing Goron, his hands crossed over his chest and letting out a big huff of joy. Suddenly, he knew it pleased the man to help the boy, to take care of the young boy whom he had sworn his life to, so long ago. Being that, he was swelled with joy, the fever of happiness reigning upon his shoulders, nothing could break that seal--not even Ganon himself.  
  
"The Sage of Fire is Goron, the sage of Forest is a Kokiiri, it seems to be connecting." Navi was whispering to herself while the boy was accompanied with his old Sworn Brother, the reunion that of great joy to still is around. If she had to have her guess, the water temple would confine a Zora, not really sure of what would be for the Shadow Temple, and maybe a Gerudo for Spirit. How doubtful a lady from the desert to bare the mark of a Sage seemed to be the most ridiculous idea ever, though the sages were controversial. It was said that each would consist of another, different from the last, as the legend went, maybe that was what the future beheld. Yes, the Spirit would house a Gerudo was even beyond her, it was just a hypothesis that she had, the fact that a Gerudo being nice was stupid.  
  
"Yes, hero, I am the legendary Sage of Fire. Blessed by Din, I did indeed give that final attack to you." The grin widened across his face, he did indeed love helping this little one.  
  
"Okay, thanks. Do I get one of those medallions?" As much fun as this had been to be around him, he was desperate to find his friend, he just wanted to take care of her for his own sake.  
  
"My, my aren't we the desperate one? How can such a little boy I didn't even think could defeat the stupid dinosaur, how could he grow up to be the legendary Hero of Time." His arms crossed over his chest, the former boss was just preparing himself for the reach of the medallion, and it was so strange to be here. Reaching in with his power, the hands formed up and grunted with passion, the other medallion had already been made before Link appeared. What these pieces had to do, was a summon of the sages power, condensed into some sort of small form, to extract energy from. Without these, the Hero of Time couldn't control the power and would be destroyed if all of them were put together, in any form of fashion. A grin was upon the man's face as the thing appeared in his hands, looking the same size as Saria's, except red with the imprint of fire on the coin.  
  
Throwing the thing across the portal, which was back in place and probably wouldn't open for some sort of last good-bye hug, the coin flared through. Catching the bitsy thing in his palms, he studied it with both hands and made a thumbs up sign at the more maturing man. In this light, it was shown that he was even older than before, the age was showing itself back in the temple, though now it was in full height. When Link glanced back towards his old friend, he was condensing something else, wondering what exactly what he had up his sleeve. The hero had received a new ocarina from his love before he left, though what was he going to get from the battle-hungry Daruina.  
  
Grunts were summoned up even more this time; the smoke appearing around something before the figure of a vest was in his hands. Yes, a chain-liked vest that was completely black except the links that ran from top to bottom, protecting the black material from below. It shined--the metal--it was shining better than regular chain mails were, there was something different about this sort of material. No, the material he had seen somewhere before, not the black, but the beautiful gray that shined a more wondrous white colour. Yes, that was when he realized where he had seen it before, he had seen it on the beautiful hammer that helped him dispatch Volvagia.  
  
"I noticed that you bare no armour, hero, and that worries me a lot. This is a chain metal that was made from the same material as the great Megaton. I am entrusting that you shall wear this and be protected." Throwing it out towards the boy, he caught it in both hands, throwing the tunic off and unveiling the white shirt off of him. Over the bare chest, his piece of armour went, feeling the coldness of the metal and shivering a little as the white shirt came back on. He dealt with in and in just a few minutes, the entire thing disappears, the coldness disappeared along with the ruffles against his shirt. Yanking it up, to his surprise, the chains had morphed against his skin, so it was sort of like a piece of clothing, the heaviness up to a minimum. At first the thing felt like it weighed at least one hundred pounds, now it went down to a measly twenty, the protection felt the same, though.  
  
"Daruina, what happened to Link's armour?" She spoke in some gasped reality, she didn't receive anything because she had her speed, and her and Daruina knew that all too well.  
  
"The thing had blended in with his skin, it has went in so that the tunic is just like the hammer, it adjusts to the person it is on, in this case it is so light. Don't fret, though, the armour is all so powerful, it will hold up to anything. Now, hero, hand me your tunics, both of them." When he received the tunics, a hand went to the red one and shred it into pieces, gutting up the green one alone with it. In Link's horror and dismay, the man shrugged his shoulder, telling the boy to halt in his attacks--he was so overprotective over some clothing. Both of the shreds were mashed together, they formed in one piece, which he did this by pressing them in his hands, them enlarging. To both of their knowledge, the tunic came out as good as usual, the sign of the Goron was in the right- hand corner, sort of like what sensei's do. A mark that said he belonged to the Goron clan for now and forever there was no denying his passage on this mountain of fun.  
  
The man was getting ready to disappear, his grin had turned down into a somber mood, not loving long good-byes, he wanted to make it as short as it could be. With sadness plagued on his face, the Goron looked up towards the heavens, his face stricken in the grief of what had happened to this day. Even though he was the chosen one, he loved the fact of that; the matter was he would miss being normal, the one who watched over stuff. A young son was there, to take over the pride, though the fact was that he was so young that Daruina didn't think his training was complete. True that the Gorons matured a little faster than Hylians, but his Link was only about seven years old, almost seven, in a week.  
  
"Daruina!" Link burst out, he was looking towards his old friend with the sadness embellished upon his face, it was apparent he needed something else.  
  
"What is it, my old friend? Another ceremony for your victory." He chuckled a little, the grin disappearing when the boy's face was stricken even more, the matter becoming even more serious than it already had been.  
  
"Daruina, we need some help. You see on the way here, Link and I ran into the place that told us of the Goron Tunic, it was down in the village of Kakariko. Anyway, we stumbled upon a clan of people who were believed to be worshipers of the Triforce and there we came upon a girl named Kaci." The name didn't seem to spark anything in Daruina, she going on, as Link just winced a little at the name of the young girl. "There we found out she wasn't what she seemed to be, she was a Shaman who could control the dead--Ganondorf had killed all her family. You see, we spent the day here and something happened to her, she was kidnapped by something, it was dressed in a cape and looked like those damn Flame Dancers that appeared throughout the temple.  
  
"You hope I can use my new-found sage powers to maybe locate this friend of yours?" A smile was on his face, he would be glad to do anything for the two of them, though it did grow somber when Link pulled out that skull for him.  
  
"When we killed the even Volvagia, the entire body of it burnt up, though this part didn't burn up, we were wondering that maybe this was some sort of key?" Link looked hopeful in the eyes, he wondered if the sage could really do it, though with the powers he had--he was the man of the mountain now.  
  
"Yea, like maybe a signal or something?" Even Navi was hopeful, she never really begged people for stuff--which was usually up to Link, though for this certain person she did show worry.  
  
"I will try my best, you two. Give me a second." Focusing all his energy--he had a lot--even after giving the pendant away, it regenerated as soon as the powers were given away. The good thing about becoming a sage is that you were never so weak as to be physically hurt, you couldn't be killed in this state. Maybe if Ganon came into the last stronghold and found two of the sages awaken, maybe then he would kill them, a normal person couldn't. When one became a sage, they gave up there light, they could either accept the fate or refuse and the position would arise to someone else. Though who would give up such an opportunity as to be appointed a legendary founder of the race, the one who was chosen by the Gods to help Hyrule in the case for peace.  
  
Anyway, the people gave up their physical bodies; they could have them in this land and maybe if they were near the temple, but that was all. Unless the sages were grouped together, all six could travel places together, or even separately they could travel as spirits of their bodies. The corpses were never actually dead; they just remained in the sacred realm, charged up until the sage was ready to go back to the temple. That was where they lived, the sages, the temples were the homes of them and would be rid of those ugly traps once everything was settled down. No more Ganondorf was when the places would all be cleaned up, otherwise there was a chance that some sort of evil could catch wildfire and spread all through out the entire country.  
  
Sages were also granted the power of love; they could give on and have children, as long as those children were born in wherever the temple was. You had to give what you could keep, fortunately for Daruina, that meant that his legacy was already fulfilled, no nonsense for those games. A difficult job it was, to be a sage, for being isolated was nothing to be true to, all you could do was make friends with the sages you knew. Daruina hadn't yet met the Forest bearer, he knew she was an elfish child like Link had once been, the Kokiiri Tribe where she reigned from. Kids weren't that bad to deal with, the man in the robe explaining before Link had arrived, that she was no child, her wise age was beyond those of the other races, she was immortal and one of the oldest of the tribe.  
  
Moving through the temple, his mind sensed that there was no one else about, only a few measly monsters, that he killed with the new powers to control fire. Yes, throughout the temple was not even the corpse of a Hylian child, frowning when he saw those of his owns, and in power when those of the monsters were strewn aside. Finally, out of the entire temple, he decided that the best next place to check was inside of Death Mountain Crater, the central spot. It seemed stupid for a girl with no tunic on--a Link had said that she had told them the tunic, so she must have had one of her own to bear. Either way, the monster could just clasp a hand over her and keep her safe from the flames, if he even wanted to preserve her at all these costs.  
  
What Daruina didn't see was the sudden death of a Hylian girl, he could sense all that had come and gone on the mountain (and lived and died) no Hylian female was in that group. The good news was only getting better, when he discovered a very strong amount of fairie magic was coming from something to the left of that temple. Checking it out, his eyes were glanced to a huge rock that couldn't be cracked by the legendary bombs, maybe the hammer would work. Whatever was behind there had been the area he sensed the child, must have been held captive in there, it was a lucky break there were fairy's around. A hypothesis was that the thing had gone crazy and holed itself up in a Fairie Fountain when it sensed that its master was gone, the Hero going for him next.  
  
"Daruina.Daruina.Daruina! Have you gotten anything?" It had been only five full minutes, though Link was standing on the tip of his toes, fumbling the Light and Fire medallions in his packsack, the Forest dangling from his neck.  
  
"Link, stop being so rude." She was getting anxious herself, she could see the concentration in his gaze, how the look of comfort was on his face near the end of the journey, but then she blurted out. "Come on! Hurry up and tell us where Kaci is, so we can get out of here. it gives me the creeps, this place is so weird!"  
  
"Ah, I see that you two are the most impatient heroes I have ever laid eyes on, but yes I have some information. There is a small cave to the left of the temple, it is balled up with a boulder that I think your mallet can take care of, and the Megaton is capable of anything. I am sure you will run into it, but in the cave I sense some sort of magic, Fairie magic, as in the place from before, remember the one I told you about?" When they nodded that they had been to the cavern, Link blushing for some reason, and Navi's eyes glinting at him in suspicions, he didn't ask and went on. "I am sure that there she is, her energy source--that of a Hylian girl--is there. I know you can get there somehow, but when you get back, I will transport you to the top of Death Mountain."  
  
"But then don't we have to climb the entire way down?" Link remember the mountain, and if it was as rock-heavy as it used to be--even before Ganondorf--they were all in some deep shit.  
  
"No, there is a friend of mine you will meet up there, I am sure you will see him, his name is Biggeron and size says it all, no go forth, my young heroes." The King of Fire clapped his hands together in a magical motion, beckoning them to leave, as a King does sometimes to jester. Action of dismissal had been approved, them disappearing in a glance of white light and heading back for the temple of Fire. He had transported them on the spot where that platform was, right before the long ladder of the entrance was in the way of them. It was a good thing that he did this, for otherwise Link would have gotten himself lost looking for the rock, only searching to the left. True, he had called that they be facing the same way they were now, the boy being so young and naïve that the directions were known, just not taken into account.  
  
His job was done; all he had left to do was watch them in the room, the room wherever everyone saw what they did during their adventures. Rauru had told him that the Forest Girl watched it all the time, the ones whose tune that he had danced for, to get over his depression over the Dodongos. That made him believe that maybe this girl was in love with the hero, I mean, what was a hero if not a damsel for him to take care of. It was so sad that she was separated from him, he being so old and given that his own life was lived, saddened by his son, though for nothing else. All he had to do was watch on the ball, the lights of the rooms fading out, wanting to meet this girl and hear her beautiful tune of the forests.  
  
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"Back at last!" Arms thrown out into the air, the waves rushing quickly at his head, he was happy to be out of that stupid old temple, away from the torture. He even felt good for the first time in a few weeks; the last time had been when he first saw Saria, besides that, the first time he'd been happy in seven years. So annoying, the happiness was there when the two of them together, he meant a way of happiness that Navi had no part in. Everything they did together was full of joy, there was no denying that, the places and the people they met made it all the worthwhile. A whisk of blonde hair was over his face, the blonde was pushed aside, volcano was reacting, and acting like it would blow itself up at any moment.  
  
All around were waves of pleasure, his body releasing the form of pressure, the pressure disappearing when he pressed the button on the tunic. A glowing appeared on him, the small little spot was the one where the sign of the Goron had been, disappearing soon in a few seconds. Even the feeling of lightheaded-ness was away from him, which was expected a person was climbing up on top of a huge mountain. When just a child, he had felt the aftereffects, though he was so small that they were so hard to see, it was apparent that they wouldn't show. Now, before touching the Goron insignia, he had felt the affects and was about to pass out from the way of weight, and the pressure.  
  
"Where did he say we were to go?" He wasn't looking anywhere in particular; the direction had been somewhere, behind a rock they would need the Megaton for.  
  
"Urm, he said we go left from where we landed, so let's go that way." She pointed over towards the left-hand side of him, and there standing there was an abrupt rock, the thing shining with all the glory. The other rocks around here weren't like this one, they were smaller and a bit of a different colour, them being of the reddish gray region. Where the block stood was the rock, this one was a bit grayer, not really gray, more of shining silver that you rarely see in these days. Such a rare product, the thing itself could have been crafted out of the ancient material used to make his new armour and the hammer. Then again, maybe not, because it was indestructible, and that was the truth after having pounded it over a dragon's skull.  
  
"Is that it, Navi? I sense something, though I'm not sure what." He asked in some different voice, one that was amazed, the materials were like none that he had ever seen on something this big.  
  
"Fairie energy, what we give off. Y-yea, I think it is. I mean, I am not sure, but I do sense some Fairie energy emitting from there as well, quite a bit, to be exact, more than a fountain." Grinning in reassurance that he wasn't going crazy or anything, her suspicion is that they were going to meet and old friend from the past--or a sister of a very mean old friend from the distant past.  
  
While they headed over towards the rock, she viewed that Link had reached into his packsack and yanked ou the hammer, watching it convert back down to size. Converting down, the boy held it lightly with both hands, not even being able to handle it with one, the thing couldn't shrink down that small. It must of came with size, it would always be a two- handed weapon, though, even to one who could call himself a rock-eating man. That seemed more appropriate, for the tool could be used in a way of defense, the ends of it so large that a regular sword would shatter on the impact of it. Maybe a good name for the material was Megatonian (it could have been) some unknown element only known to the ancient Gorons.  
  
Finally, only about a four-minute walk (though the anticipation was eating away at him) they reached the large rock that stood probably sixteen feet tall. Staring up at it, he was gazed in pure awe at how beautiful something could be, sort of disappointed that he had to destroy it. Such a beautiful material to shatter, all he had to do was think of that girl who was trapped inside of the Fairie Cavern, his courage appearing. Taking the aim with the hammer, he did the same position he had done in battle, the baseball player who was ready for a big homerun. A huge one that would shatter the entire room, knocking down a hole to reveal some sort of enemy holding that which he loved, captive.  
  
Swing! He voice shouted at him in pure agony, throwing the hammer up against the rock with the sheer force that all of his powers could muster. Just enough, because when the part was done, a huge crack appeared in the center of the rock, the entire thing titling up and staring at him. In some sort of sadness (if rocks gave that off) the crack titled from the center of the lower region and expanded all the way up. Reaching the top, it seemed to just be enough to kill something, the evil rock that burdened them was starting to give way to nothing. Soon, the cracks started to appear all over the room, this was it, the moment that he truly had been waiting for since Daruina had announced it.  
  
Realization was revealed, and there definitely was something wrong here, it wasn't going to be as quick as he imagined the parts of destroying. Almost expecting the thing to crack open and a huge chunk to smash him flat, he ducked under the cave and awaited the inevitable. When nothing happened, hie face peeked under the cape, since there were a few holes in it, that's where he stared through, blue eyes wincing about. Well, maybe he was wrong, for the whole place burst into dust, something like he had read about the evil incarnations that were touched by the sun. Sort of like the hammer was a solar energy, and the ashes were all that remained, them heading out from the standing up position and over to him.  
  
Cape of black was what saved him, the savior in the small little robe he wore over his body, the thing protecting him from the hot ash that came down. Before it hit, he grabbed his fairie and let out a cry of pain; just knowing the ash would leak through the holes and get him burnt. For some reason, the burns never came to him, glancing up and seeing that the holes in the cape had been sown back together, somehow. It was strange how that happened, pondering it as the last of the ash dropped itself off, throwing himself out and back into the red air. His mind thought that maybe ash healed it, fire healed the cape that was of the flames, that was a definite possibility in the air.  
  
"What just happened Navi?" She was still grasped in his hands, a little short of breath, but overall was fine from the little accident that had occurred in here.  
  
"I dunno, the cape must be a healing type, that's good, because we did get it sort of ragged up." Shooting a sly smile at him, he shrugged a shoulder, the hands tickling at her sides with some good-natured fashion put in them. Very soon they would be looking for her, which would ease her pain; all she wanted to do was now take a long rest away from it all. A week would be nice, like when they beat the Forest Temple, she felt like she would collapse any second and sleep for an entire seven days, that was exhaustion. She thought that he felt the same way, the very nature of his face had felt like it had aged more than seven years--as if he was a wise sage. Never had she experienced something like this--these stupid temples made a lot worse on the power, then the dungeons ever had.  
  
Almost collapsing, he felt the power drain from his body, each step they took down into the darkness, he didn't know what the hell it was. Something was happening, maybe the tunic's powers were wearing off, if be, then the only escape would have been the Fairie Cavern. Keeping a deep pace, not into a run, though a fast walk, so that his fairie was hanging onto him with her arms curled around his tunic to keep from falling. Grinning at her, he did want to give it all up, just fall asleep there, he knew it was impossible, though, that would mean letting everyone down. No way would be do that, he was all sorts of thing: no respect for authority, no honour in battle, and really having not that many morals.  
  
Compelling, as it seemed, the one thing he had (as the cavern got deeper, the darkness getting more intense and power draining with each step) was his pride. Pride was a beautiful thing; sometimes it made one arrogant, other time it would it one from having their necks wrung, though it was there. Of course he always had it, he was cocky a t some points, usually put in his place before it went to his head, and he knew each time he deserved it. People always tried to say that it never existed, and a hidden mystery in the dark, though he knew it to be the falsest from the truth. It existed in every person with a spirit and soul; each one would keep the pride alive in any animal, maybe it was some sort of instinct, or even a sense of power that only humans possessed?  
  
As stupid as the conversation seemed, those were the thoughts that ran through his mind as the sky opened up and the darkness disappeared. Navi's mind was blank; she was too busy sensing the energy that came off of this place, knowing that it seemed like the fountains from before. So familiar, it was strange, even down to everything that matched, not that she remembered all the details, that had been seven years ago. When the place opened up, it resembled the place where their manna was restored, up and down until the last speck of Fairie dust. Suddenly, she dreaded something here, she wanted to go back and fall down with him in the heat, that seemed to be a lot better than what was the come; the Triforce symbol at the end.  
  
In the regular fountains, there was just a spring with fairies surrounding or the sprites as sometimes the pink ones were called. Mistakenly named a sprite, to she, it was almost an insult to her, though would be punishable by death to the sacred one that resided in here. A shivering shake, this is what made her float infront of him--not at all like her usual self that was shy--this one she had reminded herself of those years ago. When they stepped foot inside, the small fountain in the center had the familiar- looking kneeling spot, with the fairies all around, a symbol at the bottom. The legendary Triforce symbol was there, beautiful in all its colours; the recognition of the place was embedded and confirmed in with all the spots.  
  
"Navi!" He let out a squeal, though it wasn't of joy, he knew where he was, the place had frightened him with despair at a very young age. When he squealed, the attention of the sprites was turned on them, some of them seeing a Hylian boy for the first time, the other sniffing the air. Oh, yes, there were some here that had been in the cavern the day that the legendary boy--chosen by the Gods--was appointed some magic. Since the two caverns were right above each other, a single entry plug connected them, so the Great Fairies could communicate. It was at that point that something happened, something he knew was going to happen, and craved away from it-- the desperation was pouncing.  
  
As many youma that he had fought, over these two quests, as many as had been dispatched in a hard-hitting combat that ensued. It wasn't enough to get the terror of the fairies, they weren't the ones that scared him--he actually was getting loved in with their kisses. Slammed up against the wall, all his armour and stuff being pealed away, until he was just in the tunic, under-suit, and hidden chain mail. Only reason that was there was because the metal of the Megaton had no scent, which was the crude thing, which Navi had found out about it. There they had him in the female grasp, each of them wandering over his new form in the need for something, the new ones shying towards him.  
  
Perhaps the newer ones hadn't ever seen a Hylian in their life, and all of them had never laid eyes upon a Hylian boy, especially a hero. It was a beautiful feeling as the nibbled on his skin, some whining in the fairish language that he was clothed and they couldn't get anymore. Forbidden for a Fairie to wander beyond the clothing, they took their sweet time and began to chomp where even the tight suit had been placed. Expressions on his face were changing from the fear, to the confusion of the new places, and simply went down in the small meek of pleasure. Places he especially didn't want them to go, between his legs, at his thighs, places that seemed to be inappropriate up until now.  
  
Burning with desperation, he tried to swat them away, his futile attempts since they were good dodgers--not as good as the Forest Fairies, though. The thought of the Fairy from the Forest made his eyes divert down and keep his hands on a specific area that they would never get too. It was a good thing, because one of them (a curious one) was headed over there, maybe wanting to see what was down there, without opening it up. Thinking of the fairies had made him glance in the direction that Navi was in, biting his lip when the eyes of his met those of the girl of his. Yes, he was a little ashamed for their behavior, they needed to keep away or something was going to happen--in the pit of his stomach he felt it swelling up inside.  
  
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Bet your ass she was pissed, even though she tried to hide it in for the new adventure, she had thought that the caverns had been all destroyed. Her thoughts was maybe that the fairies that were around were those of the Kokiiri, a lot of them even murdered when the onslaught of the Forest happened. Disappearing was a good thing, for if they were all gone then that meant no one small would ever try to mess with him, the race dying out in the exact process. Her thoughts wondered on how she could repopulate the forest, without all of them gone, but they could reproduce asexually. Maybe so, but at that time, her thoughts weren't on the asexual thoughts; they were on the parts with out the small 'a' infront of it.  
  
A sad thought, though she hadn't doubted it in her mind, almost hoping that all of them were long gone--its not like she had any family to mourn. Fairies were so beautiful, that was true, the fact of the matter was that she didn't care how majestic they were to others, she despised all. It was cruel, unusual to be a fascist of the race, even more strangely to have no reason to hate them; all the fact of the matter was Link. No fairies to look up too, never any siblings, or parents for that matter, all of them were just a race that she had seen grown up watching. No one knew of her past, it was a complete blank, maybe it could be discovered one day, when this was all over, everything was ended.  
  
When Navi had grown up, her mind had matured a lot faster than Link's, it was because maybe those girls matured faster than boys, or maybe Fairies before Kokiiri. Either way, she now knew a lot of things that she only had guessed on as a child, mined images that weren't very nice at all. They hadn't appeared when they first woke up, about two weeks during the journey was when they awakened, around the time they left for the Fire Temple. At first they were innocent little dreams, one that any girl would have, even one as young as before the time of the period hit on. Now, they were developing into more passionate dreams, ones she thought that couldn't be expressed in full words, at least the sort of words she wanted to be considered sweet.  
  
Dreams that were thought to have never come true, he was just too immature for those sorts of things, the thought even frightened her, sometimes. Well, the fact of the matter was that she had grown up a little, while he was growing more profusely as the time went on. Eventually, before this quest was over, she guessed he would be matured into a full adult, he would be one who would make the maturity level. Then, he might be transported back to a child, making him a full-grown person, in a child's mind that was sick if she had any say in it. She had no idea if that would happen, he might just remain a child and keep the child-hood that he lost, and the innocent that was slowly slipping away, yea she had noticed how his attitude had changed.  
  
How innocent he used to be it was beautiful, now without the thoughts coming in, he was even cursing without an even hint of embarrassment. She noticed this, didn't seem appalled by it wasn't mad or anything, she simply knew that it was his time to grow up and deal with life. Faster than any Kokiiri--even though he wasn't one--it was fun to see him ages quickly, he would need it to deal with the monster of thieves. Ganondorf was powerful, he always would be, though he could intimidate Link--even if Link was ten time's faster and stronger than he is. Intelligence was a factor to consider the boy was a little naive, or had been, so that outsmarting the hero would have been a cinch.  
  
At the matter away, all she could bare was the power of herself, keeping herself from blowing everyone in this room to dust--except Link. It was a pain as they danced across him, wanting to love over him with the kisses of the lips and even a few licks on his body. Gripping her hands, restraining from clawing out her hair in fury, she shouted out a simple command in the language of Fairish. A language that Link had never learned, though when the little sprites stared across over at the new figure, they were frightened. No one had ever grown this big, she was a huge fairie to them, even more so a Forest one, a lot of power was in those tiny hands. Link was brought to some realize of tension when all the fairies backed away from him, huddling up into a corner, almost shaking with fear. Noticing the fairie of his was standing right near his side, fluttering override; he glanced for the first time at her wings, gasping a little. They were much bigger than before, of course they had to be, since she was carrying a heavier body than before, it was very nice. With that in mind, he curled up the larger fairie, pecking her cheek sweetly and looking over at the others, his cheeks flushed excessively. Automatically, she shied down, or so he saw from the perspective, he could have taken care of any anger that she could have thrown at him.  
  
With the simple touch of his fingers, she was melted down into his hands like something of a jelly substance; it was a good riddance than anger. So much was loved as she was being stroked, the boy looking over towards the pedestal and walking towards it, the Fairies following him. Each was slightly interested in what calmed the beast that was a winged creature, one from the forest that had to be the largest before. Some told their friend that it was the one who had traveled when this one was a boy, it much smaller and even a blue colour, back then. When they said in disbelief, the scents were the same by the Sprites who had been there, it was all the same to them, size or colour didn't matter.  
  
Kneeling down before the fountain, his knees were actually a little soaked, the fountain where the Great Fairie came out was soaked a little. Growling, he sat the little fairie up on his left ear, shivering with the pleasure that received there, and began to retrieve out his ocarina. Yanking it out and blowing out the song of the Royal Family, a phase that was gone now, only the tune and the rumor of Zelda remained. Everything was gone, he thinking he was probably the last one to ever play this thing, even if the princess was alive, she was wounded, most likely. The one who trained him, Impa, was probably around, she was the one that might have been protecting the Zelda from harm, an older form now.  
  
Not the cute girl he had known as a child, she was probably blossomed into a beautiful woman, by now, and was well on her way out of here. With all the danger that was happening in her, he guessed she wasn't as beautiful as she could have been if none of this had happened. He didn't mind what happened to her, he had no interest in the Zelda, becoming King of this stupid country, or anything that was around this place. All that mattered was beating Ganondorf, he wanted to take care of him, it was his own problem, and the country being saved was only a reward. First it had been about getting the Deku Tree's last request, now it was the pleasure of kicking the living hell out of the one whom had humiliated him without so much as a yawn.  
  
Squealing laughter it what made him shiver, his pants a little soaked on the kneecaps, just staring at her with those hues mixed with fear and excitement. Sure he was compelled with excitement, they had always made him stare in wonder, the exotic feelings they made, even the smell of their perfume. With a mixture of excitement, he stared up at her, the fairie floating over at his head, arms crossed over her chest and displaying some jealously. It was apparent, he knew it, although the gifts the fairies gave was well worth the small kisses they so enjoyed, even him liking it. Sure, I mean, he had been a boy and being kissed was a dream of his, especially getting a reward for it, such a great one that had saved his neck from time to time.  
  
"Well, well. Let me see who this is. Link, the legendary Kokiiri has matured from that to only be a rebirth as the Hero of Time, just like a Phoenix." The laughter was apparent in her voice, as if toying with him, and at that Link could see she was eyeing him in the strangest way.  
  
"Hm? Y-yea, it's me. I guess I wasn't a Kokiiri after all. Urm, Daruina has woken up as the Sage of the Fire Temple and he senses a life form that of a Hylian in here." He smiled nervously at the woman, glancing to his fairie, curling her inside of his hands and massaging her in all the right places, calming her down.  
  
"And the little fairie has matured too. My, my, I never expected a fairie to grow this large, and to be a different colour, how do your aura burn red?" Navi was mixed out in confusion that the woman knew, though the woman just smiled, her fact was youthful, it was just a cover up from the land's situation, utterly ignoring Link's question.  
  
"I was hit with some magic dust so we could survive the Fire Temple, I mean I didn't know I'd grow so much, I started out, when we grew up at four inches." Still, the God of Fairies said that that was a lot of growing, especially since Sprites of the Foresters didn't grow that much in their entire existence.  
  
"Miss Fairie, could you please?" Link spat out in a passion of kindness, his feeling beginning to rumble from that to some hatred for being ignored by this woman. Gripping his gloved fist, the Triforce blaring through as the anger rose, the fairies in the cavern gasped and explored what it was. Almost hating that he cut the hole in the gloves, he flushed a deep crimson, wishing he had pockets, and stuffing them down under his tunic. They left him alone when he did that, afraid the fairie was going to act on her threat for whomever would touch another hair on his head. Well, it didn't seem to phase the Great Fairie; it was if she knew it had been there all the time, like she knew everything in the world.  
  
"Can I please what?" She cocked her head, still in that same position that reminded him that if there were some invisible furniture in the world, she had them.  
  
"May we please see a little Hylian girl, we know she is here." He smiled at her sweetly, seeing the grin in her face, almost expecting what would come next, so he puckered his lips and was surprised when nothing did.  
  
"Oh, you said Hylian, so I thought yourself." She let out a mad shriek of giggles, and then looked back at him with the face continuing to express some somber moodiness in it. "I did pick up a girl from a monster, that was about half a day ago, some sort of weird youma that was dressed in this weird attire. When I hit it, the thing dropped her and ran off in a mad panic as if I had one of the strongest weapons in the world, all I did was touch it." "So, you do have her!" He let out a small little shout of joy, thanking his lucky stars and worshiping whatever was in the heavens, that had kept her safe.  
  
"But will she give her back." Navi countered with her jealously seeming to reach more than the rubs, they were as spiteful as they had ever been, the hate in there. The old Green-eyed monster had gotten its claws jagged into Navi, and that enemy's name was called an old spiteful game of jealously. Even though she didn't want too, she did nothing to help but lead a hateful life around the girls that loved Link, they were all such damsels. The most powerful Fairie in the world even wanted the Hero of Time, even though she could easily smash the hero down into pieces. Or was it just the fact that the Fairie of legends liked to tease the little fairie, get her roused up in an out brawl between the two of them.  
  
"I'm sure she'll give her back." He was a bit doubtful at first, staring up to the beautiful Fairie and blowing a sigh out, there just had to be some reward for that smirk.  
  
"I dunno about that." The two of them were speaking in whispered voices, the Great Fairie just watching them over go with the conversation, not interrupting.  
  
"May we have her back, then?" Now speaking out, Link flashed a smile towards the girl; Navi still curled up into her arms, while he saw that she was probably thinking it over in her mind. Well, he expected her to say no, the fact that she wanted an award was apparent, maybe for something more than a little kiss. A lot more, in fact, something that meant they were never to receive that girl back--she would just turn into a little sprite. Whatever was to come, he would have said yes, he was considering that Navi would blow the Great Fairy's face off of its mark. He was older and much wiser than before, and that meant there were certain benefits to having a teenaged boy around, then a ten-year old.  
  
"Yes, I have her, and I'll give her to you." Her arms spread as if preparing a beautiful magical attack that would engulf the entire room, the stance was amazing, and she was no longer sitting in the disappearing chair. When all was set, the stage had been set just for the occasion, the arms were beginning to sway to and fro, as a chant came from her lips. The chant, obviously Fairish, something that even Navi could understand, though, was none other than the ancient language of the beauties with the wings. An unknown language, they were swayed in awe as the hands were moving together even harder than before, the chant picking up. Finally, nothing left to give and everything deciding to forfeit the battle, a ball of energy opened in the middle of the room, resonating.  
  
The energy, which was a pure black colour, reformed it self in a holy white, the thing had been transformed from one area to another. Staring about the energy too long would cause ones eyes to hurt, so not even she glanced at it, her eyes having shut themselves down. Link and Navi had the bad chance of staring up, groaning in pain only after ten seconds, and keeping their eyes focused on her. It was better to watch her, kept the eyes safe, though it was apparent that something was going to come out of that new energy field. Was if even possible for something to travel through that power without being incinerated, or having the equal or even more energy than that?  
  
Incredible were the only words that form Link's lips, he was absolutely mesmerized by the way things were sparking up to be, even more when something formed. That relentless energy had formed itself up and created the shape of a doorway, the door stood about seven feet tall, and a handle on it. Even colour appeared about, the door changing into a deep brown, the white seeping away slowly, until it faded from the scene. Now, standing before all the eyes to see, was a door the, knob shimmering a beautiful golden, as if the thing had just been made. Hadn't it, wasn't that the truth, that stupid door was condensed out of energy, and was hunkering to be opened for them all.  
  
Did doorways read minds? If so, then maybe a magical one had read the two partners, as the Fairie of greatness kept the chanting. Slower, her chants had become, they were beginning to slow down and with that, the door was beginning to open itself for the duo. Whatever was behind their, no energy readings were given to even Navi, the thing was a mystery to the two of them, sure that she knew. No price had been extracted, not even a kiss, and now a weird door was appearing out of no where, behind the mysteries of the world. Link, at this time, had no doubt there just had to be a monster they had to battle, maybe this wasn't even a Great Fairie at all.  
  
Grabbing on the sword, he was ready to release it from the scabbard, having no trouble to face an opponent, even though he felt like shit. None of his power had returned the creeks in the door getting louder as the door converted back and forth upon its rusty hinges. Yea, as new as the door looked, the hinges were ugly; they very much looked like someone had just replaced the doorknob and the wood. Now, the closer they got to him, he nodded at his fairie with some precognition to get one of her blasts ready to send off in a fury. When, at last, the area had opened all the way and the silhouette appeared in his face, the hand dropped and the grim expression was one of joy.  
  
Yes, the Great Fairy's smile had broke out into a barrel of laughter, the eyes open and staring at the door, as the rest of them had ever since the door appeared. It wasn't as harmful as the Ki had been; a lot of it was just the knowledge of the swirling feelings that came within and outward. The shadow had appeared for all of them--Link at first--for some reason and with a gasp of pleasure, everything bad had been kept in secret. Exploiting the full size of the door was none other than the one whom he had ventured up here for, besides the Fire Medallion's value. There, with the beautiful hair now in curls, the streaks of mud washed away from her body, as beautiful when they met, was Kaci.  
  
"K-Kaci?" Link gasped out in surprise, the appearance of her had surprised him more than anything, and the way she looked was better than before.  
  
"Yes, this is the Hylian girl you so talked about." The fairie went back to the position where she was sitting on the couch, viewing the scene with none of the utmost respect for it.  
  
Indeed, she had seemed to grow in her beauty, especially compared to the last time he had seen her--even if mud did make her look beautiful. Wow, the way her hair was done was even more incredible, it had been cut short-- kind of like a boy's was--even shorter than his, but she pulled it off with those features. Even her face seemed to be sky-lighted with a bit of make- up, some of the first kind he had seen on a girl as young as her. Dressed in a beautiful pink dress, it was one of the nicest things he had ever seen, even better than anything was to be seen the princess in. Indeed, it was nice, a wondrous feature that made even the most beautiful Hylian women to be put in the uttermost shame.  
  
The reactions from each of them was quite different from the other, while she was standing there in the new attire, Link was simply mesmerized. Not that she was the most beautiful woman in the world--though she seemed like it now--it was like she had metamorphosed into something else. Morphing was a good way to present this; there wasn't anything that could save the evil, like a purifier of the justice from the heavens. Caterpillar to a butterfly, she was out of her pupa and backs into the open, dying to spread her wings and fly into the brand of the world. Now the world was different for the rest of her, no one would ever harm her, in this aura she gave off, she could conquer a new land.  
  
Navi, on the other hand, wasn't thinking about her beauty or anything--she was just interested in how the world was going about this. Sure, she noticed the new girl's beauty, she was physically the same, but mentally, she was even vaster in the entire knowledge. It was thought maybe she carried the Triforce of Wisdom, and with further exception, she viewed that her assumption was wrong. They had checked her before, it was thought maybe the piece came to her just recently, maybe the original holder was dead, or something. She thought that if someone died, when they held the piece (and had no offspring) that the piece would simply find another user.  
  
"L-Link?" Kaci spoke, after five minutes, her eyes had been shut like she was asleep, or so it seemed, probably in an unconscious state of mind.  
  
"Yea, we came to rescue you, but it seems that she has done it." Navi spoke out; pointing the obvious out to the little girl, the Fairie above them that was just brooding with the joy done in at her.  
  
Letting out a squeal of excitement, she spun around when his Fairie spoke up, turning towards where the large woman was siting. That was when her eyes were brightened with fear, the fear that this was some sort of monster that had stolen her away from him. She never got a good glance at the monster that had taken her, soon after they left, the thing had knocked him over the head and went about his way. When she awoke she was in complete darkness, some rustling sounds caused her to scream and there she saw black again. Now, back in the real world, she was scared to death of what stood infront of her, some sort of beast with vines all around it, so she ran towards Link, screaming.  
  
"Hey, it's okay, just calm down. She's not bad, this is the Great Fairy, she saved you." He let his arms open, and caught the girl with one flick of the wrist, his words were to console her, to keep her from breaking out. The hysterics were done down with those words, his hands splaying over her hair and consoling the shortened form that she had gotten. As he consoled her, Navi fluttered over and shined her new barrier on the girl, which she took into her arms and began to let out a small giggle. It was soon over, the cheering up, and that was just fine with the both of them, they didn't want to scare her half to death, or anything. Well, as he sat down, where he knelt to summon the fairie, he backed up on a stair and let her sit on his lap, glancing at the fairie master.  
  
"So, are we done here?" Navi spoke out, glancing over towards the fairie with her eyes glaring forward, the gleam she saw, it meant they were far from done.  
  
"Nope, I also have gained more power of the years and if you would allow me, I will update you two's manna power, that way you can perform even more powerful magical attacks." She smiled sincerely at them, coming down to a float, towards them she flowed as a gentle pace, and glanced down at them all.  
  
"Better magic, that means I can summon even more powers, and even more often?" Wow, that would be great, he wouldn't be as drained when they faced a boss, or could blow even more energy in an attack, to finish an enemy off!  
  
"Yes, you shall receive it, on certain.conditions." The way she said that word caused Kaci to stare at them in curiosity, the spiteful Navi to grit her teeth, and Link to let out a shudder. Yea, it seemed it was going to end this way, they were going to have to give her some sort of kiss--well the Hero of Time was going too. Simply standing up, walking over to the side and sitting down the girl, he patted her head and wandered over towards the fairie, opening his arms. Maybe that started it, him spinning around and meeting the eyes of Navi, shrugging a shoulder, cheeks flushed with the beautiful colour of ruby. Well, the way he looked was what drove her to float over to Kaci and sigh in protest, covering her own eyes, seeing the girl was watching with interest.  
  
"What are they gonna do?" They were about fifteen feet away from Link, so he could probably hear them, just not really listening at this time, his senses dulled.  
  
"They are gonna exchange something for a deal, a kiss, they are going to kiss each other so she'll give the magic, stupid girl has done it before." She wanted to call that bitch an even worse name, though this girl was so young that she cared about this, no need to teach the younger generation bad language.  
  
She gasped a little, the woman was going to kiss Link, though that was what Navi had said, she thought that maybe the woman wanted something else. Maybe she was getting the kiss and he was just giving it, like something that he really hadn't wanted to give to the older woman. Well, whatever the case, she didn't think it was her business, up until she thought of the girl pressing her lips against the boy whom had saved him. Even though he said that the girl had saved him, this boy had traveled up to wherever they were and headed up the entire trail. It was strange; the anger inside her was new, except maybe the sweet taste of getting revenge for her family, that anger wasn't real.  
  
Everyone knew Navi's feelings, so that was going to be left alone, all that went on was the Fairie grabbed a hold of the boy and puckered up. She didn't grab him by the waist this time; she was holding him by his behind, he sitting on her hands, as she pressed herself to kiss. Resting on those hands, groping at it every now and then, the feelings of rejoice were in her mind, the feelings of getting this. After seven long years, it was time; they had been waiting for this kiss ever since putting glances on the cute ten-year old, a wannabe hero. Now, at seventeen, he was matured and much more glorious for a kiss from the one who had been made by the Goddesses specifically.  
  
When the lips touched his, he was brought back into a sway of movements; the feelings of his body were beginning to numb. Yes, his entire body went numb--he guessed Navi's did also--when he stared across the room, he saw that she was shaking like him. The light was probably the feeling of more manna entering his body; this was just a little sacrifice to get into the league of Ganondorf. More manna meant more power, and with more power it would be much easier to take over the King of Thieves' empire and minions. With more time on his hands before he got to Ganon, it was best to prepare himself for the duration that was coming forth, all the struggles.  
  
Struggling for breath, the kiss went on a full five minutes, each time during the kiss was when certain hands reached forward and groped down there. By the time she broke the kiss, he was gasping for breath and red in the face--well also blue from the lack of air in his windpipe. Link hadn't much smooching experience, so he remember to breathe through the nose--even though he did so when with his forest girl. Apparent not at this time, all he had thought of was the tongue, it was lapping through his mouth, like the other kiss, though in a different stance. Yes, the tongue was much longer than Saria's, it was much longer and almost making him gag as it slithered in and out of his mouth.  
  
At last, to the relief of Link--the jealously of Navi (and even Kaci)--the kiss was broken off and he released to the ground, his hands beginning to glow. Blinking in confusion, he stared at his outward palms, glancing over towards Navi with a sense of fear echoing through his mind. Well, her entire body was glowing, she looking back at him with the same confusion and fear mixed together; it felt as if they would blow up. Growling, not in anger, but the frustration was building up as he glanced towards her and held his hands in the area for her to see. So eerie, the new power in him was making his hands glow, and this wasn't the power of the Triforce, or perhaps it was making the piece power even better.  
  
"What is this, Miss Fairie?" Navi blurted out, coming over towards her partner and exposing her full body to the woman, she had some good explaining to do.  
  
"That is your manna, young Fairie. Yours too, Link." A nod was given to the both of them; it was strange since they had never had the full extension of hands--for Link-- and the entire body for Navi.  
  
"But my hands--they are glowing!" Maybe thinking she was blind, he displayed his hands clearly at the Great Fairie, as someone came up to his side and nuzzled against his side. Stopping for a moment, he stared down and saw that Kaci had come over towards him and was looking over at the Fairie, as if she was mad. Link had to admit that he was very much flattered that she was showing these emotions for him, she was a lot younger than he was, he guessed about Saria's age. That was when it dawned on him why she was showing these strong influences, the reason she was a lot more influenced towards him, than anyone else. How come she was mature, to have these feelings, she was not like Saria--the forest girl was a mature girl beyond her ages--this was a small Hylian.  
  
"Yes, the hands are what you can use, you don't need your sword anymore. If you learn the art of the martial, then you will be able to generate manna energy into your fists and feet. You, Navi, have the new ability to give an all-out attack with your body, instead of just your hands, like before." Nodding with the anticipation, she saw each of them was excited by their newfound powers, it was quite a change from before.  
  
Link rested his hands down at his sides, deciding to test the powers out, even if he didn't know the martial arts, as of yet, that is. Pushing his fist forward, throwing a punch into the air, he saw the glowing that came out, though nothing physical was released. With a bit of anger in his personality, he reached for the sword and swung it out, like slashing out at something that was heading his sword. To his surprise, his sword attack had given back, because the sword felt lighter than it ever had, and a wave of energy shot out and hit the wall. Something crumbled down, chunks of the wall giving in, this where the girl had been standing with Navi, only a few minutes ago (glad they had moved.)  
  
Viewing the power of her boy, she noticed that his punches (and probably his kicks) were only to be powered up with the vow of the arts. Such a doubt to see that his new powers couldn't be tested; she was a little angered over the matter of the doubt the power wouldn't be used. Well, the sword came out, slicing the air and decimating the wall without so much as the lack of power that would be used in there. They definitely needed to harness the power, or he'd end up killing innocent people when he was fighting some monsters, in a town. It was decided that next time they ran into Shiek, each of them would train with the boy and learn to harness their manna into the power of Ki.  
  
"The sword is much more powerful." He whispered out to Navi, probably Kaci hearing it too, he was mostly speaking to himself, than anyone else in the entire room.  
  
"Yea.let me try mine." Without thinking, she rolled over towards the wall that he had sliced out an energy wave at--they both having no consideration for this home. That was in mind when she condensed the energy--no, she didn't even have timed to push it down--because as soon as that was done she brought they energy out, it fired. Surprising even her, she let out a cry of joy when the energy came out of her body and shot forwards at the wall, the energy in the form of her body. Yes, it had no condensation whatsoever, it was as if the entire place had just been erupted by a volcano, nothing was going to stop it. Energy slammed down into the wall, creating a hole that was the size of her small body, not as much damage as what Link had done.  
  
Controlling these powers was not going to be as simple as could be; the two of them were going to have to tell that Fairie to calm their powers down. It was going to be that way, or each of them would kill each other-- especially if one got mad at the other and threw their arms out. That was a scary thought, too much energy was never good enough for anyone, it was always scary when that thing was in mind. About to talk to the woman of power, Link reached up to speak when the expression on her face caused him to halt in his tracks. She had an expression of fear, a little one and spread her arms out, which were when she disappeared from them, a small boulder appearing across her pond.  
  
"The Triforce is covered! We can't call her back!" Link screamed out, the entire place was getting hotter and hotter, he soon realizing that she wasn't the one that had smashed the pond.  
  
"Link, the volcano! It's gonna erupt!" Navi screamed out, coming over to Kaci, who had fallen down to her knees and started crying, the piercing screams of rocks hurting her sensitive ears. Link's were beginning to flow with blood, as he reached over for Kaci and threw her forward, bundling up his weapons and armour, slipping them in his bag. Even the sword and shield were inside there, no need to fight since the entire place was dead, the enemies were gone and if they ran into them, they were dead. Navi could always just zap them with her new power, if she had any power left, from the look on her face, she had thrown all her energy out. The fatigue from before--the both of them having it--had made the energy attacks drain everything that they had to give to the manna.  
  
Indeed, the volcano was going to throw out masses of lava, each of them only at the center of the area, which was the most horrible idea. Link had thrown himself out of the area; Navi under his cap and Kaci were tucked inside of his tunic, to keep her from falling out. This also gave him free access with his arms, this way he could take out anything with his fists, or try to pump the air to run faster. A nice joke, there was no time for it, and as they sailed through the Fairie room, and back into the center of the room, the lava was rising. Oh, Goddess, the lava was rising--not too fast, but it was rising a few feet every second, still down about five hundred feet into the ground.  
  
In all directions he spun around, looking for a rope of maybe a way out of here, there just had to be an entrance that would get him out of here. Then he remembered the entrance to the Goron's place, slapping his forehead and shaking it in pure disgust of the simple idea. Sure, the Gorons were safe from the lava, but not even this new tunic could withstand the pound of tons and tons of lava on his bare skin. Fiery death was not pleasant, but maybe he wasn't going to get that, there was the death of being crushed to death by a falling rock. Maybe if the lava protected him, the amount of pressure would kill him, they're seemed to be no way out of this place, any simple way.  
  
"Navi.where do we go?" He was about to wet himself, the fear of dying was so apparent, with the other battles he could survive, and here there was no way to go.  
  
"Urm.the city? No! The place will leak, urm." Navi screamed out, circling in every direction she could, looking for maybe a ledge he could climb on, the stuff would be here very soon.  
  
"What should I do!" He was almost in tears, holding them back for the two women and when Navi suggested something about the last tune they had learned, he was ecstatic  
  
"Oh, yes! Navi, you are a genius!" He squealed in joy, wanting to repay her later with a kiss, but when he took out his ocarina and blew the tune of the forest out, nothing happened. Just as sure as the damned hells were, nothing was coming out of there, the place was deserted, the tune of magic was no more. He realized that maybe he had forgotten the words, misplaced it, and when he yanked out the notes to catch a hold of them, they fell. Notes of which he had noted all of his tunes on, the ones he would never be able to remember they were drifted down towards the fires below. The next moments were in slow-motion, he trying to grab them, Navi reaching them and seeing them go into a ball of flames as they reached the lava.  
  
He didn't blame her; he didn't blame her at all, that was what tuned through his mind as he headed down towards where the temple was. Maybe if he shut off himself in there, the doors would hold and he'd be able to make his way down the mountain, yea, which would be the best thing to do. As he reached the end of the pass, his foot slipped down on the little spot where the Triforce was, and that symbol of the Fire Medallion. Touching it must of signal something, remembering what Daruina had said about meeting another person, it was so vague and distant. Even though it happened less than twenty minutes ago, it was like he hadn't been listening back then, as the air disappeared, he prayed if he got out of this that he would always listen to his elders.  
  
--------------------  
  
Time slowed down whenever they would move with the tunes, only this time they weren't in that place, they were resting somewhere much higher. Away from the hot contents of below, he was safe--for the time being--resting where he had sat over seven years ago, the place of waking. Yes, the boy was sitting down where he had met Gaebora that took him down towards Kakariko Village, the place of resting his bones. Now, he was on top of the mountain, having more time to escape than he thought though not enough to leave this place and get out of town. Maybe they were all doomed, he thought as the Fairie cavern before him was shut down, obvious that all the sprites were holed up inside to keep the lava from incinerating their tiny bodies--not looking welcoming.  
  
Shaking his head, he was remembering that Daruina had said they would appear up somewhere else when they had rescued Kaci, yea that was it. Then they were to meet a man who had made beautiful weapons--maybe the one who had instructed his armour, if Daruina hadn't made it with energy? It was peculiar, because as he stared around, he saw that no one was here, there was no one in his way, but a shivering Kaci and Navi. Kaci was shivering all over, he gripping her and holding her down in his tunic, glad that nothing had happened to throw her out of there and into the lava, he'd never forgive himself. Navi looked frightful, just as bad as he thought he looked, knowing what this trip was doing too her, making her even more afraid of everything.  
  
".Link, what happened?" Kaci had been staring down at his chest, he face planted there for protection, now she was just glancing up at him, worried for all.  
  
"My friend, the Sage of Fire, the one who located you--he transported us out of here, but probably doesn't know about the volcano blowing its top and just sent us up here by instinct, isn't that right, Navi?" Trying to get her out of his fright, he noticed when that smile of his glazed over towards her, he reaching and curling her in his finger, he just stared down at her beautifully, she would be alright, given some time.  
  
"Y-yea, he said someone was gonna meet us, but where are they?"  
  
"Navi, are you okay?" Kaci turned her head towards her and smiled a little, she was getting used to the fairie, and she had never been this shaken up before. Maybe Kaci was ignorant, or just naïve, she didn't know what Link had meant by 'blown its top' or however he had phrased that sentence. No, she didn't know the volcano was going to blow, or the matter of the fact was that she knew and didn't care in the tiniest bit. Protection was what she expected from Link, he would do his job and come through with her, he had saved her once before. If she were to pass today, she would die happier than she had when they had first met, a little girl that was living in a stupid dream world.  
  
"I'm fine, we'll get through this." Navi sensed the courage that Kaci had, somehow she was able to feel it within her own bones and drew on it, acting more like the Hero of Time' partner now.  
  
"Nevertheless, we need to get the hell out of here, I am sure this volcano is gonna come out of there in less than ten minutes, or so, that's if the rate stays the same." Link had turned back towards his chest, watching as Navi rested on his ear, preparing to jump and scale down the vine ladder-- hoping it hadn't rotted. Having to take a long fall down, if they were to fall, he knew this well and was planned on dying this way, then getting his ass burned off. All he didn't want to do was hurt his fairie and this girl; he wanted each of them to live on, even if he was cremated into ashes. Well, before he even got the chance to check it, something entered his field of vision and he drew for his sword (realizing how stupid it was to have it in his bag.) The Hookshot he drew out of side back, reaching for it and aiming up at the something that was coming towards him, or better yet rising itself up at him.  
  
What happened next was unbelievable, but a lot of things in this tale were labeled under that factor, that was very sure of it. Raising about two hundred feet was a Goron, this was no ordinary rock-monster, this person was not even one of the strangest looking of the bunch. He looked physically the same as the rest of the race--except the ex-leader--despite the fact that he measured in size to the Deku Tree. Reason that no one had noticed him before, was the fact that he was blending in with the dirt, going down into his most natural state of a rock. Gorons had good camouflage, their backs could be refereed to a rock, Link had made the mistake of seeing them as that, and this one was just the same.  
  
That was a little preposterous, not to notice this balled up Goron, maybe it was the fact he wasn't looking and half-scared to death. Fear seemed to block things, create hallucinations, it was all done in with this, and the simple fact that death was on the line of his life. Well, that was apparent, each of them having the mixed reactions from the Goron, Kaci scared to death, Link mesmerized with awe, and Navi thinking this was the friend. The friend that he had directed them too, he looked like he could be some help in the volcano, but the idea of burning him to death was no in their present agenda. Maybe he was seen as a boulder, or a part of a mountain, but he was definitely nothing than of a rock, a rock only being a tiny piece of that.  
  
Unrolling from the mountain of a ball, the thing looked up at them, slinking down a little on its knees, leaning down and finally landing on his stomach. Yes, lying on its stomach was the best it could do to face him, the grin was smiling at them as he had finally found some company. Probably not there back in the days when Link was a child, maybe a child back the, it was untold how old this abomination could be. Either deserted from the lands as being too big, or the fact he couldn't fit in the city, this Goron must have had a lot of free time on its hands. Glancing down at the three people, his hands were down at his sides, he spoke with such a mighty voice that the ex-Deku Tree was put to shame.  
  
"Hello, young adventurers, what brings you all here?" His voice was so loud that Link had taken some of his tunic, ripped it off and stuffed it inside the ears of Kaci, the Hylian children's ears were more sensitive than the teens.  
  
"We are here because we seek some help, the volcano is erupting!" The first time he tried to speak to him, the Goron just canted his head in confusion, Link screaming it out the second time around the bin.  
  
"The volcano is going berserk, eh? Hrm, we have to put a stop to that, normally I would just sit on the thing, but the last time this happened was thirty years ago, my poor arse hasn't healed yet." The fire would literally burn through the tough skin and kill him, plugging the hole was out of the matter, though there were other things to consider.  
  
"Do you have any other ideas, Great Goron, Daruina sent us here! Before the volcano started and now that it has, we may need you to stop it!" Navi was literally pleading, her eyes were watering up, and they were all teary to try to convince the Goron that the entire situation was settled on him.  
  
"I am called Biggeron. Daruina, you say? Well, I will take care of it for you, I want you all to head to Kakariko, you will find safety there." He spoke with a voice that tried to be compassionate, as fearful as they were of the voice, it was sensed in the voice and given out in full proportion.  
  
"That's madness, we'll never make it down!" Link tried to reason with the man, who simply shook his head and began to pull something from the ripe earth that Din had created. In amazement, what was yanked out of the ground were two giant Gorons, they weren't as huge as he isn't, though, about a fourth. Fifty feet across, the Gorons were secured with saddles, like horses were, and as the man sat them down, they were revving and ready to go. Link was getting a little nervous about this, the idea of riding them down the mountain reminded him of what happened all those years ago. With the Goron's trip down five or so flights of stairs, the scariest thing that he had ever seen in his life, that was nothing compared with riding these beasts down the mountain.  
  
"What're those?" Navi peered out in curiosity, she was floating over the pissed-off Link, and he hadn't seemed to notice the creatures as of yet.  
  
"These Mini-Gorons, they are mutations that I have conducted, they aren't real ones and have no personalities. Don't worry, you thought they were my sons, but they aren't, I want you to ride these down to Kakariko. With there speed, you can be there in about nine minutes, I know it is a very fast way to travel." Daring not to laugh, fear of knocking them off the mountain, his grin was widening as he picked them all off and sent them off.  
  
Thrown, tied down with the reigns, they were sat on the left one of the Mini-rock-eaters, sending it off as Link screamed in protest. His screams were led out in vain, the right one was right behind them, guarding them for if something were to come out and attack. It would swing around the front, then the back, when something was in the way, guarding it with the tougher exterior it held, then its brother--though the one attacking was too hard to ride on. Down the entire ride, there was no way to describe how fast they went; it was the fastest speed that Link and Navi had ever traveled. Kaci was scared out of her wits, the fear that something was going to get in their way to tip them over and make them slam into the ground at the miles they were going.  
  
Talking was absolutely unbelievable on here, there was no way, because their voices echoed out as soon as something was getting started. Link would get a few words out--voice rasping for water--and Navi would not be able to hear, or her voice too small to answer back at him. It was nothing to do with Kaci, she was too small to do anything, too small to talk, and the fact she was about to wet her little pants. The two saw this and instead of talking, they focused on making her feel better, her benefit was better than her having a heart attack. Plus the fact that there was nothing else to do on this ride, there was no time to even enjoy the scenery, it went around too fast for them.  
  
Nobody knew what Biggeron had up his sleeve, all they were to do was trust him and hope the giant was to come through with whatever plan he had. Maybe Daruina had sensed the thing was coming, and sent them up there, because going down and hiding would not stop the lava. It would spread all over the land, maybe even getting as far as the Kokiiri Forest and Lake Hylia, maybe drowning the entire lands in lava. That was true, since this entire country was surrounded by the mountains of Death, they could be traveled and blow the other volcanoes on here. Well, that was if the place was lined with other red mountains, no one knew what was up there, since there was no way to get across them, unless you had wings or maybe a machine that could fly.  
  
The path was getting closer and closer, the more time they spent down here, the closer they got to the edge, and the exact time was right. Maybe he was psychic, or knew his eruptions, but when six minutes had passed, they were already more than halfway down the mountain. Near the fabled Dodongo's Cavern, they slid down past it and kept their ways down there, the crossings were further and further down into the land. Pretty soon they would be in Kakariko--Biggeron said it was safe down there--and for some reason, Link believed the giant Goron. There was no need for anything, all they had to do was hold on and everything would be saved, the land would be plugged up by his plan.  
  
Rolling downward caused each of them the little girl was so scared, that all her thoughts were focused on was the way Link was going to save her from the dangers ahead, he was the bravest of them all. Pushing over to Link, he had time to doubt the plan of that rock-eater, he could have been bluffing and just trying to tease them along, a malicious being with bad intentions at heart. Maybe not wanting to deal with their deaths--or scared himself--he had fled the country of Hyrule and was off towards bigger and better places, if there were such places out of Hyrule (he'd never heard of any other lands out here.) Almost wishing he hadn't stepped on that large pillar, then he wouldn't have to be worried about being stuck on this ride down the mountain, measuring in an even more risky situation inside a hot volcano. A succumb inside the Fire Temple didn't look that safe, even now, but it was a hell of a lot better than depending upon a man that none of them had ever laid eyes on, one that could be untrustworthy.  
  
Terror had to come; the calculations were off by a few minutes that were apparent when a deafening sound even ruptured Kaci's plugged ears. All of them whipped their heads to behind them, causing a bad whiplash, but that would come later, no one was interested in that now. What they saw made their eyes fill of in fear, the emotions were the same between the trio of them, it was the sight that got to them, not the sound--they could of dealt with that. Just like hearing lightning wasn't as bad as seeing it, if you didn't look directly at the source of the sounds, maybe you could die in the utter ignorance of not knowing anything. Unfortunately, Link had looked, followed by Kaci canting her head over there, and Navi flipping around, the magma inside the volcano began to spew from out, floating down into lava, now.  
  
Oh Goddess, it was true there was lava bubbling from the top of the mountain and it was spewing down even faster than they were going. At this rate, the lava would hit the Mini-Gorons and take them out of commission; the meeting ending before the quest was even over. Hrm, the calculations were way off, whatever senses that this Goron had were not that good, though better than any of them had expected out of it. A good run, it was, it was a nice way to end the life, the nervousness of the minis holding out was still in mind, and maybe it would do some good. It was sad, this was going to come about, there was nothing to resolve and everything was in its wrong mind, the fear increasing.  
  
Bubbles of lava seemed to overflow the path, already down near the Goron City and flowing down, the closer and closer it came, and the more nervous Link was. He was biting his lips in fear as the lava flowed upward and scalded several enemies that had come out to see what was going on. Even poor, innocent animals were taken out; nothing left of them, as far as he could see, maybe they would have some remains when it was over. Well, the remains were another dispute that he had in mind; skin wasn't what was going to happen, maybe some nasty bones. Doubtful if those remains were alive--no it wasn't doubtful, it was a natural fact that anything--besides a Goron--would be scalded to death.  
  
While he was biting his lips, Navi was too busy to analyze if the monsters were going to hold, if they would have to leap on the cracks and climb up to the northern mountains. Getting to the top part of the mountain would be the most difficult, she could carry Kaci up all the way, since she looked even lighter than Link had as a child. Yes, carrying her up there, Link could climb and they would be safe from the fires that were below--she doubted the lava would rise very high. When the animals were burnt up, the lava so close that they could all smell it (or Link and Navi) the shivering was coming out, they would hold out on the animals however long it took for them to break. Faster and faster it went down, until it finally hit the balls, each of them groaning in pain, keeping the same speed up as the lava passed them and headed for the Kakariko Village.  
  
It was happening, it was really happening, Kaci was scared to death, the protection was still there, but she knew that Link couldn't stop this catastrophe. Yes, they would survive it that she still believed in her heart, it would just be a lot more difficult than she had ever thought possible. Staring back, from her head on his shoulder, she whimpered as the lava was around them, feeling sorry for the little monsters that were in pain. Wanting to sooth they're suffering, there was nothing she could do, they were made to help them survive the lava--that was the way nature had intended it. As the paths led on, the lava was slowed down and just surrounding the three of them, maybe trying to take all of them out and then go on for the innocent town.  
  
"Navi! What is the plan!" Link screamed now that the lava had slowed down, they were able to hear each other if they would yell loud enough, the red fire had stopped the traction sounds that the monsters made.  
  
"I dunno, maybe cli--" She was cut off when something hit her voice, the scream echoing out from her side and that was when everyone stared off to the side in surprise. Coming out from the pass was what looked like a wave; Navi had read of them back when she had learned about the fabled oceans. No oceans were here, but the waves were copying it, this time they weren't made of seawater, but consisted of the dreaded fire. Closer and closer they were coming to the end of Kakariko, the gate just within twenty feet, it was going to be close, and even from here she could see the terror- stricken faces. How bad, she thought as they hid within the houses for protection, how evil this was going to be, feeling that the Goron had let them down (and in a way, they had let the entire village of Kakariko down.)  
  
A possibility would have been that the entire town was let down, her plan of escaping was only enough to stop the three of them from getting away. She knew it was a cowards' way out of the situation, not even discussing it with Link, she knew he would protest and want to die a hero's death. Truth was, she didn't care if they died--as sad as it sounded--her initial concerns were placed on the Hero of Time and the girl they had picked up. Screw everyone else, they could all rot, not even did she have anything to think about them while the torture of the place seemed in slow motion. Such fear was there, the closer the lava came, that she threw that stupid plan away and slipped down into his hat--calling herself stupid for even trying to save anyone.  
  
It was pitiful, the waves were washing down on them, well they would in a few seconds, and he knew that it was all over, he knew that nothing could save him. His life was flashing before his eyes, the adventures that he had had in his lifetime, all that had happened with any fight against good and evil. It was bad how the mind was accustomed to view the life, the old saying was right when it did flash before your eyes, right before you died. Or maybe he was just thinking he was about to die.that thought was pushed from his mind, no matter how bad he was--he wasn't idiotic. The people he had defeated monsters that were killed, trials had been endured, love sought and even pushed away--in his own mind. Something pressed against his chest, he didn't mind it, probably her shifting around on him, and a weight was gone--too scared to even look at what was happening down on his chest.  
  
Groaning from the uncomfortably at his chest, he knew it was just his heart aching out for them, it was calling that it was time to. Of course he needed help in this situation, his heart would cry out for him to get away, or maybe that was his brain calling out for that. Sad as he was, in this state, he was sick of everything, the torture that he felt from everything and what was going to be out of the way when this was over. Soon it would be over, he'd be dead and probably rotting in hell for his sins, and they were going to judge him right after his demise. Maybe he was wrong, it was the brain was the one calling to get the hell out of there, while his heart wanted him to stay and face it towards the end.  
  
As he stared forward, some of the people were still standing there, knowing there was no way to get rid of the inevitable and facing their death. It was sad, and at the same time, he had to commend them for their courage, the courage that he had lost about twenty minutes ago--it had disappeared when the mountain blew. The solemn eyes are what got him, the hues of multiple colours that stared down in the sad ones, mothers holding children, and children pressing against the mother's breasts. Small children, even grown men were crying, it was tears around the bin, some of the crazy one had decided to escape and try to move outward. Just as he was about to reach and grab one of their hands.something yanked him forward and sent him flying outward, slamming about fifty feet forward (away from the lava-pit that was coming down.)  
  
--------------------  
  
She just had to do it, there was no other way, she soon realized that everything was going to fade if she didn't do anything to stop it. Realizing that the inevitable was near, the only thing to do was to throw him forward, save his life, so he could live on and save the world. Somehow, she knew he was a great a hero, he had told her about his adventures, there was that, and the fact that he traveled so far for her. Flatter was what she felt when rescued, she knew that she was in love with him, that was evident, but it could never be--he was just too old for her, the hero of the legend, and had another interest. Plus, the fact that he was a hero, and she was about to be a martyr in this land, to be killed for some stupid reason that the dark man had summoned up.  
  
All her life, ever since the people had come to kill her family, she had heard of a dark man that was going to take over the world, someday. There would be a hero to stop it, and that was the Hero of Time.now that had come and this person was the man named Link. A beautiful man, she couldn't help doubt that he was someone who would stop the Ganondorf, that beast with the pig-shaped snout. If anyone could kill him, it was the hero and his Fairie; they were the only ones that were around to put a stop to this evil crimes and unjust punishments. How unfair the man had made the world, punishing the religious beliefs, unless it was part of Dragmirism, the Gerudo Women and a few followers were the only ones that followed that ridiculous religion.  
  
Such a stupid religion, Ganondorf had posted it once everything was back to normal, or the 'normal' that he displayed as his perfect utopia. His bliss was nothing but horror for the others, she wondered how much pain this man had suffered as a child, if he was abandoned or tortured as one. Either way, no one would never know, unless they brigade the fortress of the Gerudo and searched the birthrates and the journals of the mothers. She, however, would never know, while the others might of found out the truth behind him, what exactly had happened all those years ago, however many it was his age. Maybe it was all a phrase, the man had to be at least older than seventeen or so, but his disfigured face--or so she'd heard from the rumors--was forever immortal thanks to his piece of Triforce.  
  
Never would anyone have to suffer, in less than two month, or so she predicted that was when it would end and that was when she would be avenged. Yes, she knew the lava below would hit her body soon and then there would be nothing left, maybe some bones that had been reduced down. By the time the pit had cleared and cooled down to be walked on, her bones would be ashes; they were only a physical form, anyway. With that form gone, she would be glad to be of spirit and up towards where her creators were--where everyone had been waiting for. As glad as she was to finally come up here, her distant mind was saddened that she had met Link, probably because now that she was leaving, misery was stricken in her little heart.  
  
As these few seconds passed by, them going slower and slower, she knew that he would be sad that she had sacrificed herself so that he'd live on. Maybe a coward's way out, that was what Link would think, though she knew better, it was as if the Goddesses had told her to do this. Indeed, that could have been the case, which she was called into a dream and told to do this, the awakening feelings were just now starting to open. Mmhm, she would accept her fate with open arms, there was no denying what was going to happen when it closed down on here. No denying that she would die a death, a quick one, but nevertheless a death that would have been in vain-- too young to be killed now.  
  
She was ready to accept her death, there was some faults that maybe she would be a wandering Poe in her next life, being of evil intent. That was shrunk away when she thought of him, the way he looked when he was worried about her, the other visions she had had of him. Yea, she had had visions of him in battle, she guessed were real, about him fighting some sort of dragon, a scary beast that looked like a bird. It was nice how he fought, the bribery that was ensued in the hammer he used to kill the member of the reptilian race, it was great how that happened. As she saw those, in her sleep, she just knew he was the true Hero of Time, no fakes were going to be done here (she would succumb and give her life for him.)  
  
I recognize you, I feel you, and I adore you. Those were her thoughts when she rampaged into the fire, licking at her with a closer and closer, the breath was getting deep into her little body.  
  
You will see him. A voice whispered, when she called out, it didn't answer back, she thought it was her master coming to command her to go to heaven.  
  
Ready to embrace it all, she knew that something was going out of whack, it was going to come all down in just as the seconds blew all past her. In a matter of seconds, though seeming like years and years of torture, the grasping fear of becoming a bad spirit that was disappearing from her. Lava was evil, the heat was intensifying at every millisecond that went by, and each of them disappearing with just the clothes left on her back. Soon, even the clothes would burn, leaving her in her naked body, then the skin, flesh, organs, and bones would soon becomes ashes. No fear was in her eyes, nothing was there anymore, all she could think of was when Link would join here--in however long it took--she'd wait.  
  
Staring around, the flames beginning to heat around her body, she was no longer part of the world anymore, she was somewhere else. Yes, the body was now gone, the lapses of the wave had washed across her body and left her down without a form at all, just a soul and a spirit. Nothing was left for her around here, she saw the barrel that was coming in the air to save them, no the body of someone they had met. This was what they wanted to protect the hero from, now that he was over there, the lava would be reflected by the one whom had done it once before. It was sad to leave; she so wanted to stay, knowing that whatever was going to happen she would see form above, with the Goddesses and her family, watching it with her own mind.  
  
--------------------  
  
No one knew what the huge hole was, something of majesty to them all, a God had appeared and saved the people from the burning magma. Just as the flames were about to slosh down on them, the tidal wave initially over, was when the figure appeared in their point of view. Slicing the surface, the deity was pounced down into the surface wavering the lava away from them and keeping it in descent. More than three-hundred feet, the huge rock was settled right next to them and seemed to be more of skin than an actual rock. Glares of it were ceasing to function, the monster or rock was hurting them, more of a protective barrier was restraining them to live onward.  
  
Even as the villagers were staring in awe at the special of reality, the two of them knew that wha was protecting them was from a God. What a laugh, to think that the people could be so gullible to believe that something was going to happen here, a miracle of some sort. All it happened to be was circumstance, the pure beautiful thought of it all made them both so sick, cursing that all that lived--even themselves. Biggeron's work was in the making, it survived all these years to do specific times of help, now its volcano had erupted and it did what was best. Sickness appeared in the stomachs of the hero and the heroine, the kind that went when the bile was about to come up your throat.  
  
The upchuck was going through his throat, he gulping it down his esophagus and taking it in, holding the pressure to throw up back. If he'd thrown up, they would of thought he was a nut and just kept to himself, maybe someone that was worshiping the evil King. What a site it would be--the Hero of Time having a trial for being for the side of evil--enough to make the chuckles arise in his large throat. Maybe then he'd have been hung for his crimes and out to dry on a stake, for those that sided with Ganon--a warning that the resistance was strong. Fortunately, no one noticed that snobby little laugh he made, him staring over at his fairie and she was not anywhere to be found here.  
  
Guess she's gone to sleep.or crying, poor baby. Hands were in his position, reaching forward and stroking the hat where that bump still was bore, and the twinge of pain allowed him to break into sobs.  
  
--------------------  
  
Nothing else happened then, it was over within a few days, the Goron revealing itself as one named Biggeron and everyone holding a festival in his name. While the festival went on, everyone seemed to forget who just saved the land--maybe causing the volcano to explode in the torsion. Though, it was guessed that that was expected along these lines, it always was when you were the hero of the past times, parted by destiny. Simply shrugging a shoulder at the thought of that, it wasn't a real big thing that you were celebrated, actually sort of a good thing. At least the destiny and his public life wasn't revealed to anything--Link could be a very private person--and at his current rate he had a whole bunch of secrets to hide.  
  
An entire week was spent in the festival, no one even making sure to check the lava if anyone had died a horrible death in there. After about six days of the ensuing celebration, neither of them taking celebration but renting a small room at an Inne (Anjou was in the celebrations) was when they searched. Lying in the inn was so annoying; he wanted to go outside, though both of them were still in mourning for what had happened here. Finally, he decided enough was enough and was viewing the possibilities that maybe a burial was in service to showcase his affection. Going through the wreckage for a few hours proved frivolous, they knew that the body was long-gone, away with everything else it maimed down to the point of no return.  
  
I could have stopped it; I could have saved her. If only I had tried my best, noticed what was going on, then it wouldn't have mattered what she could have done. It was flowing down through his mind as he searched all around for some sort of evidence for some help; it could have been saved by it all.  
  
Navi had called him down, he returning from his spot, each of them dressed in some suits made of rubber--it kept them from scalding themselves. Ash was still strewn around, it cooled down to the point of the rubber not burning, though still hot enough to put scald marks on flesh. Throwing ash out of the way, more and more, where she had felt with a bump with an iron bar they were using without digging with their hands. At long last, the time had come for the search disappearing, everything coming at long last when those bones appeared in the midst. Bones--the callus that they originated were of a human, or maybe a Hylian since the area near the ears were more turned up than the latter.  
  
Throwing the ashes aside, releasing the entire dirt from the skeleton, his fingers prodded upon it and found that the thing was slowly disappearing. As much as he wanted to stop it, to prevent it from happening, he was caught in vain here, he was simply gone from there and in another place. In this place, she was melting like a witch from a one of those stories where the water was thrown on them, the most beautiful way to end its life. Grabbing for her, the skeleton was now in place and was disappearing slowly, it going bit by bit as his fingers slid out for it for a grasp. Even back in the real world--it now around--his fingers slid out as the dust disappeared from it and nothing was left of the scene.  
  
The sobs racked his throat when the ashes were gone, them even disappearing as the wind picked up and blew them into the hot ash, even though this was the hot ones itself. Gathering up some ice he had gotten from the village, he packed it down a little of the ashes so it could cool down for a few seconds. Taking it away after a thirty-some seconds had passed, he scooped up a bag and took the ashes in there, fastening it shut with him placed it inside a bag with ice on it. This way, the thing would keep the bag from melting and keep the ashes cool enough to carry back to the town, something he planned to do. Making his way back to the village in silence, neither of them talked, eyes were directed on the cloth bag it was in, the name of hers on there.  
  
We didn't know anything about her, the sadness that must have flown through her head, though she didn't forget anything, she saved us. The fairie was quiet the entire time, but so was the Hylian, it seemed that either of them were not going to talk the entire way back. Not that much conversation had gone out in the day, at the nights during this week they talked all they could about her, what they knew and didn't. Link spent a good four days in bed determined to be ready to go ahead and venture on by the time that Sunday appeared on the horizon. Now the Sabbath day was around and all they had to do was one thing this afternoon, go to sleep and be ready before the day came up.  
  
Already nearing the four o'clock sun, each of them were past the village, going through the steep alleyways, avoiding the last of the parades going on. That fat-ass Biggeron didn't mention Link once, he was already headed up the mountain, the dying of the parades were done with the charging. Such a stupid sight, it made her sick to see how well he was treated for just using his girth to save the town--what he planned on doing. When the turn of the graveyard was coming their way, Link broke out into a run, he gripping the ashes harder with the hand. They would of burst, if not for him holding back the power he possessed, the tears streaking down his face and falling below, holding the sobs back that processed into small little mewls.  
  
Each had done their share of crying; maybe believing she was still around, though what they found at the site had made them sulk down. On the way back from the site, away from the skeleton was a rock that secured some sort of burnt material that someone had held onto. Lifting the small boulder a little, Navi had peeked down and yanked it out, she dropping it and letting out a cry of displeasure, backing up near his ample face. He belt and grabbed it, the tears breaking out as what was revealed was that piece of cloth, a pink ribbon attached to Kaci's little dress. The one that she had occupied from the Great Fairie, it surviving when an on-going rock had crushed some of her dress, the fire sweeping her further back--a weird coincidence since the lava was going forward.  
  
Maybe she was swimming through the water was what Navi had thought and now as they stood ahead in the Kakariko Graveyard, a spade held in her partner's hand, it was too much. She went under his hat, sobbing as the small little clunks were heard from all over, they seemed to be eating away at her ears, clawing at the sounds. Nothing could of stopped those marks, for she knew that normal marks weren't like this, normal ones were for people that had died and had gone. She just didn't die, she was murdered by the one who blew up that Goddessdamned mountain up, it wasn't a normal blow away and she knew exactly who. Some hours later--she didn't know how long--she appeared out of the hat and came into the darkness of the graveyard, seeing Link was leaning against a tombstone.  
  
"You okay?" He had a toothpick in his mouth; it was a substitute to smoking a cigarette--though he felt like puffing on those cancer-ridden tobacco pieces.  
  
"I'm fine." She whispered, though she knew she was far from fine in this whole state, her body felt like it was about to explode with the anger.  
  
"Well, I laid it in.I just couldn't bring myself to bury her."  
  
"I know what you mean, this--this seemed to have changed you."  
  
"Of course it changed me, Navi, someone died!" The anger coiled out in his voice, his arms getting a sudden charge, as if he was going to strike her, then they calmed down and he stared at her stupidly, remorse sprayed across his face, like he had just killed someone and in a way he had. "Navi.I-I'm sorry for what I said, I am not thinking. After all the shit that is going on, why should I take it out on the only girl that is here to comfort me? With Saria gone, I can't even call her on the ocarina, and with everyone miles away, I the most dependant on the one true person I can trust."  
  
"It's okay, Link." Wavering towards his face, she leaned forward and embraced the boy in her arms, he gripping her harshly into a sullen embrace of passion. One good thing about her size was that he could keep her close to him, hold her even better, and the kisses were a lot better now. Sure, he kissed her now, as he had done during the mourning period, they're relationship was getting a lot more expressed than when he was a child. It seemed a shame how he acted, more serious than a ten-year old would happen to act--or maybe it wasn't bad, she seemed toe enjoy them more than anything. Small kisses, well ones without tongue, were the only ones he gave her, or maybe it was the only one that she had allowed him to give.  
  
That amount of assessment caused him to perk up, and he grabbed a hold of the spade, taking one flick of the shovel and pressing it forward. Staring at the box they had assigned it in, a coffin with a golden lock upon it--he had to wonder why in the world they had gotten one with a lock. Unconsciously he had purchases this for three hundred rubies, using his entire ruby-bag and then selling some of the stuff he had salvaged around town. A regular thief, he was turning into, actually getting some of the stuff he had taken from the Fire Temple more than a week ago. It had to be because they were afraid no one would break into the lock and get at the encasements he had placed inside of there.  
  
Not able to latch onto the spade to dig, the thoughts of it were making him dizzy, something gripped at his shoulder, the fear appearing. The dead had come to get him, they were back with their Poe forms and the thousands of torches ready to burn him at the steak. His hallucinations were getting the best of him in this situation, no one was going to calm him down, or save him from the evil dead. Navi couldn't save him like she usually could, he felt her kissing his cheeks and trying to cheer him up, he scared because the leader of the pack was present. The leader was a little girl dressed in a beautiful dress, her skin was charred--her having no Poe form-- maybe the form she had died in--the little girl was one by the name of Kaci.  
  
"Link, don't be scared, look!" She cried out, the pierce was causing her to get through his clouded mind, the one that had conjured up these horrible images. Yes, for when he was spun around from the feeling, and it wasn't Navi, a stronger person had turned him around and was now able to face him. The face of Kaci's burnt corpse sent it away, disappearing like a gasp of fear had entered its mind and another one was in the place of it. A strong face, maybe a feminine man was here, someone he had not known; though recognition was possible from the look of things. Finally it clicked, the purplish-gray hair was what made him realize he was looking forward at his former sensei, the one that had trained him to fight and went by Impa.  
  
Impa wasn't alone, several people--maybe the entire town, surrounded her, each of them were dressed in their nightclothes. She, however, was dressed in her beautiful armour, the one she had shown off for him all the time-- only one he had seen his master in. Well, he had seen some of the GIs she had displayed on; even a martial artist's uniform, but that what they called a GI, anyway. Now she bore no weapon, although Shuriken could be displayed in her pockets, a warm smile was entrancing her enchanting lips. What he had always loved about her, the tiredness was suddenly gone into him as he fell forward into the warm arms of her--she stroking his brow and cooing.  
  
"What happened to Link?" Navi let out a cry of terror, staring at Impa with her eyes sort of dilating, a weird predicament for this sort of situation, her tiredness showing.  
  
"You fairie, be calm. Young Link has fallen asleep, he needs a little more sleep, do not worry. We shall keep you company, we shall help dig the grave." Her smile was warm and assuring, and of course she trusted her former master, why wouldn't she train the one who had taught them skills to survive the power of evil.  
  
Suddenly, for no particular reason, Navi also sought some refuge in the ways of being tired, her sleepiness increasing faster than ever. Maybe it was the way that Impa held Link in his arms, like a small child being rocked to its comforting motion, suckling on its mother. That was how she had sent him to bed as a child, when the nightmares went on, providing what was seemed as the first mother he ever had. Sure Saria had done that, she just wasn't as good at it as Impa was, the way she had handled Link like some sort of professional would. His Forest Girl had been clumsy and never raising a child, she had the experience with the little princess, she had raised her since the day she was born--probably even more infants--since she was a nursemaid.  
  
Sliding down, she was soon asleep and Impa took it on to herself to retrieve them down towards the village, delivering them towards her house. There she bathed and washed the two of them, never thinking bad thought in her mind, loving the feeling of taking care of the two children. With that done, she restored most of their clothes and armour, sinking them in as the people worked away laboriously at the grave for Kaci. It had been stated a long time ago that somehow Impa knew how it was to go, maybe she had seen them and somehow knew the name. Whatever the case, a tombstone was instructed with the name of the girl whom had died and a small little poem was incased at it, it read,  
  
To Kaci Bosiou. R.I.P.  
  
Born September 18th, 500 B.G.- Died September 21st, 7 A.G.  
  
To the beloved angel in the window; Whose life was wrested away as a bird flies.  
  
No one can blame the shallowness sinful; Of how the evil took over and goodness dies.  
  
The B.G. was a new symbol that had been invented, starting from the time that the Hylians had taken to rule, it used to be the symbol A.H., for After Hylian. Now the stated was meant for Before Ganondorf, as in the time before he had ruled the lands with his own vile evil in the place of everything else. However, A.G. stood for the chance of seven years, the anniversary had passed only a month and a half before, it was the official New Year. It meant that After Ganondorf, this that they had made up by themselves, adopting down to the official way that people stood the years. He--the Evil King--had gotten wind of this and kept it as the new official year, not that the bastard took care of his little kingdom he so begged for, he just let it rot away.  
  
Kissing each of their cheeks, she looked down at them as they were dress back up, her hope was increasing even since she had seen him. The first time she came to Kakariko was when she saw them, also noting a little man was after them, he dressed like some sort of Shiekah. Although, he was dressed like the ones from the ancient past, not that there were many others to make the uniform of the present-day. If there were any of them left, they had been killed along with all the heroes and martial artists in the world, Ganondorf making sure of that. As soon as he was made King, or forced his way, he had them all killed and here was one that would make sure to exterminate what the others meant to accomplish on their demise.  
  
Do well, my heroes, without each other you are nothing. A grin appeared upon her lips, pecking each of their foreheads, grabbing an extra spade and heading off to accompany her friends in helping dig the grave, if they weren't already done with the task.  
  
--------------------  
  
"How goes the work, Shiek?" A blooded mammal peered off to the side, being utterly ignored by the pompous idiot, maybe one of those damned generals about. No, it wasn't one of them; the rest was a water-monster, a giant, and those two bitches that had claimed the temple from the sand worm. It was before he had joined, so the moment didn't last in his mouth, occupying with the simple task of visiting the main boss, he wanted him. No conversation ever went about them; he not even sure how the locals had accompanied his name, the only one that he talked to was Ganon. Only by force would be distaste himself to low as to speak to that idiot, he was so overgrown with power that his ugly mug couldn't see how much was going on inside of Shiek's mind.  
  
Trailing through the outer doors of the hidden corridor, the main room was for intruders and full of traps that he just didn't feel like dealing with. Shiek a few months back, Ganondorf own personal passage discovered this passage, but what the King didn't know wouldn't hurt him. What would he do if he spoke of it, probably have his own arm blown off, he was useful to the man with only legs, fighting wasn't essential. No one knew the boy's true power; he was tested once and slowed down his power to be booted in the average standings. Or possibly hurt the Shiekah, he knew how strong Ganon was and didn't even want to deal with the consequences for shooting his mouth off.  
  
He'd seen Ganondorf blow people's limbs off, rape women numerous times, have men raped by the monsters or evil guards he had present. A sadistic man, he was not about to say something and get anything shoved up his ass- hole, Shiek had learned to control his temper long ago. While Link took his time off was when he reported into the man, never leaving his post incase something special was needed to accompany him. He had no care for the Hero of Time, just wanted to do his job and hope the boy kept his pace up and did his own work, in that area. Maybe helping him a few times, he knew that without him, the boy was lost, even without his little guardian he was a lost little boy.  
  
Who could blame the one with the mind of a ten-year old, it was natural he'd be very immature and act up in certain situations. Having matured a little, his mind wasn't right with his body yet, though about a fourth of a way there, maybe ready when the last jewel was attained. It could be he was maturing right, or the simple fact that the six jewels are what sent him up in age, each of them occupying some years forward. Well, he was ready, immature or not, to defend the person who was the hero and take care of everything that needed to be done--not actually participating in a fight. If there were seven, then it would be a year a pendant and he'd be close to thirteen, though only six of them stood in the way.  
  
Appearing up the long pairs of stairs, straining from the run, he was down by the golden edged door, not liking the smell of things. Or maybe the hearing of things, the moans he heard with his Shiekah ears, being one of the only people here with long ears. Ganondorf followers clipped their ears--very painful procedure--to show their loyalty to the Gerudo race, which have the short ears--or he did. Shuddering with all his breath, that crimson eye was deflecting back and forth across the room, deciding if he should intrude--even if he was called. With the mask still on, sworn to never take it off, he decided that he would proceed in and tapped the edge of the door, it sliding open for him, walking through.  
  
Ah, fuck! He let out a long whistle of disgust for the scene that was displayed before him of the man he had sworn 'loyalty; too only eight months ago. Sitting in his favorite chair (the one the King had died in) he had a smile on his face and about fifteen Gerudo were around his body. Each of them were nude, not the bad part, but so was his body, the hard muscles lined with that face just gave Shiek the chills. His whistle must have indicated the man's attention, for he soon started at him and nodded, not dismissing the wenches back to their quarters. Every Gerudo was entangled in this big orgy; they all focused on him, instead of pleasuring each other, not caring about what their needs were.  
  
"Shiek, my boy, care to have a ride at one of these fair whores?" He was never light about his speech, nor did he respect women very well, but who could respect a woman who would sleep with Ganondorf?  
  
"Ah, no thanks, Great Ganondorf. I am just here for my proceeding." Very tempting to get with one, they were so beautiful, though he'd have his body next to the man with gray skin, which made him break out in gooseflesh.  
  
"You're no fun." He broke out into a barrel of laughter, the maidens staring at him then giggling in they're own ways, not even stopping their pleasure and finally even Shiek made a weak chuckle. "Well, what goes about the land, I sensed another Sage has awakened itself, that's the third one, right?"  
  
"Well, the Light Sage was already awake, so it's two awakened."  
  
"Yea, well, the official count is three, right?" Throwing a hand outward, the energy he produced sort of made a whirlwind appear and throw the wenches across the room, they disappearing and coming back with a coat to drape around his entire body, soon taking their leave.  
  
"Yes sir, there are three awakened. Rauru, the Sage of Light, Saria, the Sage of Forest, and now Daruina, the Sage of Fire." He bit his lips, relieved the man had put something on, now a little saddened the maidens were gone, but he'd get over their luscious bodies soon enough.  
  
"Hm, what other news do you bring me?"  
  
"Your volcano was ridiculed, it was stopped by a Goron named Biggeron. A huge one that was measured at an estimated--" He was cut off with a yell of rage, and the walls around him starting to crumble.  
  
"Fuck! That stupid Goron--I remember him--he made some sort of large sword a while back, I remember him well, so he foiled my plans." Some of the women came to tend to him, dressed in robes, he brushing them off until they went under the cape and a sucking noise started, he calming. ".Yes. Shiek, what about the boy?"  
  
"He got down, somehow. He's resting in Kakariko now, under observation by one of my followers. I wasn't really watching at that time, though I saw him finding some human remains, so maybe he was with someone and they rescued him?" Shiek crossed his legs and sat down, Indian-style, beginning to levitate himself up to Ganon's face level--there was never a chair for his subjects.  
  
"I see. The kid is getting better. How'd he take out Volvagia?" It was happening too fast, faster than he had first imagined, he had expected the boy to get lost in those temples and somehow die. Now, he was winning more and more jewels and pretty soon he would have all of them--halfway there already, so it was only a matter of time. As by Goddess as his witness, he was so surprised at how a boy could get so strong in such a long time, releasing the power difference in Volvagia and Phantom. Of course they were a vast part away, the Phantom had been one of his earlier forms and was much weaker than Volvagia. So strong how he was killed, even with the special hammer that was labeled to be in that stupid little temple, he hated them all, personally.  
  
"Megaton Hammer." Shiek whispered a loud, hearing the frustrated cry again; no walls were clambering around his ears, almost afraid that the castle would collapse.  
  
"God damnit, I can never send someone to navigate those temples and get those ancient weapons. The Fairish Bow is what killed the Phantom, or weakened him, and now the Megaton is what killed our resurrected comrade?"  
  
"Link's rage actually did that, Milord." Of course, the weapons had helped the boy, but it was how angry he had gotten (Shiek had watched both battles, the first one the most spiteful.)  
  
"That's the biggest problem, his rage is what always worries me. I mean, I watched that battle through the eyes of that Phantom and I saw what happened when provoked. Do we have a weakness?"  
  
"Yes, we do. The boy is weak in the heart." He hated to say it, though Ganondorf knew when he was lying, he always had known, seen him do it to plenty of traitors towards him, Shiek the first to conceal it.  
  
"In his heart, he has a heart disease?"  
  
"N-no, Milord." Shiek put his hands against his face, even though concealed, and started to hold back to little laughs, so not to get punished for his disrespectful, holding it together and letting out a smiling response. "He is weak against people, two times we have kidnapped a person and it makes all the difference in a situation. We kidnapped that forest child and a little Hylian girl he had been accompanied with. He cared for the girl, for I think she died and that was when he started crying, a very first that wasn't in rage."  
  
"Ha, so he is a little emotional idiot. I love when I run into those, kidnap those he loves and torture them until they beg for mercy, so are there any other people around he might sob over?" His knuckles began to crack, as he stepped away from the man and flashed the cape over his body, being drenched in that beautiful armour.  
  
"No, I don't think I've seen anyone." Navi was what came to mind, he holding the fact back and not even thinking about it, what most liars do when they are in the act--stupid reflex.  
  
"Too bad, so what do you think about the next temple, could he defeat the revived monster?"  
  
"Sure, Morpha is a pussy, anyway." Shiek grinned towards his master, he shrugging a shoulder in the levitated position and seemed to float down, leaning against the air. The meetings they had always been this way, even before the Hero was awakening, it was a loyal procedure he'd been following for some time. First he would talk about some meaningless things, joke a little bit, and then it would be time to go down to the regular business. Ganon wasn't usually naked, though, and then the monster would dwell what was going on in the world, how everyone was suffering. He'd answer 'beautifully' even when he wasn't around them, since Ganondorf could see anything; he was constructing something to take care of that problem.  
  
A beautiful eye that was made of parts from the Sacred Realm he'd taken over, those were used to construct the eye that would be done soon. Already more than halfway done, it would divulge with parts from the Triforce, some residue that it left behind, and hopefully be able to see all. The first tests had proved that it would indeed do this, so the work on the eye of Tarragona was revealed to the public, his minions going to work. Tarragona was meant in the old Gerudo language as a person who could see the future, sort of like a Shaman that would see all, or a psychic. Either way, the thing would be finished in a few months, and then he could track whatever the hell he wanted too (including Shiek and the boy that went by Link.)  
  
"Morpha's not in charge anymore."  
  
"W-what? What happened to him? It seems that all the old bosses are being replaced." Phantom had replaced the beautiful Tree that his master had deluged for the Forest Temple's interior originally, Volvagia had taken over the place of a lava-monster, and now Morpha was gone. "Whose in his place?"  
  
"Oni Liinku." He words gave Shiek the chills; they even gave Ganondorf as he whispered them out softly, one of his greatest creations ever invented.  
  
"Wonderful, that'll really get the Hero of Time."  
  
"It should be--it is him." All of a sudden he broke out in one of the evilest laughs that Shiek had ever heard, it was a piercing whine, while a deep bellow at the same time. He didn't stop; the man just waved away his subject and that was said to leave him be, go back and wait when the Hero was ready to leave. Or maybe he heard it in his mind that could also be a possibility that was what he wondered as those doors disappeared and he appeared outside. Transported by the Lord, he was now inside of Kakariko Village, the town of parades was dying down on the seventh day, no sign that the boy had left. He'd seen them head off last night--before he left for the castle--they having shovels in their hands and with some asking he was told they were giving a funeral for the girl who died in the lava saving the boy in green, the one named Kaci.  
  
Ohh, where is the boy in green? He had pondered towards the villager; the burly man answering that he was asleep in the guardian of this town's mayor, well sort of. The town had no form of government--too small at first--but soon it would and that leader would probably be the one who opened it. When the man was gone, his thoughts approached the last Shiekah in the world; it was Impa whom had opened this place up to those people so long ago. Mm, so she is back in the place, so strange. He thought for sure that she had died during the battle, because it didn't matter how strong you were, if one had the Triforce piece of Power, you were dead. Deciding to leave the boy alone, he hoped on top of one of the houses and noticed something was gone--the ring around Death Mountain was gone.  
  
His self.that's what Ganondorf had said to him, it rang true In his ears, making him break out in gooseflesh and hold himself tightly, Link would need all the help he could get. 


	7. Chapter VI: Engagement of Aqua

Chapter VI: Engagement of Aqua.  
  
Copyright: I do not own Zelda, Nintendo does. Story by Habuki productions.  
  
"Where do we go, the Water?" His courageous nature had returned over the past few days they had spent riding at a slow pace, knowing the temple of water was not that far off. Even though they were following the trail towards the Zora Lake's, Link was making some conversation of his own, trying to lighten to mood. Conversation had come on less and less over the past few days, they walking at about four days since the time of the village was now a distant memory. Everything had been screwed up when they left the horrible village of Kakariko, not wanting to ever set another foot in there as long as he could live. Too many memories were stored in the town, and in there, too much had happened for him to be scared off by something so evil, by the vile scrounges that faced him daily.  
  
Being left ignored, he knowing the right way, the two of them continued down the road with his back laying on Epona, staring up at the bellowed sky. Bright and shining, it always seemed to be that way around this entire area; there was nothing in the way to keep them from being disturbed. Everything was calming down, except between the two of them; it was as if the mood couldn't be saved--nothing could have been saved after what happened. Maybe each of them blamed themselves, that was probably the logical field that everyone took on when examining this little situation. If psychiatrists were around, they would of diagnosed the two of them of being depressed over the loss of a friend and blaming each other, but they weren't around here.  
  
No one was taking the fault for it, it was simply an accident, one that could have been prevented, but wasn't in the act of that way. A tort was the best solution--if the courts in Hyrule were even around anymore-- not that there was anyone to sue the two heroes. Even taking into more consideration was that none of them had any money, they were flat broke and running out on the supplies as they went. Gathering up the scraps from the party, they raided a few empty houses on the way towards the end of the town, not even bothering to ask anyone. Anjou was not even a question, she seemed to be in love with that stupid sack of a Goron, the one that had taken all the love of everything and left the hero and his guardian to sulk in the darkness.  
  
Link was pissed about it, of course he would be, though he didn't show it--he simply just left the town without so much as an everlasting good-bye. His thoughts were just that everyone would survive and get through, he was so used to the abandonment that it was apparent everything would work out. After losing Saria, he was able to cope with himself; even the thought of losing Kaci was hard on his heart--though he got over the most of it. On the outside he was his cool and calms self again, the one who faced the evils and always triumphed through them with the living colors. Inside was the most important, the one that made the most part and also the exact one that no one ever saw, took a glance at, or even seemed to give a living shit about.  
  
Anyone could deal with it, anyone would be jealous of it and even that same person with the 'any' in their name seemed to have the dissatisfaction for the thing that went one. Link wasn't this 'anyone', he was a person that had feelings and those feelings were stomped on and left in the rain to be trounced. He hadn't forgotten what the town had done for him, the admirable burial that his love had gotten for her sacrifice, and a stupid one that should have been prevented! His own words had been of fury, everything was blamed on the simple satisfaction that it could have been thrown out and everyone could have survived. Gripping feelings were swirling inside of him, as the sun seemed to take on a twilight feeling, everything calming down for the bitter night.  
  
Nighttime was good time for some, a bitter time for others, and a neural time for the rest of the population that circled this small globe in the center of the universe. For the girl, it was a beautiful time to consider, one you would cherish and love for all your life--a rebirth was coming when the night had come. Poes were no longer following the two of them, maybe aware that her boy had a device that pierced them and took them down in a few shots. It was actually close to half a dozen shots, though anyone who had lived through the killings of the Poes was not about to count how many pierces had gone inside of them. On the trips a few had survived, not in the Forest Temple, but those that had come after the duo in the middle of the night, when he was being on watch.  
  
Her time to be of consent of his well being, they were usually disintegrated to ashes, so none of them could have been warned about the beams. Unless they were traveling in packs and some of them disappeared before she got the chance to blast the all of them, her beams were usually small at night. This was because her energy was depleted from the day-- unless she slept earlier in the day--then she could kill all of them off. Since the training of their new powers, it had become easier to take care of groups, the slash of a hand had sent out a wave of energy towards them. Never did the two of them stay up together, they always slept in shifts, but for the next past days that had had no worries and sleeping together was a good way to accomplish things.  
  
"Are you okay?" His cheek felt a rubbing, which he glanced and caught the love and feeling over his only one, his special someone of love.  
  
"Yea, I'm--I'll deal with it, I mean, it was an accident." Grinning towards her, he scooped her up and put her down near his lips, looking down into those eyes--through the veil, whispering out. "I love your comfort."  
  
"You do?" Surprise was put in her voice, she hadn't known that she was such a big comfort, there was only so much that a little fairie could do (not considering she was five or so inches.)  
  
"Mmhm, of course I do. There is nothing more I would want than a wonderful girl by my side, one who would die for me--and I for her--plus the fact that your cute does seem to put anyone to shame." He grinned towards her, and those fingers went around her waist and hugged her to his face, it was simply better to do it this way.  
  
"I-I never realized." Her cheeks were starting to form into some colour, the state that went when they sometimes kissed, but never by the way he talked to her, how he had changed.  
  
"You keep that in mind." Simply letting her go leaving her in some small state of mind, he turned on his back and sunk down into a deep sleep state of mind.  
  
He's growing up so fast and soon will be surely an adult, which I know of it. How could he be going this face, moving this forward and adjusting with his mind, the immaturity level was starting to lower it, she just knew it. Words couldn't explain how she was feeling, how her face was breaking out, and would probably be like that up until the day she admitted herself to him. That seemed like ages ago, before all this other lesson came into mind, back when they planned to go back home and live their days in peace. Now it was another quest to get something else for the same girl, that stupid girl that this fairie had never ever had some affection for. The innocent words had been thrown here and there, usually for just the two of them playing with each other--never meaning to anything serious.  
  
Everything is at a very more serious level, it was moving into the fact that he could really die one of these days at those stupid temples. Before had been hard--sure--but they had both been children of their races and death had never been realized in either of their minds. Adults were hard to become, each of them not adults, but maybe late in their teens, well it was in her partner's case, or so he claimed. She was a teenager, more in the middle of her days, even though she had been a child her entire life and the same for him, hers was longer. Ten years was not that long for the boy, from an infant up until the time he grew into his former self and then there was what lied beyond.  
  
According to everything around, he was in the prime of his life and would be until the age of twenty-five came and went, then slowing down some. Only eight years remained before he started becoming a real adult and would slow down just like the old men, eventually dying at a later age. She had no idea how long Hylians lived or Hyrulians for that matter, but she had an idea it was a little less than a century they survived. If they went on any longer than that, the deterioration was intense and was one of the nastiest things that could be laid eyes upon. His youthful attitude would disappear, his power that he had gained, and unless this Triforce of Power made you immortal, then even his life.  
  
Meanwhile, Fairies lived forever, they could only be killed by something that attacked them, and diseases didn't even work on the likes of them. So sad that he would be killed and she would live on, unless something decided to hurt her at the exact moment--or before and after--the attack of his death. A deep hurt was growing in her heart, just thinking of him disappearing forever, no way to get him back to her, the way she felt was eternal. Another alternate to being killed was killing yourself, though she was too narcissistic to do something like that, afraid of the consequences. Navi didn't believe in anything, she never had been very religious and would always be that way, thinking when you died--that was it.  
  
Now she wished that something else was there, that maybe someone else could help them, and as she settled down aside him, that's all her thoughts had concerned. Lying near his face, she noticed he had drifted off to sleep without her even noticing, he just another slide inside this great wind tunnel of life. Her thoughts were of the beauty of immortality; maybe after this journey and a short break that they head to look for that great Fountain of Youth. Yes, if only that was found, then he would live forever and we'd always be together, no one would ever disdain anything we ever did. Her race was not a problem anymore; nothing of physical was a problem, her big enough for some things, though still small enough for the others that blanked through her mind. Unconsciousness was lost all together when it happened, everything coming together as her dreams slept through that brain of hers and thoughts focused on him.  
  
--------------------  
  
As they slept for the night, the horse finally stopping near a pond and keeping herself quiet, she was unaware of someone was creeping up beside her. Starting out from a tree that was far away, it moved at an incredible speed that some humans couldn't muster up the power too. Maybe this person had tapped into their hidden powers, something only a select few have and an even smaller majority know how to control. The closer the person got to them, the further away the sense of the horse seemed to disappear, until something sprinkled over its face. Falling asleep on the impact of that, the horse just stood at the river--since they sleep with themselves standing up, just like the cows did.  
  
With that accomplished, this person, somehow hidden in the shadows of the morning light that was now starting to rise of the sun, the figure walked forward. On two legs, showing it was a human; an aura of peace was placed around the person whose hands went towards the young hero's shoulders. Yes, with a shake the person began to move him at a small speed, trying to wake the boy named Link from out of his sleeping state. Now, it was even worse, because the boy wasn't waking up, a balled fist coming down and slamming down into his head, expecting a scream of fury. That would have been better than anything would, though it wasn't, because all that the figure was greeted with was a groan of moaning, as if he had been shook instead of struck.  
  
The shadow cleared up and a figure in white, the matching hair was only a lighter colour, almost that of an albino was shown for anyone around. No one could see if fury was in this person's face--sexless because the way its mask was worn was that of some sort of ancient Shinobi. One eye stuck out, ruby with ringing terror, so if one looked at the single eye, they could tell that this person was obviously upset with him. How lazy someone could be, was what tumbled through the persons mind, the hands curling up in fury and preparing to knock some sense into him. That was the only way to get awake, the boy had been asleep for quite some time and it was about the seconds to prepare wheels of training, they were cranking up and preparing to run.  
  
Before striking the kid's skull open, he held himself, because somehow it knew with all the power it possessed that the small task could have easily been done. First of the power punches had not been very powerful, not able to take care of this boy, though enough to knock a regular human out. Now the next punch would have exploded this one's skull and even decimated most of the monsters that were crawling around these weird temples. It could have smashed any of the generals, though that wasn't the purpose of it, it was basically one who would spy and collect some information. Besides, the Shinobi-clad-person was not really in the mood to go through all those puzzles and save the land when this slumbering fool had been assigned the mission in the first place.  
  
Holding all the power back, ready to strike him this time, but with most of the energy held back that was enough to put a clear not on his head. A grin was lined through the thin material around the person's mouth, the grin was not of evil, but the simple sense of humor showing itself. Such a wonderful thing to have in these times, the diminishing land was enough to make any person want to slit their throats, though it had its moments. Yea, this land was good enough for some points, though not as much as one could of wanted it to be--not as fun as seven years before the time of war had broken out. That's why it had to be stopped, the person's thoughts rammed into anyone's passing mind, the psychic energy enough to make you sweat (balled fist going for the middle of his forehead.)  
  
"Wake up!" Another pound on the head sent the boy awake, him tumbling off the horse and sliding down into the dewy grass that greeted his period, eyes frowning open in anger, surprised by his find.  
  
"Shiek!" The lone world spurted out of his mouth, glancing around and finding a groggy Navi was at his side, rubbing those eyes in the dissatisfaction of being thrown awake.  
  
"Shiek.what are you doing here?" Navi yawned out through those lips, fluttering around the boy's side and using the veil as a sort of cover, she was dressed in literally nothing.  
  
"You two are so lazy, its time to train!" The boy, whom had been talked about for the past few minutes, was none other than a boy who had been deviled as evil by the two of them. His voice ringed out in an evil tone, making Link think that none of the monster he had faced would be as hard as these new training sessions. Hell, Ganondorf would probably be easier, because this just wasn't anyone training them--this was the one who had tried to kill Navi to get him to fight. Not that he had any bad judgements against the older boy, he just knew how rough he was and how crucial this training would be, not a very short one at that. Biting his lip, the kid was groaning on the outside, but on the inside he was actually excited about his first real training as an adult, looking to see if she was.  
  
Mutual feelings were shown inside of her mind, she was very excited to get stronger and live on, it was maybe the human (or in this case-- fairie nature.) Now with those facts inside of her mind, Link couldn't sense what was inside of there, she gave the same exterior of a man desperate for training, though mad about it. How good it would feel to get stronger than ever, to live on and face the harder battles that lay ahead for the both of them. In the case of the world ending, one couldn't help but feel the need to get even stronger than the next person, the will to be all they could be. Or maybe it was just the fact that the two of them were fighters, and romantics, a good combination when faced with some situations, but bad when one was taken hostage.  
  
Yea, the old fact that someone would turn against them and kidnap the other was bad, the advantage to the enemies had always rung in ones mind. Good for them, or so Shiek knew, that Ganondorf didn't know of anything that happened between the boy and his little guardian. Now that she was bigger, Ganon's spies from far away would notice her and it might get back to the leader that something was different about her. Some explanation for why Shiek hadn't noticed it, a few explorations and some time later, that was when a plan to kidnap her would be in motion. It was a theory--a damned good one--but still just an idea that he had and wouldn't care to share with any of the viewing world's audience.  
  
That pushed aside, it was time to begin the training, and begin he would have them started with an uproar--it was the best way to begin ways. Otherwise, what was the point of living if you couldn't go without a bang and start with the same one, each repeating themselves in that fashion? Shiek didn't plan to die anytime soon, but if chance and fate had decided it was his time (not that he believed in it) then a bang would be how he went out. Screw fate, she was just as bad as her sisters of the Goddesses, each of them beloved in their powers that they had encrypted so long ago. Everyone was low, and Shiek should know, each was weaker and no one could run, though now that a crisis had arisen, they chosen to rely on one warrior instead of himself or herself--how pathetic.  
  
"Yea, we are going to train in the style of Budo." An ancient term for the type of training they were going to perform, for not a long time, but surely enough time for the Water temple to activate itself--it was still incomplete for him.  
  
"Budo, what is that?" Blinking in confusion, the boy leaned across his sleeping horse, never tilting off and glancing back towards his newly appointed master.  
  
"The Martial Arts, I think its Shiekah, Link." Navi chimed in and landed on her partner's shoulder, the veil still standing strong around her beautiful body, it wasn't for that man to see, anyway.  
  
"Martial Arts.wow." He was staring over towards Shiek, maybe to confirm what this new word meant, a strange one with the tip of his tongue curling when he said it.  
  
"Smart Fairie. Yea, the Martial Arts, I think I'll train you for about a week and then three more days in some energy attacks." Yea, ten days was just enough for the monsters to start to mess up the temple, though they already have, it gave them time to plan ahead. His standard points weren't siding with them, this was just enough time for the Sage of the Water Temple to awaken, or prepare to awaken itself. He seriously had no idea that it would be, his thoughts concerning on the races of the others and predicting that a Zora had to be the bearer. Not that he could be wrong, the boy had been wrong bunches of times, this was just a hint that he decided to cant at, decided to live by. This would probably happen within seven days, although he wanted to help them condense there new powers and train them in private, he would have to because otherwise a lackey would have ratted him out.  
  
"I see, and what if we refuse?" Navi had always to be the maverick in these situations, one that costs for them to either gain some new powers or face the horrible consequences.  
  
"Then you face my true power and you die." The sneer returned to his face, the one that they had seen the day meeting Shiek, an evil on that so didn't match with his compassion shining through the smock.  
  
"Link, what'd ya say? Shall we take him on?" A crackle of energy appeared around her body, burning a bright red and the aura that even surprise the older ninja, Links arms crossed a little in a way that frightened him.  
  
"I guess we could try, just as a test of our power." With that, he dipped down for the sword, throwing it out into his hands and racing forward, the blade held up in the air for him to prepare himself. The speed that he gave out, it was nothing like the power of Volvagia, it was nothing even when he was pissed with the Phantom Ganondorf, it was a lot more powerful. So strange the way he ran, his aura flaring around his body, surrounding itself in a white light and concentrating itself down into the sword. Yes that conductor held the energy well and would take care of it, otherwise the sword was weak without a strong soul--full of courage--to guide it. Exactly what the ancient sword was, didn't work for people that were weak-hearted, and especially the cowards that didn't even attempt heroism in their life--only the strong.  
  
Navi had been working with him these past few days, they had done it at night--apparently from the look on Shiek--he hadn't been watching. Sure they knew the boy was following them, scared to come along, or just a loner, it was the way that each of them smelt his scent along the way. Being raised in the forest had its benefits when you were wandering around for someone to stalk you; the smells were always the best. Now the hearing was also obvious, though he kept himself at such a quiet rate that each of them had to listen with a real keen ear. Regular people wouldn't of heard it, even Kokiiri, Fairies, or the Hylians wouldn't have been able to hear them, but were each of them part of those races entirely?  
  
Shiek's eyes were widened, or his single eye from those points of view, though it was suspected those boy eyes was considering how much faster he was. Speed was one thing, but strength was a whole different matter taken into consideration as the seconds passed from when he grabbed the sword, until he slashed. It was like everything was put in slow motion from that moment on, Shiek able to view it at a pace that seemed out of this entire world. Swinging towards him, the boy saw not a lot of power was concentrated on the blow, knowing he had condensed his speed and was starting to work on the power next. Grin of evil shone over that place where his face should have been, it was beautiful to be in this situation and when the sword came down, blood didn't spill because he was gone.  
  
Blinking, the boy stared around in different directions, trying to consider where the one had gone, nothing in the shadow of his plane. There was not even a sparkle of sweat, no smoke bomb had been thrown and blood didn't even sparkle from the tip of his blade. A bit of fury was in his eyes, knowing no matter how fast he had gotten, the older boy was faster and probably even stronger than him. It was true that his speed had been increased, for it mattered more than power, because one could get to you if you were slow and powerful. Another factor to consider was even if you were weaker, if you were faster then you could dodge the blows, yet this guy moved faster than he even could of mustered up.  
  
Damnit where the hell is he! He was just around here; there is no way he could have disappeared from my sight. Something caught his eye in the wind at the top of his lids, something he had not noticed this long ago, and it was how weird he acted. Turning over towards his fairie, he was caught with the realization that she was gasping and pointing up towards where he had started to stare up. Yes, it was the way she pointed that made him glance up at the sword and there was when his own eyes went into a wide passion of fury. Of course he would feel like that, those feet were planted on top of his sword and there was a grin shading through those clothed mask. Shiek was standing on the tip of the sword, before maybe air borne when he looked, though now there was nothing in the air about him, he was just planted on a sword.  
  
"Link--he's on your sword! I don't know how in the world he got there, but somehow he can just high enough to knock us both back!" Her eyes were widening, only noticing him a few seconds later, charging up an attack worthy of knocking the boy off the sword--he was so fast!  
  
"Shiek--how did you." It was all he could say, before something went forward and drove him down to his knees, the fist too fast from even him to notice it.  
  
-------------------  
  
Shiek had been up in the air following the leap he had made, blurring out of the way, though now he was just sitting on the tip of the sword, smirking. How sad it was to be that slow, he could remember when he was that weak, though that was a long time ago--many, many years ago. It seemed strange to remember back that time, no one had been there to train him, so it was left up to him and took so long to get this strong. Now that he had this little one under his guide, he could keep him up to his power in only a week or so--that was with a lot of luck. Up until seven years ago, Shiek couldn't remember much about his life, though he did recall when his power was only just above a human's.  
  
So sad to watch how Link had looked around, not able to really sense his moves--he was so mysterious in his movements, it was like he could do anything. And that was where Shiek was obligated to go for the sword, he had planned to go around and hit him on the neck, at first, until he saw an open spot. Being on his weapon would not only humiliate the boy; it would boast his new sensei's power and show just how powerful he was. Not that it was a lie; he could destroy the boy in close combat, long-range combat, and even in the powers of magical skills. His magical capabilities even outmatch that fool he was under, not showing it during the initiation because the fact of being too powerful usually got you killed in this game.  
  
Finally when he realized, he knew that the time to exert some more power and end this silly battle was coming nearer and nearer. The climax was coming because his fairie had noticed it, a little problem and an advantage towards some and away from the others. It was an advantage for Link since he had a small, fast little girl on his side that kept him from getting his throat slit all these past years. Bad for him because someone could kidnap the little girl and force him to give in, a bad weakness that no hero should ever has to comfort. No one would ever have to go through that in this tale, he would make sure his little one wasn't kidnapped because Shiek didn't believe in kidnapping people, it was usually for the cowardly-- something Ganondorf did a lot.  
  
Say goodnight, hero. May your dreams be full of beauties? He flipped down from the sword and spun stood right infront of the boy, himself sort of slowing down when he touched right down on the ground. That was when his plan was set in motion, because the boy was swinging his sword over towards him, just as he planned the boy would. So predictable, and so gullible, there was no room for that in this world, especially since he knew all that techniques that Ganondorf had to offer. What he did next was one of the symbols of Ganon, he knew it and this was where he had seen it and copied it from the older man, even though used for evil. The evil King may have been a vile man, but his techniques were nothing to fool with and a nice way to learn something new from an enemy.  
  
He moved, though he didn't seem to move away from them, because Link kept swinging his sword at the shadow that was left behind. Just like Shiek in every way, though not a doppelganger, it was an after-image that he had left behind just for the young boy to tease at. As gravity gave in, the sword slashed through the shadow and no damage was done to the man, a gasp of fear appearing around in his eyes. Nothing had ever been faced for this boy, or so he imagined, since most people could not even conjure up this little power trick. A simple matter, it was all according on how you were trained--he having a knack for it and catching it up the thing with no training, since he had seen it before in the old martial artists of the world.  
  
Yes, the Martial Artists were no longer in this world anymore, they were gone away from the land and had been related the name Shiekah. Now, back to more important matters, his history lesson was gone and while Link gaped in a matter of speaking, he was floating behind him. An easy thing to muster, he just fluttered down towards the ground, silently cracking his knuckles and preparing to throw what was going to be seen as the final blow. Not flying, per say, he was just gliding down with such ease that it gave the image that he seemed to be flying around with no wings. If anyone would of seen him, they would of guessed he was some sort of deity from the heavens about (not that he wanted to be associated with those idiots) but it was wonderful to be associated with Gods.  
  
Just at that moment, his fairie turned around and let out a scream, the Shinobi knowing it was all over and slamming his fingers into a section above Link's neck. Grinning at the ending point, the scream of Navi went louder and Link had begun to turn around, never even finishing two inches from his initial spot. His grin was spread even more as the boy sunk down to his knees and hit the ground, the unconsciousness was taking him over. Now he didn't exactly tap it, he slammed his fist--which was held open like two slicks of paper into a regular pressure point on his neck. With a regular person, it would only be touched or could have shattered, and yet with him it had to be done this way or he wouldn't pass out.  
  
Throwing himself back, to avoid a blast that came so close to him, it singed some of the clothes on him, he noticed how bizarre she was acting. Of course, from the way it looked, someone would think that Link was dead and he growled, racing away from the blasts and gathering up the boy. Throwing him up, she stopped blasting when the kid was used as a shield, or maybe it seemed that way to the angry little fairy's mind. What Link was really doing was checking for a normal pulse, not as upbeat as one awake, though it showed he wouldn't be out more than a few weeks, or a few days at the way he was strong.  
  
"It is done." He cracked his knuckles aloud and dropped the boy beforehand; aching from the silent one that occurred later, he was finished with this fight and the outcome came that they needed some training.  
  
"W-will he be all right?" Fluttering over towards her partner, she was relieved when Shiek walked away from them and leaned up against one of the plains they were on, falling down on his behind and looking up towards the sky.  
  
"Of course he will be, I didn't hit him hard enough to crack his spine, he's got a powerful structure." Shiek had fallen all the way, laying down on his back and the eye towards the sky, staring at the morning clouds beginning to fall over the horizon, the sun already rose and a little in the air.  
  
"Shiek, level with me.what was that you did." Fluttering over towards the boy's forehead, she sat down and watched him, speaking in a normal tone since he was only five or so feet away.  
  
"It's called the Zanzouken technique, or the after-image." He grinned and thought about it, the technique was one of the best ones he had ever learned, knowing it was a well-known martial artist move. Sure, the Great Ganondorf had been trained in those arts, maybe by some sort of unknown Shiekah, since the Gerudos didn't know them. Well, it was based on someone that was trying to confuse their opponent and needed to get the will to survive, it usually meant they were ready to run away form the danger. Though, in some cases, it can be used to confuse an opponent that it too strong or in his case used to impress the boy so he would want to learn it. If someone saw that thing, they would want to learn it as fast as they could, that way to finish the battles ahead would be even more easily.  
  
"I see, it looks very spec--" She was cut off when something began to move around her, not noticing it until it was ready to rise up and she stuck right in the middle.  
  
At that moment, the ground underneath Navi seemed to rumble and she flew away from it, scared it might be an earthquake when it was remembered where she sat. Of course, Link was awake! There he stood up, clawing at the area that Shiek had hit and pains of crying came out of his mouth, staring off towards the side. His sword lay there, gripping the hilt a little and slamming the blade down into the ground, a sort of shockwave sent off from that, rumbling the small amount of ground. Shiek didn't seem to notice it, he crossing his legs now and humming a small tune while she fluttered over towards her boy and calming him down a little. From the look in his eyes, he was ready to kill someone and that was targeted at the ninja that so-happened to humiliate him in his moment.  
  
"Ah, I see you are awake, well.that is quite unexpected. I was considering you to be out for a few days." He sure had to hand it to him; it surprised even him at the way he had gotten up--what had it been only five minutes since the attack was given out.  
  
"Heh, you don't know me then, Shiek." Those fingers curled back and forth, them cracking each time they came in reach with each other, dreading the pain that still swelled through his body.  
  
"Link, calm down! He was testing us and we lost, I know you feel bad, so do I, but going after him will just anger him even more and he won't train us. Don't you wanna learn the after-image technique?" She was shushing him and kissing at his nose softly, as she fluttered right before him and wrapped those arms around her face, the feeling of her getting bigger and bigger increased with everything.  
  
"After-image?" A blinking confusion appeared around his eyes as he stared down at his fairie, the anger disappearing within a matter of seconds.  
  
"Where he disappeared, remember?" Had he lost his brain? It was a weird way to address it, though she couldn't really describe what that young boy had done back there.  
  
"This, stupid." Shiek spoke out, and disappeared from his spot, appearing right next to him and pointing over towards where he had just sat. In the place of him lying was a picture of him, the image disappearing after a few seconds, because it was one of the weaker ones. Yes, there were some that wouldn't go away unless struck, but that was just one of the things he would teach the boy, since his ones would be weak. A grin was spread on his face when he saw how the light sparked in his eyes; it was obviously true that he wanted to learn something like this. That was good--he was willing to teach him at no price--regularly had been charging people whenever someone ever came to him for training. Back in the old days, he imagined he was getting a lot of disciples, but now that most fighters were gone, no one had ever come and actually asked to be trained.  
  
"I-I want to learn that!" Before he could throw something at it, the thing disappeared, though Link knew that the other one had lasted more than ten seconds.  
  
"You do, eh? Well, are you and your fairie willing to cooperate with me for the next week and then I'll let you go to the Ice Cavern to rescue your sage." He cracked his knuckles, as if an old master getting readies for some serious training, and took a hold of the boy by the waist, letting him know it was time.  
  
"Sure, but Ice Cavern?" Of course he would be like that and let him train them; he glanced at his fairie and saw she was smiling, showing she wouldn't get mad about anything.  
  
"You'll see, young one. Miss, fairie are you going too cooperate?" The singed part of his mask shown a smile, it was the smile of someone you could trust, but someone you wouldn't dare sleep with your back turned towards him or her--a weird paradox in the making.  
  
"Yea, I am ready, I am pretty sure we can do this." Seeing that Link was being handled, she scuttled under his hat and hid herself there, that was where she would be safe for the time being. Yea, that was weird around here, the training would be something she would look forward too with those arms spread open. Sort of mad that he had grabbed her boy like that, even though he was a boy, it was a strange feeling that she felt around Shiek, but not jealously. Nah, you wouldn't be jealous around a male and a male, I mean, she had heard about that, but he didn't seem like that sort of person. Those were weird people that had nothing to known about them-- although they knew next to nothing about this young boy, not even his origins.  
  
First, the ninja walked over towards the horse and slit the reins that held it to the tree, staring at it and whispering into a strange tongue. With that, Epona seemed to understand him and nuzzled playfully at Link's face, as if telling him that she would be back in a little while. Shiek approved of this and slapped her down on the rump with some rough interior of his palm, not the sharp weapons that were on there before. That would of caused an even more bad uproar, the weapons having been removed some time before and just replaced with his own palm. Epona seemed to hear him and took off towards the hills, glancing back towards them one last time, then nodding to herself and going on.  
  
With blinding speed, desiccating any limits that could have never been reached by a normal human being and even passing the 'exceptional' ones of any race. Yes, not even a Gerudo was as fast as the boy that grabbed a hold of the hero with a tight embrace and sank off was in a fast paced run. The run took him over fields, they moving faster than even the beautiful Epona could of run, hell, even faster than what Gaebora's flying speed. Hands were passed forward with long walks that were dashing forward, still tightening around the young one's waist so he couldn't fall off. Maybe he didn't trust himself to let the boy hang on, that would be a mistake if he fell at this sort of speed, the consequences would have been more than a few broken bones.  
  
His power, it's un-measurable! Link was staring in awe, his hands linking around the man's neck and pulling himself up so that he was sitting on the older ones back. Shiek may have been an inch or so taller than him, but he had enough of that strength to support maybe one hundred of Link's masses. Yes, that was the feeling he felt when the hills passed more and more, Hyrule itself seeming to disappear and in its place was nothing more than darkness, before the darkness, he thinking he saw an entrance. Well, the rate that he was traveling, the boy was lucky if the ground was even in the place, looking more like some sort of eerie dream in a ghost world. Nothing was going to stop it, the darkness around them sending chills as they traveled on, having no idea he was in this country--maybe a hidden place.  
  
Now the training will get done, yes, indeed. Navi, she peeking through the hat as soon as they took off, was sure this would be a fast ride, but not as powerful as the race was. Shiek looked like he was running from something, not able to see his face, though from the breaths and pants he gave--it was sort of scary. Maybe they were going to train in solitude because it was good for the soul, helped benefit everyone around here, or simply he was scared of getting caught in the act of aiding the hero? Nah, that didn't seem to be this one's style, he didn't seem to fear anything and when he did, probably the showing of it was as impossible as making reviving a person. What she imagined, only in her own opinion, was maybe he worked for someone close to the King of Evil and was simply protecting himself (incase tabs were kept upon either the heroes of he--himself.)  
  
Shiek's face, if it could have been seen, did have a mask of pale fear creeping around the edges, the dreary beating of his heart raced on. In the caverns would be safer, plus the fact that Shiek's magic was exceptionally better in shadow-based areas and could conjure up more activities for them. Areas of stealth were more suited for them, incase someone decided to follow him, and he could execute them all without fear that someone was hiding behind an area of safe harm and ready to spill the beans. No way he was going to take that chance, in the stinky stealth of a cavern, he could see better in the dark and detect any heat forces that were about. Plus the fact that he could sense Chi levels all about, a very easy task that he planned on pounding down into Link's bare skull.  
  
Darkness had overridden them and finally he appeared at the area he wanted to be best suited at, a cavern that looked like someone lived there. Someone was really residing here, there was a place that maybe a hermit or someone had lived there only for a few months, not very much longer. There was this tent standing in the middle of the place, torches placed in identical manner in the shape of the room--which happened to be a circle. Rounding around the place, Shiek sat them down in the center of the room, where there was nothing in the way and began to stretch himself out. Also around there was a small camp-fire site that was now put out, but looked like it had been lit up only no more than a few hours ago.  
  
"Well, we are here. This is where we shall train." He looked down over towards them, arms crossing about his chest and glancing in all directions for some sort of way to be found, searching the wall for a certain figure.  
  
"Train, but there is no where to go." Link blurted out with his hands entwined about his back, gripping the side pack that was down around his waist, just figuring with the loops.  
  
"Oh-ho, don't you worry a bit, my little trainee." A grin circled around his lips, as he scaled the wall until he was next to a figure where a Triforce was, depressing the center triangle. Not the symbol itself was pressed on, but it was the small space that was between the three triangles, the one that was a dull brown. Mmhm, that place sunk inside, while the rest of the place lit itself up with the brightened colors, the center of the triangle depressing until it disappeared all the way. The rest of it was a dull yellow, now showering itself in a bright golden colour, like the sun when it had rose itself high in the sky, during the noonday. With the bright in the way, the entire wall (consisting of over seven feet long and seven feet wide) opened up and slid back, revealing a doorway.  
  
Gathering up his entire muster, Link took the power walks all the way down the dark hall, which was lit every now and then by a creepy-looking torch. Looking like something out of a horror story, the place was certainly having the haunted-castle aura about it, shivers were going down his spine just to accompany the situation. It was getting a little creepy, or maybe it was just how Shiek planned it to make him feel, that wouldn't have surprised him in the least little bit. Dressed with his hands stuffed down into his pockets, the hero kept the pace up, the only light when the torches went out was the faint dim light of his guardian. Or was she even a guardian anymore, it was weird, but now he felt he didn't need her and at the same time couldn't live without her guidance.  
  
Navi was--Navi was incredible, that was a good way to put how she felt towards him, and how he felt the same way at the little figure. Much bigger than when the journey first started, that only gave more room for him to love--more room to hold onto and even more to protect. Everything they did scared him, scared her, but mostly what it did was make him fear that she was going to be harmed when something got whim of how important she was. All the others didn't matter, Saria was now gone, and that meant no one else was around to be kidnapped aside the little one that was always with him. No, he'd never let what happened to Kaci happen to her that was a promise he had made when they discovered the young body of the lovely girl.  
  
His thoughts were spoiled when he arrived in the newest room, a long room that stretched out about two hundred feet, leading up in the air as far as he could see. It was amazing, how it could be secluded into such a small area, this arena was nothing seen from the inside a cave, sort of like the Dodongo's. Yes, that's what reminded him of it, though the air was cold and bitter, while the dragon's cavern had been hot and very hard around the edges. Sparking in his mind, the boy got the feeling that the room was dripping, even though there were no sloshing sounds in here, the aura felt like it. Slapping his feet on the ground, caused him to see that it was a bitter damp feeling, that was stupid, how in the hell were they supposed to train when it felt like the place had just been rained on.  
  
"How are we supposed to train in here, Shiek?" Navi whispered out through those narrowed lips, her thighs shivering from the way this place felt, sort of like the old tombs down in the graveyard.  
  
"Oh, you'll be slow at first, but you'll get used to it, little ones." Reaching behind them, he slammed a button that caused the doorway they entered to slam shut, the button he pushed also disappeared inside of the wall. "Yea, we aren't leaving here for a few days, I want to see how you two can fair in here with the basic training. So, are the two of you prepared to plunder in the way of the Shiekah?"  
  
Neither of them spoke, they just stared at the way he grinned towards them, the place of the smirk through those singed marks, made them a little nervous. At least with that stupid cloth, it could be held back, but now the grin was shown through, a smirk that reminded of them the one Ganondorf had given them. Before they could protest, they were unarmed by the young man and there he threw all of their weapons aside, into a small little hole that was implanted in the ground. He snatched them all so quick, even the satchel that he held, and the weird thing was that the energy around Navi was not swirling like it just had been. Sitting there, the weapons were engulfed by the ground, only the hilt of his blade sticking out--the very thin hilt of it, not enough to grip without some restraint.  
  
"As you can see, your weapons have been taken--well yours Link. But do not fret, you don't need them for my training until the last three days, until then we will dwell on the Martial Arts, and not even energy attacks. Navi, I have taken your energy so you can't conduct any, so you may also learn a few moves of the martial arts, since your energy isn't infinite and one day you may need pure power alone. Now, your power is gone also, Link, even though you can't detect it through your hands, it was just a precaution because by this time in ten days, you may be able too." Shiek finished his little introduction, and just grinned, removing the weapons of his own and throwing them where the hilt stood, they too being absorbed into the ground. "So I don't have an advantage, either."  
  
"Goddess, this isn't gonna be easy." Link shuffled his feet and whispered to his fairie; while she simply nodded towards his statement, and the sad thing was that it was true. The mirror of hate was now focused on them, knowing that eventually all of them would have to go through it, or face the consequences of death. Murder was the only face they would see when against the man of evil; he probably knew some arts that neither them, nor Shiek had heard of. Yes, they had to have known that this enemy they were facing was in the arts of the fighting races, and if Link lost his sword, then he was dead. Preparing himself, the torture that would come forward he actually seemed to look forward for, no one was going to stop him when it was over, and Ganon would suffer!  
  
-------------------  
  
They followed every movement that their new master could think of, spending the first two days to get used to the terrain and gain an advantage on the moving ground. While they were getting adjusted to the ground, Shiek kept them moving by throwing small little bombs at them, and Shurikens (some weapons he hid.) That wasn't all they did during the forty-eight hours, no- no, they did more than that, like gaining some speed in racing around the muddy place. Running around was doing him some good; this place seemed to solitary the duo's energy and gets him to move at a faster race then ever thought possible. Being drained of his powers also made him depend on his pure energy, instead of the power that he was rewarded all those years ago.  
  
Focusing on Link, the entire week when Shiek trained with him, he taught him how to work his muscles in an according fashion as to never gather fatigue at the normal rate. Tightening his muscles was a way to escape from certain situations, like as he had read of in an old book, about some weird magician. From what their new master had read, the man's name started with an 'H' or something, a weird name that sounded from a foreign land. Anyway, this magician--not skill in magic--made some sort of death defying scenes and would escape from them in a matter of seconds. Now how he did this was by tightening his muscles, like when he was chained or roped up, so when his muscles loosened--mixed with sweat--it didn't take long to escape from something.  
  
This was not all they did, because when that and speed was focused down, he worked on the after-image with him, also with Navi, but mostly with Link. She was fast, so the after-image was only a small bit for her, a larger bit for the Hero of Time's powers, since he was at such a larger mass. The Zanzouken technique took the rest of those two days away, because learning it for him had to be a very hard-paced factor of it, for some strange reason. Maybe it was because he was so naturally slower than Shiek, the other being one of a ninja, while this was one of a slow warrior. Not really lacking in speed, just naturally slower since he was never trained in the arts of disappearing and leaving behind a life-like image of himself.  
  
Following the two days that were spend with Navi--they slept at different times so he could train them at two different times--he taking special potions to keep himself up. Those elixirs always kept the fatigue from taking over and of course he knew when this was all over that he would sleep for ten straight days. Well, that would have to wait, because the caverns of ice and then the Water Temple were next, he having to make his way through those areas. Finally when the boy rested for his weekly pursuit, that was when the young boy would collapse himself and maybe demand a vacation from the leader. The ninja could naturally keep himself up longer than a normal person, but for forty-eight hours straight he was not even taking a rest of it.  
  
Continuing to Navi's training, she learned the after-image in a matter of two hours, since her speed even could out-do Shiek, if he wasn't at full power. Now, going back, that was when they entered the rougher stage in her training, the martial arts were beginning to go quicker for her, he not even there yet. When they focused on the natural art of the martial arts, the dodging she was very accustomed to, but when struck was when her power was down. Too extreme, not that he was using enough power to actually bruise her, although it seemed to cause enough damage to make her cry out. If she took blows like this all the time, there was no way she would make a good fighter, such a bad problem that he had to find a solution too.  
  
After a few hours of going through that, he decided to come up with a solution and constructed for her a small little vest, made of the land around here. Made of that beautiful mud that they were trudging through-- yea he was making her walk on the ground--this caused her defense to approve. Disappearing inside of her body, the thing was like the chain mail that Link got from the Goron of Fire, that sage's powers were just alike. When the smoke had cleared, the blows that he planted on her weren't as bad as before, they were actually making her take them with pleasure. That problem solved, he continued to show her attacks through the air, some aerial attacks that she didn't have the knowledge of--yet.  
  
The aerial attacks consisted of flowing around, zipping from behind, involving the after-image to confuse them and nailing them in specific spots. Even teaching her the pressure points on a person and most monsters, that would come in handy when they were against some evil enemies. Mmhm, that was mostly through with her training and when he visited her on and off--until the week was up--that was when they just worked on more of the martial arts. Speed was something else they worked on, not returning her energy until a week would pass, that was they deal that they had spilt and hold up to it, he would. Her training didn't take that long, so she mostly trained off on herself while he worked with Link and slept some more so she could watch the two of them spar.  
  
Skipping back to the boy, he spend most of the five days working with the Hero of Time, mostly who needed more of the speed training and power. At times, he would beg for his sword, this was more around the first three days, but by the beginning of the fourth he was getting the hang of it. It sure was getting easier with what they fought at each other, never stopping unless someone received a very large bruise on them. This was usually Link, unless the potion wasn't working and Shiek slowed down for a few seconds, having to call a time-out and take another gulp. Sure he would complain that was a healing elixir, though it wasn't, just something to keep him from passing out and being pummeled by the martial artists in the making.  
  
There they sparred with each other, sleeping only twelve hours during the day, even longer when the sessions with Navi became shorter and shorter. That meant he got more sleep, the master also sleeping some while they waited for the lessons to begin, his power slowly coming back to original points. By the end of the seventh day, it was true that the martial artists were going to have their hands full when it was over, that was the exact moment it was going to end. Not as powerful as him, though maybe about halfway as powerful as the powerful Shiek, he knew how much was going to happen when the last three of the medallions were received. Actually glad that he was on the side of the hero, the gladness of him being able to train such a student was one of an honor, to surpass the student was coming up.  
  
That was when the second part of the training started, what they would call the 'Ki training' and maybe one of the most powerful of them. Now they would be going at each other with weapons, with the energies, and Shiek just didn't know if he was ready for that sort of stuff. It was strange how that happened, and when he heard of the thought of going against them, his bones called on him to quit this sort of stuff. Calling out his own energy, mixed with theirs, he gave it all towards them and kept his own, gulping down a few more of those elixirs. Yes, he had been living off their life forces, the training was knocking him out and that was when he collapsed down upon the ground.  
  
Surprise was in both of their faces, not even considering that he hadn't slept in the past seven days, going on eight since it was close to the eighth day. It was strange, until considered by Navi that they were trained twelve hours a day, that was between them at two different times and twelve plus twelve was twenty-four. That was logical that eventually he would collapse, surprised that the lather hadn't happened sooner than it was expected. No one could survive forever, the Shiekah were a strong race, but they weren't immortal or anything--they had to sleep too. Maybe it was his stamina and the drinks he was sloshing down, which would be a great factoring that each was taken into deep consideration.  
  
Over the next three days, they simply tucked in Shiek at his spot and went away to training themselves with the energy that was something they loved to do. Yes, so over the period of seventy-two hours that was where they trained themselves, trained together, and even went against each other. Over together was a great way to fight; there were no enemies here, so when battle was together, the lather was to face one another. No, they had no problem hurting each other--each one held back on the other because killing or harming each other was not an option. Sure they could hurt each other; they just would feel so bad about it, that it wouldn't make much of a chance that was fighting whom.  
  
So sketchy how everything went into place, it was how they focused on each other and still kept their powers at a training pace. Link was the one that trained with a sword, he would use his sword to conduct so much energy that it would outlast anyone that was in his way. The sword could be created into any shape that was in his sword; also circling in any shape to form the beam of energy that zoomed out. Also trying to summon up the flame powers he had gained from the Fire Medallion and the other ones from the Forest jewels, those were ones he wanted to fully discover. Never actually going ahead with the Firepower, he was actually more fully discovering the energy from the green jewel he had gotten from the Forest child.  
  
That sword training was more than he could expect, spending some endless hours just holding the sword infront of him and fully powering it up. More practice was needed and more hours were spent, not fully mastering the sword, but by the time they left here, he was up to regular speed. Blades were hard to master, he could handle it, but the thing he was trying to master was how the sword could be used as a conductor. What it felt like now was maybe a semi-conductor, trying to make it all the way and absorb all of the Goddess' powers in an attack of devastation. Halfway was how much his training got him done, halfway towards Ganondorf's power and that meant the medallions and more discipline would get him done.  
  
With that said, the more focus of anything was trying to get the powers out of the sword and into his hands, maybe throw some punches that could be put energy in there. Yes, the sword may have been hard but on his lone training, this was something he needed to accomplish without the fear of being hurt. Physical attacks didn't affect some creatures, and when he finally ran into those, a kick to the head would send him standing in his place. If full of some power, the kick could of withstand him and gone right through, a great accomplishment that he wanted to take care of. Mmhm, that was all he needed, since he could kick and punch as good as any of the old Shiekah, though not as good as the one whom had trained him.  
  
Supporting back to Navi, she wasn't working on much but training her energy into thinner beams and when the two of them battled against each other, they held back and only showed off a few moves. Usually flashy moves was what they showed off, the ones that showed a lot and didn't really suffice in much of the same damage. Yup, but by the end of the week, each of them was ready and the three days had passed, now it dawning towards the ending night when they left a note near Shiek. The man had been out the entire day that was the factor they had to consider leaving a thank-you and also saying that both of them had trained in energy. The note was taped up and attached to his head, giving off so that he wouldn't misplace it whenever he would awaken--whatever time that was or days from now.  
  
-------------------  
  
"You think we're strong enough to do this, I mean, maybe we can finish this somewhere else, with another teacher that doesn't pass out." Link whispered as they began to pace out of the cave, leaving all the entrances open, finally finding the switch that led them out of the pit.  
  
"I think we can manage--maybe not against Ganondorf, but his minions. I am sure whatever that creep has up his sleeve that we can handle. Ganon wouldn't dare show himself, I get the feeling he wants us to be a challenge." She grinned towards him in the dark; her aura seemed to have dulled from the bright red and turned down to a shallow maroon, lighting the way at a small pace as they walked.  
  
"You're right, I am just being a little paranoid. I mean, I know we aren't gonna run into Ganondorf for quite a while, but I just feel a little nervous about this battle, like something terrible is going to happen. The last two were creations of Ganondorf, well, I think Volvagia was revived, like the Gorons say. I wonder if all the others will be that way." He trailed off when the tented area came into view, the place they hadn't seen in ten days, since they had been sleeping on the ground and from the smell of things, hadn't bathed either.  
  
"I am correct, we can do this, and even if we can't, with those after-image techniques, we can just disappear." She trailed off, having settled on his shoulder, and when she mentioned the Zanzouken technique, she fell down through a small shadow of him, seeing him off to the side chuckling, her voice turning into a whimper. "Link! That wasn't funny!"  
  
"I-I'm sorry, Navi.. I just couldn't help myself." The grin disappeared, as he saw the hurt look on the girl's face, and wondered over towards her, those hands lacing around her and pulling her into a deep hug. "Shh, I'm sorry, little Navi, I won't do it again."  
  
That smile of hers brightened and as he continued to hold her and walk past the campsite, she didn't speak but kept herself up against him. It was warm how they kept up against each other, someone walking by might of thought that they were some sort of weird couple. No one would complain, maybe throw a few stares at how this handsome boy fell for a pixie that was always with them, such a small creature. Words couldn't explain the feelings between them; this pixie had to be one of the best people around, no matter how small she was. Wasn't it what either of them wanted, of course that was a hard question to answer, since it was still undetermined if either of them loved each other?  
  
Slipping through the cracks of the area and continuing out through the grass, the boy stared forward at the ground and realized that he didn't know where he was. Grass was thick and lush around, the place was so enchanting, a meadow stood before them, but it wasn't one of the many fields of Hyrule Field. This was something much more different, a different area that was maybe not even inside of the country of where they were taking their quest. Quite a problem that they faced, it was something that none of them wanted to face together, to be lost and the next temple was just around the corner. Huffing out a sigh of fresh breath, he was about to collapse and think about it when a sound caused him to jump around the corner of his seat.  
  
"Link--Epona!" With a startle, he spun around with Navi's words and felt the muzzle launch at his face and start nuzzling and nibbling all over him.  
  
"Epona--Epona, your back! I thought Shiek took you away--" He was cut off when the tongue of hers slid down into his mouth, licking him all over his cute little face and there he continued to try to speak, she keeping on licking him.  
  
"She's just glad to see you." Navi whispered out through her lips and watched as the boy tried to control the dominant horse, she really did seem to love that hero.  
  
Finally, after a few minutes of being licked and having that tongue inside of his mouth, the horse pushed back away from him and just kept a head on top of his. That heavy head caused him to fall down for a few seconds, the horse looking down towards its master with amusement, then whinnied in approval. Leaning down towards the boy, the tongue lashed across its hair and made him shiver, when they passed around the area of his ears. Yes, those sensitive ears hadn't changed, as he grew stronger, those were something that would always be the utter weakness of the boy. Having long ears gave you the advantage of some advanced hearing, throwing you back when someone even wavered their finger infront of the thing, not to mention push a long tongue against it.  
  
Finally, with some last breaths, he called for the teasing to stop, and this time the teeth of hers clicked around his shield and pulled him back up. Having dug out all of his stuff, the materials and him smelt badly, that was obviously why she hadn't licked them that long, maybe just loving the taste of his face. A sigh of pleasure was in his mind as those blushed cheeks poked up towards the horse, being sat down like a human would stand. On two feet, the hand went up in her mane and stroked all around the bangs, rubbing across the ears and waiting for what would happen next. Number one was to find a stupid bath, that way he wouldn't be embarrassed about smelling like the dirt they had been sweating under for the last ten days.  
  
"Hey, is there a lake around here, girl?" Link whispered his head nestled down on the side of her mane and staring at Navi with some approval, that would be a good thing if there was.  
  
"Link, you know she can't talk." When her partner shrugged a shoulder, she knew he was just being helpful and gave back a shrug towards him, it was nice to try.  
  
"Come on, girl, you can tell me." A small grin was given towards her, and the horse stared up at him, the long tongue licking across his face, causing him to let out a small giggle. "I know you'd bathe me if you could, I just need you to sniff out some water for me, can do you that, girl? Can you do that for your master?"  
  
She seemed to respond to him, by nibbling at his hair, and then tackling down on him, pushing him down on his behind so he was looking up at her. Hooves were set so that they were right near his arms and legs, keeping him from moving, but not putting any weight on his fragile body. She huffed out and whinnied a little, leaning her head down towards his face and began to rub her nose along the lines of him, taking in his scent. Such a weird thing she was doing, causing the blush to reappear around his cheeks, as if she was trying to kiss him, or something. Maybe it was a girl, this mare was a female horse, but maybe she sort of acted like a female human and had a crush upon this hero.  
  
"She is so excited, maybe she does know?" Link whispered, as she finally reached down and pulled him back.  
  
Navi let out a small little giggle and was soon licked by the ravenous horse, one that seemed to have missed them over this long week. Maybe Shiek had told it to come back in ten days, that way it would follow them, but how did it come all the way out here without directions. Those thoughts were pondering both of their minds as they mounted upon the horse and watched as she was beginning to make her way forward. The pace would be trotting, since the horse seemed to be tired, for some reason, nothing that he could of guess--maybe it went back to Malon's and she was with it the whole week playing. Yes, it was like she knew the way back, but at a much slower pace than either of them would of guessed, she was no where as fast as Shiek had been.  
  
Rushing through the fields and beyond, the fields seemed to rush past his mind as the water supplies were not raiding on and they just seemed to be out of existence. As soon as the night-fall fell, the two of them munched on some of the food that had been left, the two of them feeding her a few of the carrots. It was gone, everything of water was gone, and they were lost, there was nothing to do but follow the trail and hope that tomorrow something came into view. Yes, that was what they were going to do was hope that water came soon, if not, they would bathe with their canteen water, the smell was causing Epona's eyes to water. The aqua was going in and out of his mind as he tried to drift off, finally able to whenever the wind was gone, the wind of her running so fast and slowing down.  
  
Navi was quiet during the night; she was as calm as can be, and during the night she slept along with him with the oppressing passion rising against Epona. Yea, she was so scared that something would happen and the horse would turn into a human, maybe-taking Link with her, or even throwing her away and taking off. These horses were so weird, you never could expect anything from them, and maybe she was some sort of Centaur in disguise. Such tales were uncommon, but in the world she lived in, they had fairies, magic powers, evil villains, and specific heroes to take care of the land, only two of them. This land was something of a mystery to even for her, not knowing as much as she led on, as clueless as the beautiful angel that slept near him did.  
  
You are crazy, the horse is gonna take off? Someone familiar whispered out of a forked tongue, she recognizing it as none other than her own conscious, reason in its voice.  
  
It could happen, I mean, it has been know to happen. She retaliated with some obligation in her voice, wanting to win this argument, even though the consequences were nothing she wanted.  
  
Where? You have been reading too many stories. A barrel of laughter caused her own blood to boil; almost screaming in fury, stopping because doing so would cause Epona to stir and Link to jolt away.  
  
I-I has not! I am just so scared that one day he'll get tired of me and leave, one day that he will find someone beautiful, someone tall and then leave! Tears were falling down her cheeks, knowing the person inside her would disagree and say it would happen sooner than she thought, much more sooner.  
  
But instead, the voice was sympathetic, having grown when she was in hibernation, maybe not the same one that teased her but a very different one. I don't think he ever will disappear, he'll just stay with us forever.  
  
You're just disagreeing with me, because you like to argue. Her argument was that, this was not a nice voice and by any means did it even care about her, this voice loved to argue and disappear whenever the time was wrong.  
  
I won't disagree with you, even if you said he loved you, I say he loves us too, I don't want him to leave, I do not ever want him to leave. The voice was nice, it was changing, or something, and the gruffness was gone, and for the first time she noticed that she hadn't spoke to it since she was a child.  
  
Who are you? She whispered out of her mind, something that caused her to shiver and hold herself, the thought felt like she didn't want to know who this was.  
  
Are you sure you want to know? A tone of worry was in the voice, this one showed that some compassion was gone out towards her, actually impressing the young fairie.  
  
Yes, please just tell me. Her voice was in a whisper, or what she thought of as a mind-whisper, one that scared the inside of everyone around, maybe the realization of destiny.  
  
I am you, but I am not you. Do not worry, for when this temple is over, I shall disappear, because we will face each other in combat, I am looking towards that day. Don't you keep me waiting, the Light side of Navi, please don't keep the darkness waiting or it will swallow your heart up without a moment's hesitation. Your friend has thoughts about us too, but in a different aspect, and a much more deadly one than what we brawl about, just not as often. I need you to be ready that day, your training was good, but I doubt you will survive this ordeal, I certainly doubt you can beat Onii-san. And with that the voice quieted itself down, not wanting to speak out anymore, or so it seemed, the darkness engulfing itself in the silence of the night.  
  
What is this Onii? No, who is this Onii and why will I not survive what awaits us in the Water Temple? Please tell me what you are talking about! The voice was not going to speak anymore, it was down for the count, leaving at the wrong moment and keeping itself down in some fury. How it pissed Navi off to leave now, and as the minutes passed on, she realizing the whole ordeal had taken place in a minutes of ten, she was confused. Onii was someone they would be facing, along with herself, also being called the Light side of herself, which meant that the darkness was that voice? Maybe so, that meant that maybe their shadows was what they were going to face, concealing the information inside of herself, not able to tell him as of yet. Yes, tomorrow they would find a pool and disappear from the dirtiness, be ready for whatever--or whoever--was ready to kill them in the temple.  
  
"I don't know who you are, but you shall never hurt him or myself." She simply blurted out towards the night air, the horse stirring and Link not moving an inch, a good thing, she hadn't meant to be vocal.  
  
Who knows whom it was, who was really speaking and who knew if it was inside the Water Temple, somehow she had a feeling that it would be. That was for sure, the only thing that thought of was inside the temple of Aqua, since it was so much closer and the voice spoke as they headed for it. A small little giggle choked inside of her throat, causing herself to grab upon her shoulders and shake herself just a little bit. Link stirred from the sleep, not awakening, just letting out a moan of sleep and wondering hands went towards her, gripping her towards him like a teddy bear. Letting herself be taken, she had no worries about who saw, or cared, the sleep going inside her as soon as he kissed her, in his sleep, the dreams were done as they always had been when they grew up, of the beauty of each other.  
  
-------------------  
  
No one would face it, I hope, but I can't really tell if it wills happen or not, I am just afraid it will be too much for him. A voice whispered out from the trees, no one could see who it was, dressed in black as the small little figure zipped across the trees. It was following the carriage of them, moving at a speed that even the two of them couldn't of seen, Epona not noticing it with her horse-like senses. Mmhm, the creature was viewing them with the watchful eye of a mother, though the eye wasn't a very good one, maybe of an evil moth. No one knew who it was, what it was, but as soon as the horse started to slow down, something wrapped around and the thing made a squeal of joy. Yes, some strong arms wrapped around it and the thing was enticed in a loving embrace, one that no one could recognize as violent of loving, the squeal was feminine.  
  
"They'll never make it." Another voice rung out, this one was masculine and moved through the trees at an even quicker speed than the smaller object this shadow larger.  
  
"I don't know, they may make it though, On." The feminine whisper came out; it was held tighter, as from seen from the trees, nothing in the blackness was shown of the two figures.  
  
"That puss will take care of them, he maybe weaker than me, but he can beat that joke for a hero." The grin appeared through the night, white shimmering as bright as the moon that fell overhead, blocked out by the trees that were standing in the way, as of now.  
  
"I don't know, love. I am sure that the one would not be enough for them, then maybe they will get through and start to head this way." Fear was sparkling in the female's eyes, it was not fear for herself, maybe another person, someone that seemed closer to her than anyone else.  
  
"If they do, they'll face it and then they will die." The chuckle from the larger one came out, the smaller one burying its face into the male's and letting out a huff of a sigh, despair appearing in the male's voice.  
  
"Please, if they do, promise you'll never go away. Promise that nothing will ever happen to you--if it did, I don't know what I would do!" It was sincere, the voice was, and it speaking out with a clear conscious and nothing else perplexed on its mind but the safety of the partner.  
  
"I would never think of leaving you, milove." Leaning forward, all that was shown was the smaller one had some ruby eyes staring into the matching ones of the other, each of them pulling together in a hug. Such a beautiful embrace they shared together, not wanting it to end; though knowing that eventually one of them much goes ahead. No, it didn't happen, the hopping went on until eventually, and they leapt infront of the moon, appearing before the horse and disappearing from the sight of all. As they disappeared, the kiss was never broken between the two of them, a lovely romantic sight as the kisses went on forever. What was noted by anyone watching, especially the freaked out horse, was the size of the little one, only about five or so did it stand?  
  
-------------------  
  
By the time three days passed on the horse, they were back near the river that they had passed paths with almost two weeks ago. The gallop of the horse had slowed down, she now walking aside the river as they closed towards the entrance of that place in Zora's Domain. Yes, they would jump the water and go across, so that the two-day's journey was going to be caught off in half a day, since Epona was energized. Feeding her more and more of the carrots had build up some of her muscles; she a bit faster the three days that they had wandered around. Exercising her muscles had been a great help in this process, thinking maybe she could have used a few little training sessions herself.  
  
Warriors and partners were great, of course, but without a steed they could not go very far without the travel of the beautiful mare. Sure, Shiek was fast, but they would never be that fast and wouldn't even realize how slow he was until later on, or so he thought as this time. Speed was good for dodging, but the ninja must have had some sort of device to increase his speed, since there was no possible way to go that fast. With the mare now at his side, they could do anything, not that Epona was weak; he had sort of trained her in her slacking off for the past two weeks of lazing off. Now, as they neared the water, walking aside of it, she seemed to have no problem with it, occasionally bending down and nipping at the water, slurping it down her throat.  
  
Wow, the vacation had been so delayed; his clothes now much drier, cleaner, his face and everything about them were spick and span. Only this morning had they found the first signs of water--Zora's River--and bathing there was as much as they could benefit themselves for getting around here. Sure, they were coming the backwards way they were, so the entrance would be closer than before, that would make the journey even closer than ever. Finally ready for it to end, the scent of everything was returning to him, having to deal with those weird smells of the cavern for so long that a flower was so strong to him--when he first came out of the cave. Yes, the bath had been something that the three of them loved, baths were so fun sometimes, bad at times, but a miracle when you went thirteen days without one.  
  
At first, the two of them had gone to the baths and let her run away (she could always be called with her wonderful song) and then they were joined by her. Yup, the horse wanted a bath, so Epona was going to get one, even though she was brushed with water every single day--something Malon told him to do. If he was gonna keep a horse, he would do it right, that was what he wanted to explain to everyone, that he was a very responsible boy. Twenty minutes during the bath--spending the first twenty minutes bathing their stuff and soaking their clothes at another part of the river, so the mud wasn't near their bathing spot. Returning to their spots, they were joined by the mare that slid down into the water and let it be cleaned by the running water, it not even pushing her back a few inches.  
  
Now the bath had been very enjoyable, just so weird to see someone joining them, not to mention the horse was coming towards them with a small grin on its face. The two of them had already been bathed and were just soaking in the warmer water, it was noon so the water didn't have the cold feel on it. Water during the morning was very cold and cools, something to wake a person up, but during the mid-noon it was actually very warm, but not hot. Taking it into their responsibility, the two of them got up on her and began to bathe her, a job that was caught to be masked in difficulty. Yes, the job was not going to be an easy one, none of them considering it would be when it was taken on and the mare wanted a little bath.  
  
The young horse had wandered upon them and was greeted with the bath, yes because for the next forty minutes she was bathed and scrubbed clean. When the aftermath was done, they were left with a very clean horse and the ability of taking another bath, sweating up a storm cleaning her. You see it was very hard to clean a horse, harder than Malon had explained, since she probably didn't think they'd ever have to do this. Horses could go a while without having their coats cleaned, if they were brushed every day or so, maybe she had gotten herself dirty when she visited her old master? So and frothier they took another bath and were ready about two hours later, ready to get a start on and quickly go to wherever lead ahead.  
  
Now slowing down towards the river, backing up about twenty-five feet and getting ready to gallop over the smallest ridge they could find, Link spoke up. "Navi, where did Shiek say was before the Water Temple."  
  
"I think he said something about after the temple, I don't remember." Navi was just as confused as the boy, he had said it more than a week ago, and even then didn't explain any of the details involved.  
  
"That's right, he did not even explain it to us, did he?" No, he had just said two works and now the things were sitting on the tip of his tongue, the word was something he had heard before, just not here now.  
  
" I think he mentioned something about a cavern. Or maybe it was about an element, I am thinking so I really can't make up my mind now. Ohh, it was a combination! Something about a cavern of ice, I dunno." Her thoughts were a little rambled as her friend fed Epona another carrot, as maybe an energy booster so they didn't land in the water, she'd never done this, after all. "Oh, I think I know! Urm, he said it was called an Ice Cavern, but where could some ice be in the middle of here, I've never even seen snow."  
  
"Snow, what is that?" Link scooted towards Epona, scratching her and as he did so, backed up an extra five feet, always checking behind himself, making sure she didn't run over a rock or something--the path clear.  
  
"It's condensed water, put in a solid form, when it gets really cold is when it snows, you should know that." Frowning, she patted his head a little, seeing that some things came and some things didn't come when he was maturing up so fast. Of course, most people here wouldn't know what snow was, that was true enough, the stuff just had never appeared around these regions. Hyrule's summers were always summers, the winter came and it would get a little drafty, but never so much as a snow or ice storm brewed over here. Spring and autumn would come, of course, that wasn't the strange part and everyone knew of the wintertime, just never of the white, powdery substance that leaked from the clouds. Some could call it a miracle that the dead of winter came and no one was ever killed by freezing to death, yet other called it a curse for snow was a wonderful part of life.  
  
"Oh, during winter, you mean." Link whispered out with hushed lips, not able to control himself, that was what she had meant by it, it had to be and he nodded it on.  
  
Not even a question, the boy knew what she was talking about and simply began to push on the ribs of Epona, making her take off. Well, it wasn't a harsh movement by his part; he just rubbed his boots against her at a soft angle, remembering how other people used to do it. Yes, they would have spurs on their feet (little sharp spikes at the tips of their boots) and would hit the horse in the sides with that, very painful for the horse. There was no way he'd ever mistreat Epona like that, he wasn't an animal freak, though he wasn't some sort of sadistic who loved torturing poor animals. He shrugged a shoulder that, she starting up and pacing herself, so it seemed that this one would maybe have to try again, maybe back up a few inches and try again--though when he tried, she wouldn't let him.  
  
Epona must have been determined, Link would later ponder on, and it seemed true because as soon as she was within fifteen feet of the edge, she took off like a racehorse. Well she was probably like a racehorse, since she could have been a show horse of Ganondorf's if Link hadn't come along and saved her at the right moment. Now and forever he would be her savior, the one who plucked her from doom, maybe owing the hero some sort of huge debt or something. It was time for the debt to be paid up, the check to be cashed, no one would be able to fulfil her spot, so she chose this time and now to accomplish it. For that, she somehow had to repay the boy and this seemed the best possible way, since the trudging walk through that stupid riverbank took as long as he could ever remember.  
  
The way she rode was incurable, nothing he had ever felt on her, his head buried in the white mane and taking in her scents as the edge came towards them. Speed and muscle were poured into the way she kept her pace, the way that the ground seemed to disappear, even though it was still there. In some sort of a blur, he thought later on, yes, the ground was blending in with the power she threw out with those beautifully muscled legs. Training he had given her, that wasn't what did this, there was some sort of incredible force inside of this mare that powered her enough. The ground disappeared from them; Link thinking the water had to be next, though at the same time was sure what was next was nothing next to the water.  
  
Incredible how can she generate this much stamina! Navi knew it was theoretically impossible, but as she lived and breathed, this was the first time the horses had pushed their limits this far without dying. As the air disappeared from them, the horse sailed over the top of platform and came to rest at the next slit of land that was right near the entrance to the Zora's River. It didn't stop there, that wasn't the end of it, because Epona was having the greatest drive of her life and there was no way it would end now. Navi was prepared for her death, surprised her heart hadn't exploded when it went this face, and the pumping of it was very intense. So intense, that she was just staring agape when the horse passed through the long hole that led to the Domain of the Zoras, where they had met that sad man all those years ago.  
  
"Navi, she's going so fast!" No matter how fast she was going, she was quiet, so either of them could speak freely and from the look of things, she wasn't going to stop anytime soon.  
  
"N-No idea. It is scary how fast she going, she acts as if she's having a heart attack!" She blurted out in a mad fury, the ground was moving quicker and quicker, though not as fast as when they were traveling aboard Shiek.  
  
"I am surprised she hasn't collapsed or something!" Link gripped the mane of Epona tightly, nuzzling his head into her mane as Navi was sitting at where his head was, watching as they went along.  
  
"I don't know, I am astounded she hasn't had a heart attack." There was no need to yell she was not panting or anything, and when the gate came up, the one it had had to go on the other side of with a cucco, Navi was nervous.  
  
"Oh, shit!" Link whispered out, under his breath and held his eyes tightly to the other side of him, it was going to be a big one, or maybe it would end up with her gutted on the jagged spikes.  
  
As soon as the horse made the jump over the fence, or started to attempt it and was halfway in the air--that was when the pixie's eyes shut so tightly. Yes, she was scared to death that the horse would be killed and the two of them would be launched I the air at maybe sixty miles an hour. Landing down and breaking their necks was not something either of them wanted to accomplish in the distant future, or any future for that matter. Navi was scared to death, she could of told anyone at that moment, and from the way Link grabbed a hold of her and held her, he letting out a shriek, he was scared just as much. Holding him back, the air around them whisked all the way, the breeze catching them in the middle of the air, splashing against their face with the force of a thousand boulders.  
  
Unbeknownst to either of them, the girl felt, as if she was flying, as if she was a unicorn from the old legends, the folklore was correct. Soaring over the sharp spikes, sure of what would happen, the squeals of her master and his friend were just keeping her more determined on winning. No way she would let him down, that was the truth, and as it happened with the last of her remaining new power, there was nothing to do but hope. Pegasus had visited her and granted the mare wings, as it felt, then she was over the entire fence and tracing down towards the ground, staring with eagerness. At that moment, she quieted down for a quick moment, her enthusiasm gone because if this had kept up, then she would have passed out and died, the regular pace was what she needed.  
  
Eyes peered open, heard the soft whinny of the horse, and there was how he realized how much power the people around him had accustomed, the words ringing out. "Are we dead?"  
  
"No, oh praise the Goddesses!" She let out a squeal of joy and ungrouped from him, rushing over towards his face and taking him up into a tight embrace, kissing those lips of his softly, muttering out. "They--or someone--granted her the powers of an ancient horse, or something, she was able to sail over those spikes like they were nothing!"  
  
"A-are you sure we aren't--" He cut himself off as Epona started to take off and head where she wanted, no she was just following her masters orders and getting them at the cavern, kissing on Navi. "We are alive, I can't believe it."  
  
"Yes, we are alive, I am so surprised about it that I can't seem to keep my enthusiasm in, you are such a good girl, Epona! Such a wonderful mare." Navi began to coo and stroke the ears of the horse as she passed through the passages that led on, whinnying in pleasure when she touched a soft spot.  
  
Link just stared on in eagerness, soon his own hands curling around both of her ears and rubbing them back and forth in a passionate manner. "Yes, she is, I am so glad that I got such a courageous horse instead of one of the others, she really was the liter of the bunch."  
  
The stroking went on for a full twenty minutes, before the horse was tired of walking and decided to keep the pace on and reach the end of the maze. She wanted to reach the end of the place by the time night fell and they were pretty much only a few hours before the sun started to melt on the horizon. Only a few more hours, since it was nearing two o'clock, according to the sun in the sky, of course that could be off by ten or more minutes, it was never known in this day and age. It was wished that they could have started earlier than this, maybe close towards the six in the morning sun, instead of closer to the six in the afternoon one. Not like you could change the time of anything, you just had to deal with what you could do, take the good with the bad and make the best of the maniacal things.  
  
The two of them had stopped to pet upon the girl and just focused on what they would do whenever they reached the cavern. Epona wasn't neglected; she was just put aside so that they could talk about the next mission, better to plan ahead than charge in blind. No one knew what exactly had happened between the Zoras and the King of Evil, at least no one knew this time around the bin. The first time was when Princess Ruto had been kidnapped, she was probably grown and governing the throne, unless she aged slow, like some of the other races. Maybe a hidden race that stayed young forever, or maybe children, as the Kokiiri were labeled to be, though none of that really mattered.  
  
What mattered was finding out if some sort of ancient water daemon had been set free, some sort of evil enmity had been let loose on the temple. Better than that, where was the temple, was another question that pondered both of their minds, thinking of the most logical spot. Since the Forest was up in a tree, the Fire down inside of a mountain, that meant that the next one would be under an ocean, or something. Recollecting on what Shiek said, it was under a vast ocean, or a lake, in the worlds of the Shinobi and there was only one of those around. No one even suggested looking under a river, it was too stupid, these rivers had been built to withstand the force of an idiot, and they were so obvious!  
  
Maybe the force of finding those stupid little dungeons was not enough, maybe it was inside that mattered, that was all that went through their minds. Everything would come piling down on the end; he had a small hunch that Ganondorf's castle wasn't going to be all fun and games. Maybe it was the sense of adventure he had, or the fact he had read about this ten's of thousands of times, but the suspecting feeling of a temple inside the formally Hyrule Castle was peeking at his mind. Harder and harder the temples were giving, they following the most obvious order since Shiek had decided it and it was the way they found the jewels seven years hence. Now, after this one would be two more, having no idea where the fifth medallion would be located, the sixth one was sort of in the clearing.  
  
All that happened on the rest of the way, or about halfway, was that the two of them spoke of maybe where the next temple would be located, after the Shadow. Link had an idea that maybe the graveyard would be a great spot, since that was where the shadow people lived--the Shiekah--and the shadow of death. Navi pointed out that the Shiekah didn't live in the graveyard (they were all dead years and years past) but checking the graveyard wasn't a bad idea. As much as either of them didn't want to come back, they knew it was inevitable, since that was where the Kakariko Village Graveyard was located. No way to slip past, unless they climbed hundreds and hundreds of feet across the edges of the mounts, but the humiliation wasn't that bad--actually there really wasn't any.  
  
Of course the hardest question came up, it was from Link and what he had been dreading since she mentioned where the temple maybe. "How are we supposed to fight underwater?"  
  
"I'm sure the entire temple isn't underwater, I mean the inside is probably solid, just the entrance was safely underwater." A good save, she knew it, but of course Link wasn't stupid enough to fall for that, he was smart enough to question what he would say next.  
  
"Navi, that is stupid, I mean there have to be some air pressurized parts, but all the others will be under water, there are some air pockets, but probably not much." Huffing a little, he shrugged a shoulder and began to shiver all over, staring ahead with his eyes sort of getting smaller, it felt so weird around here.  
  
"Link, what's wrong?" This was the safe spot, somewhere to mention another thing to get rid of the fact that either of them were probably be choking in a few hours, or days, depending on this Ice Cavern.  
  
"Don't you feel that, the coldness!" Shivering, the tunic just wasn't going to do it and he soon wrapped the entire black cape around his body, the one that was still tattered after the battles on Death.  
  
"Feel what, I feel fine--" Letting out a long screech, the girl slid over towards his cape and slid inside of there, shivering harder and harder, staring ahead for what it was. Nothing was ahead of them, the ground was still solid as they walked and there was nothing that could have caused the air to be this bitter, even if it was winter. A season that seemed to be around but it really wasn't showing its head, the truth of the matter was that the fall season had just stared, winter was three months away. The ground was as green as could be, not a thing to spoil the weather except this cold chill that was diverting itself into the aftermath. No, it wasn't a chill like a precognition; it was more like the real cold you felt in the dead of winter, as they described in the old stories.  
  
"Why is it so cold, it's never been so cold before." Link wasn't freaking out, the cape gave enough warmth for him, though all he could stick out was his hands, the gloves kept them warm, fighting may have been hard, but not impossible for this little hero.  
  
"I don't know, I really don't know." Navi whispered out as the sun seemed to bleak out at that very moment, the sun going down, but the pace of Epona didn't charge down, she was heading on.  
  
When the cold started, the two of them had been on the horse and were already where they had seen that funny-shaped rock, so long ago. That one where he had earned all the money by playing those silly ocarina songs, speaking of which, were fully organized and rewritten down. The fires had swallowed them up and now were replaced, good enough things to think of, though he was too cold to even play the instrument now. Link had lost them in the fires of Death, which seemed like a million years ago, but now he had them down on another piece of paper. Shiek had had them down and given him an extra copy, the beautiful notes like before were printed on there, showing how much of a musician his master was.  
  
Yes, at a closer look, that was where they met the frogs, looking at the rock and hoping to see it, but the log was all bent and out of shape. From the look of things, the entire place had always been this cold, because the water on the log was all crusted with a white materialization. A thickly crust was on it, Link leaning down and touching it with the tip of an ungloved hand, pulling back and warming it up with the glove--it was cold! On further inspection, this was looked at as frost, so yes; the things that lived here were probably long dead along with the rest of the world around here. The farther they trotted on the tiring Epona, the thinner the grass had gotten, remembering back near the gate at how lush it had been all so long ago.  
  
Link had had enough of it, and when they reached the portion where the drawbridge was, the one that led over towards the waterfall, he hopped off of Epona. "Go back, girl. It is too cold for you, I am afraid you'll pass out."  
  
"Epona, he's right, you are much too cold for this, if you had a coat like this--then maybe, but don't worry we are almost there, less than an hour's walk from here. Plus this bridge seems too light for you, especially if it's frozen." Navi smiled towards the mare, the mare whinnying in protest, before the fairy began to stroke her and feel how cold she was.  
  
"Listen to me, Epona, I want you to go back." Turning her around, he smacked her on the behind with a little harshness, sending her trotting off over the horizon, or close to it. When she was about to jump out of the way, she took a glance over at the boy, whined a small little noise from her nose and kept on that pace until she was gone. It was better this way, there was no way that the horse could have waited outside of here for a week, or however long this was going to take them. They were protected from this padded cloak, it wouldn't ever die out and where it was tattered didn't seem to matter to them, the air never sunk through. Giving his thanks to Anjou for her giving it to him, he knew that soon this thing would be as reliable as his sword itself, only problem was it didn't help him breathe underwater.  
  
"You think she'll go back?" Navi whispered out, curled up at the top of the cloak and sitting on his shoulder, well it was more like laying, a cute position if the circumstances weren't so harsh.  
  
"If she does come back, she will die, I am sure she knows that. What she didn't know was that the cape kept us warm, I am just sorry there isn't one big enough for her, I know she's dying to get in on the action." Chuckling, he looked over at the rope-bridge, noticing that the drop down wasn't that far, though on further inspection it was icy, the water seemed so cold, that it was as solid as the ground. "Navi, what happened here, this place was never like this before."  
  
Two words echoed through her lips, brushing under the iciness as she spoke them out through the cape, knowing if she didn't that they would be muffled. "Ganondorf's curse. That is the only reasonable explanation to this are those two words, I am sure that if they were frozen in the water, the Zora's would die."  
  
An expression of fear appeared in his face, he taking his chances and running upon the bridge, the thing seeming to crack under his weight. Ignoring it, the raced along the edges of the icy bridge, mostly concentrating on not falling, then the stupid thing giving in under his abundant weight. No way would be done in by weighing too much, knowing this was one of the many more times he would feel bad about growing out of his child-like form. It was all over when he neared the edge, the thing giving out when he was two feet from the edge, he hearing the snap a little early, giving him time to leap ahead. Yes, it was a moral thing to do, two feet was just too good to be true, since the hard water below would have snapped his skull into pieces.  
  
Ruffling upon the ground, he tumbled forward into the ground, hearing the bridge snap all the way and fall below, him peering over the edge. The sight of what could happen made the bile rush to his throat, holding it back and downing some of the canteen that was wrapped around his neck, pushing the sickness back. Now as he fell upon the ground, his back pressed in the solid ground, something felt wet below him, hoping to the Goddesses he didn't piss his pants from being scared. No, he didn't do it because that wasn't where the wetness was around, it was on all of his body, like he had fallen in a pile of water--but this water was hard. To add to the effect, something fell down from the skies, the clouds opening and sprinkling a small star-shaped flake that flickered down and hit him on the head.  
  
Catching the flake in his hands, or trying to, the thing burst into a thousand spaces, fluttering into cold water and washing all over his face. Several of its companions (each of them looking as vastly different as the next) were colliding all around him and there he inspected all of them. Opening his mouth widely, he caught one of them and slurped it down his throat, loving the feel of wetness as it spread down his throat. Feeling better than even the canteen did, he wished he could keep these things in a pack and munch on one when he was thirsty, saddened that he couldn't because they exploded when you touched them. Letting out a downfall sigh, the boy was thinking to himself when Navi let out a gasp and started to point forward, his eyes dislocating forward in awe.  
  
"Snow, its snow." She whispered through hushed lips, as he released himself and noticed that on the other side of the bridge--or formal bridge, the place was covered in snow.  
  
"Snow? But how, I thought that Hyrule was subtropical." There was no need to answer the question, so he didn't state it as a question, just as a statement because those two words came up in his mind: Ganondorf's curse.  
  
The two of them stared in silence at the land, it was like the place beyond the bridge was clear and green, but the other side was snow-ridden, the place hit the most. The scenery was devastatingly beautiful, still it was sad because the Zora's were probably dead, at least the ones that weren't underwater when the freeze was hit. Although, the ones that weren't could have been hit since most Zora's had to be submerged most of the times, and if not, they would become un-moist, maybe their skin would dry up? Whatever the case, the young ones and the old ones would be dead or trapped underwater, if the freeze had happened so recently. Maybe he had come after the Zora's last, it wasn't like the King was going to go in a specific order in how he terrorized his citizens.  
  
No time to explore the beauty of the winter wonderland, the two of them hurried past the snow--Link gathering a handful--as they continued down the path of reality. Swishing past there was the land where the mazes were, the binding little land that stretched out about a mile and then the hidden waterfall. Each was more difficult than the next, because it got higher and higher and with frozen water below, slipping was not an answer for anyone. Winding through the small ones were the most difficult, the place was a lot smaller than when he was only just a pup of a Hylian. This wasn't the sort of water you slip on and bust your behind, this was the one that you fell on at one hundred feet up and broke your tailbone, it not even cracking under the surface.  
  
The higher we get, the slower it goes, at this rate we'll never be there. Link thought to himself as he disappeared on his legs and began to crawl on his knees, when the slips were too small for him to fit. It wasn't that he was fat, or anything, he was just too damn small in some spaces, they could have been climbed, if the situation was different. Yes, if it wasn't so slippery, he could scale some of these places and make his way past them with the smoothness of a climber. Now, the last one he had climbed past had been the smallest of them, the smallest was the best of all gave all the room to get back. On a leg now, that was when the last embankment was out of the way, he stopping infront of the waterfall, eyes widened.  
  
"My Goddess, it's frozen open!" Link let out an exasperated sigh of relief, as Navi spoke those words, they were glad that it was frozen open, not in the closed state.  
  
"Yea, the thing looks like a mural of some sort." Out of an old painting, it was truly how beautiful the thing was open; maybe the waterfall had never been closed since his last return.  
  
"That seems true, it is sort of slippery around there." She was more warned about him, than she was herself, because she could fly over when he had to jump or think up some weird plan of his.  
  
"At least it isn't closed, Navi, then we'd be here all night. Or we could always go to Lake Hylia, I mean, figuring that the lake isn't dried up or frozen, itself." Link was getting sick of this, it was sickening him how much Ganondorf was messing up this word, and he was one of the worst in the world.  
  
"Yea, there is that, but I doubt that it is frozen shut. If it was frozen, then the water to from Lake Hylia would not be running, the well would dry up and even Ganondorf would of died, he can't live without food and water.unless the Triforce, nah, it hasn't granted you immortality or anything." She smiled towards him and fluttered over towards the edge of the entrance to the domain of the Zora's, it was definitely too slippery to jump.  
  
Link was way ahead of her, he reached past the canteen, inside of the cape and took out the hookshot, grinning towards her and preparing it. This was the only way to get out of it without taking the chance of landing on the other side, slipping on some loose ice and plummeting down towards his doom. Aiming at a chunk of ice that was just above the area near the entrance to the domain, the real domain, he swiped the trigger and let it fly. Slinging through the air, he was worried maybe it would miss, break the ice and hit nothing, or simply not reach, it looked like it wouldn't, or maybe it just felt that way. The spring-loaded hook stuck out and penetrated the ice to the core, none of it breaking, and slinging him across the way without breaking so much as a sweat.  
  
As he fell across, he felt a crack in the ice, doubting his weight and letting go of the launcher, not letting go, but jumping forward and pulling on the handle. Sliding about ten feet from the entrance and ten feet from the ledge, the Hookshot in hand, he considered himself pretty lucky. Just when he was considering himself good, he thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't five or so feet back, because a crack came again and a huge explosion was behind him. Spinning around, eyes caught that a huge chunk of ice--maybe about one hundred pounds--was sitting about five feet from him, coldness radiating off. The cold air was like an aura, it spin off and when you were close enough was when you could feel it, otherwise the thing didn't even seem to really be there.  
  
"That was stupid, you know that?" Navi whispered out from the cloak, she had been with him the whole time, not daring to leave the coat because she feared her wings would fall off.  
  
"Maybe I am just a reckless kinda guy? You hafta deal with that." He smiled towards her, masking the feeling of terror he had felt, maybe that was because he wanted her to think of how tough he had been.  
  
Navi just let out a small chuckle, the boy flushing and shrugging a shoulder before he pulled the Hookshot back into its place in the bag. Better to keep it there, but it was even a little reckless since there might be some monsters around here, ice monsters of some kind. That was what he feared, the cold was a nice thing, but he really wasn't ready to tackle some sort of cavern of ice, like the ninja had said. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, clearing out his lungs from the regular cold and getting ready to the extreme one, all that was left to do was hope. As he descended into the darkness, it felt just like a temple, except the monsters were dead, there was no one to save, and worst of all was it was cold!  
  
-------------------  
  
The dankness of the temple was spoiling around her waist; it smelt of the old kings, the ones she had read about as a child, now this was their resting-place. It was horrible, what had happened, but even more horrible was what had happened here, how she had been the only one to go on. Everyone else was gone, she the only one and for what was she to do if the sadness did end, to breed on and hope the race survived the consequences of living on. Sadness was choking in her throat, so much that she just wanted to kill the world where it stood for doing such a cruel thing to her, for sinking fate on her. She knew that it couldn't be done like that, she knew she had to go one for a few reasons in her mind, two of them were unsuspecting people.  
  
Now, fluttering through the water like a fish--but she was a fish--all thought were off of the boy who'd never become an adult and more focused on the adult? Yes, over the years she had thought about him and how her body had matured was even more distracting because she knew his didn't. A Kokiiri, he had claimed to be the scent was one of the forests, proving the fact, though she still didn't want to believe he was like that. There was no way he could be like that, because the Forest Children never left the forest, he must have been mistaken or something, that was in. Sure, that was the only explanation for his appearance, and he was a Hylian who would one day whisk him away from the evil reign of one man whom she wanted dead, the one revenge was not wasted on, as of yet.  
  
Though, as the years went on, the years and the mature body began to take the place of that smaller one, still bigger than his, though. Fins had began to spread all around, being more beautiful than any of the other fish, she was more enchanting and could beat them all out. Her hand for marriage didn't even have to be arranged anymore, even though the older ones still wanted her so did the ones her age and even the younger ones. Some wanted to arrange marriages for their younger kids, it was funny, though sad how beautiful she had become and yet to wed herself to any of those lucky little fish-men. All she was waiting for was not a fish, she was waiting for a Hylian to show up and not just any of those tanned little ones, she was looking for a child to appear, younger than any of the others wanting her hand, though beyond years in experience.  
  
Age of when they were supposed to be wed was thirteen, which the year came and went and by that time she was already beginning to develop so well it was crazy. Now, as she stared beyond the clouds and just would think, at night, of him, her love didn't fade, it grew even more, it was just like that. A normal person would of said 'screw it' and decided to hook up with someone else, but they had never seen this little boy fight with a sword. How incredible he was, and even now, he had to be even better than before, he just had to be the best of the best, able to defy the odds even more. Even if in a child form, not that she would care, she'd marry and mate on with the boy because all the fish-men (and women) were gone from here, including her own father.  
  
Father, how could they do that too you, the impenetrable fire that can't be touched! A tinge of hate for the boy had begun to grow when she had seen that, that was when she had headed for the legendary blue fire to sink the flames from her father, failing in her attempt, though that was where she found him.  
  
How she remembered it was she had been searching the cavern, not even knowing any of the puzzles, it was when she traveled into a lone room. The room had been cold; she embraced by one of the tunics that her father had kept, and sure it kept water out of those without gills, but also protected against the cold. Along with those features, the Hylian-made tunic kept a Zora who wore it as moist as they could be, even without sinking into the water. Yes, that was a good thing for now, since all the water was frozen and without it, she would have dried herself up and died on the spot. Ruto didn't like water too much, or hadn't as a kid, so she used to wear the large ones to bed, because they didn't make them for children, I mean, who would need one.  
  
Not knowing who made them, the tunics were given to them back in the old days, before she even met Link, they were a present from the King. Not the King of today, but the good one who had been a fine ruler and relations between every race--except Gerudo, but can you blame them--had been wonderful. This man, whom had ended the war and establish peace, hadn't made them, she had forgotten what he had said where he'd gotten them. Maybe should would ask him one day--but then as she wandered those halls, she knew that he was long since dead, one of the first fatalities of the war. Ganondorf had killed him first, maybe not the first, but one of the first ten; this was excluding the knights that he bashed out of the way to get to the old ruler.  
  
I shall avenge you father, the fire shall heal you, you're the only one like that, even so, if we work together then we can rebuild what he destroyed. I promise I shall keep him out, we shall find a Hero in all of this, and when he is dead, we'll just laugh about it. Yes, those thoughts were broiling through her head, the thoughts of being prepared for monsters hadn't crossed her mind, and none were in the way.  
  
Her thoughts had been ruled off and that was when it attacked him, that was when something had attacked her and taken wanted to kill her. Yes, the paws of something were placed on her, she too much in fear to realize that something was coming towards her. It could have been detected from a long way ago, if not for her stupidity in realizing certain things, but now it was too late to do anything. She was just too scared to even attempt to do anything; not that she had a weapon to protect herself with, although she wished so. Now, the only weapons left in the palace were some old javelins from the old world, to rust, that was the main reason she hadn't bothered to pick one up.  
  
Oh Naryu, oh Naryu, if I survive this, I promise I will do anything for you! She could not tell what it was; this creature with white fangs was bearing on her, saliva dripping down from the cord of its mouth.  
  
White fur, something she had never seen, it was probably domesticated from here, not that the fish would ever have enough time to classify the thing. This creature was unknown to her, even with gray fur in its place, though from the way it looked, Link would be able to tell it in a second. Her thoughts were rushing to Link, to her father who would spend eternity in the red fire, and to the others who had died such horrible deaths for needless causes. Ganondorf was doing such stupid stuff, killing and torturing everyone except the ones that deserved it, and his own race needed this stuff. Now, onward her thoughts went and she thought she would accept death, just embrace it, that was when she heard a small yip, that a dog makes, and the wolf fell over.  
  
What in Naryu's name is going on? She felt the dead weight on her, the spilling of the blood fell all over her naked body--she covered herself with those glistening fins when males were around--and looked about. Either this one had had an extremely violent heart attack (the heart didn't come out) or someone had pierced the monster in the chest. The lather seemed the most possible, so she threw the monster off of her, searching the room for someone that might have been in the way to save her. No, there was no one here, but she never got to examining the entire room, for it began to crumble, she realized this was only an air pocket in the snow. How she had wandered off the path and into some stupid little air pocket was beyond her, not even knowing there could be these things in snow.  
  
"Grab my hand!" A voice rang out; a masculine voice that seemed to pierce her ears and makes her want to melt at the arms, the ones that heartthrobs make.  
  
"W-who're you?" The voice rang towards the left, and when she clasped to the left, feeling a skinned hand grab hers, she was overcome with relief that Link had come to save her. Yes, this man was Link, he was a Hylian and had grown up to be such a handsome man, or from what she heard with the voice intact. Staring to the left, the golden hair warned her that this was Link, the hair had grown even longer and was now down right above his strong shoulders. That face was covered up, but a single eye beamed out and through that, she could see he was compassionate enough, the cloth was smiling through there, he clad up in some weird garb. Glancing into that blue eyes--the enchanting ones--she was caught with the realization that it wasn't her hero, the man had a single red eye, the other one hidden from view.  
  
"Quiet, I'll explain later." Throwing her forward, she slammed her hardened breasts up against his flat chest, he making sure she was attached, before taking off.  
  
The ride was extremely fast, faster than those horses that sometimes the King used to bring over with him, they were about a million of them in this boy's speed. He raced through the pocket, which was at least about two miles long, without a sweat and was on the other side before anyone could complain about anything. His speed made her sigh and rest against his chest, her small head nestled on her shoulder and feeling the hair brisk around her face. Zipping throughout the end of the pocket, the cavern came into view, it disappearing after a few seconds and even the water was gone from Zora's fountain. Fountain was out of view, she remembering the Blue Fire, though not saying anything, because for some reason, she wanted to be held by this man and even her hero was gone from her dreams.  
  
As the hours passed on, only about two, she realized during all of them that he was running so fast that an hour after the accident they were in the middle of Hyrule Field. He must have been heading to the Lake Hylia, and since there portal was frozen shut under the water, that meant that this was the only way to get there. There was an ancient spell, but you needed some weird instrument to play it and the Zora's really didn't play many instruments, although Link had one. That was the only time she thought of him, she was so dedicated to focus on this new one, examining that he also was carrying some small little sharp knives. Weapons of these caliber were resting around his waist, also a small little golden instrument was in the pack that he wore around his waist, a harp, she remembered it being called.  
  
At long last, they appeared down into the depths of Lake Hylia, the first time she had seen it in four months, her eyes widened as he sat her down and she examined it. The thing was smaller for one, and before she could fully research it anymore, he was looking at her with that beautiful crimson eye. Now, she wanted to pull that mask down, find the handsome face and ask why he would hide such a beautiful face form the rest of the world. He would answer that he was a loner and didn't want his past undone, then she would seduce the boy and have her, she would be her first and only. No royal blood was in him, she guessed, but who cared, since all that mattered was being with him, and her royalty was out of the way, anyway, as she thought this, she was interrupted by his voice.  
  
"Miss.Ruto, isn't it?" He was looking over towards the lake, a sigh was masking across the garb on his mouth, unrealized it was really this bad, those rumors didn't do wonders for the real thing.  
  
"Y-yes, I am Princess Ruto of the Zoras." She mouthed out in a dry voice; the nervousness was the same kind a schoolgirl felt around a beautiful male teacher, the ones who always looked good. "W-who're you, my savior?"  
  
"Savior? Well, that seems a little too much, but what the hell? My name is Shiek, I am an ancient Shiekah of the real race, and you better believe that." A grin circled his lips as he stared over towards her, catching her gaze and backed up a little, they were resting on that huge platform where Navi had visited Gaebora that night, so long ago.  
  
"Shiek, then. Would you be interested in being my King when this is all over---oh, if this is ever over." She sulked towards the ground; about to start crying when she saw him heading to comfort her, and not wanting to be seen as a little stuck-up baby, she held the tears back. "You rescued me, how're you so fast?"  
  
"I was trained that way, your highness." Of course he still respected her, even though her kingdom was decimated and the King beyond recognition with that ice around him.  
  
"Now what?" She blurted out, sniffing as some of the tears leaked out, and shrugged when he got closer to hug, not wanting him to bother with her for the time being.  
  
"Now you go down to the Water Temple, you know where it is at." Grinning, he wandered over towards her, placing hands on her naked shoulders, and bending down, whispering those words out. "Link has awakened and grown from the last time you set eye son him."  
  
"A-awakened and grown?" Link, her Link, was awake and how long had he been asleep, she wondered as she stared down into the single eye of this man, such a feminine and mysterious Shiekah he was.  
  
"He shall explain, just go to the Water Temple and await for him, also shut down the temple when you get inside, so that no one else can answer--don't worry he has a tool too get in--and go into the room with the torches." He smiled and jumped up into the air, the noon sky was in the sky, she blinded when she looked up, though when she stared down, he wasn't there, and he had simply disappeared!  
  
Now here she was, just walking into the room and having just closed up the temple, on the bottom floor of the three-story temple, remembering all that happened. Link had awakened from something, she wasn't sure of yet, though that must have been what kept him from marrying her after all these years. She wondered if she still had the ring, or if Shiek would take it once this was all over, or even if she could have both of the men to herself. The devilish smile grinned to her lips, noticing that Link had awakened, he was also larger, that meant that he wasn't a Kokiiri at all, but a Hylian--or Shiekah. As she sat down on the ground, her thoughts coiled up of the two of them and her, the beautiful princess, falling asleep at the thoughts of what they would do if she married them--thoughts that would put a sailor to shame!  
  
-------------------  
  
Talking about a winter wonderland in the making, this place was as huge as it could be, the icy feeling was dwelling all over their bodies. Shivering through the darkness, the two of them expected for something to happen, an evil aura was dancing around, mixed in the coldness. Even though this black cape, the shivers were getting in, the coldness taking on a serene feeling, a departure of all good in here, flashing out of the mind. Sure, it was one of the worst that they had felt; worse back when they were children, the Fire Temple's accordance didn't even matter to this. As the two pounded on through the darkness, the light opened up and revealed what Navi had been expecting to boil over, Link was astounded in amazement.  
  
As soon as the two life forms drifted out of the darkness and into the light was when the ground below them got more slippery than usual. So messed up, the ride down would be one of the hardest that they had ever experienced, since his boots didn't have the hilts to handle ice. Maybe ice-skates, but those weren't even made in Hyrule, since there was no ice, and another thing was that if they were made, it would be in the castle of the desolated Market Place. No way either of them would ever step place in there, except one last time and they knew by that time, they would be strong enough to combat the worst of Redead. Yes, even worse than what they had treaded on to get here, one false movement and you would go pummeling down to the waters below.  
  
Waters wasn't the best term, for with further inspection, the entire place below was frozen solid, whiteness beyond whiteness was growing on the ice. It just wasn't the hardened ice, what it seemed like was that ice was growing on the bitter ice, something that didn't happen at normal temperatures. Speaking of the degrees, the place was about a few hundred Celsius from below the freezing point, which was thirty-two degrees, when water froze. Hardened waters, no longer the sweet trickling of anything was about, it was like time had stopped and the splitter was one called the hellish weather of Ganon. Well, these waters were frozen, and if there was such a term then they were over-frozen, although he had never heard of such a word in his own existence.  
  
"Nav', I don't understand, this place is so desolate." An only word he could think of, knowing that without the cape, the both of them would have been freezing down into their frostbitten hands.  
  
"Linky, I am sure this is the work of the curse, but other than that, I don't see how Ganondorf has the power to control the weather, it seems like something out of a fairy tale." She halted herself in a fury of amazement and pointed across from where they stood, where about two hundred feet away, or so it seemed was the waterfall which they had gotten the scale from, so long ago. "It's frozen!"  
  
"Frozen, what do you--Oh my Goddess!" His eyes almost bulged and he felt they would fall out of his sockets, they were widening out with such an amount of fear was spreading outward. Now, it was true that there was nothing very bad at the waterfall, not something like a monster, or an ice creature that had worried him before. Sure, the other waterfall had been clipped and frozen down to its core, but in that case it had been easily broken if it was penetrated long enough with a sword. What stood before him was a fall that couldn't be smashed open, nor could it be burdened with any sort of sorcery that even he could conjure up. From the looks of things, nothing would ever unseal these Zoras except a lot of hard work and maybe some patience in years, if the things could live frozen underwater.  
  
Indeed, as they ventured closer, sliding down towards the end of the long path with quick feet and usually halting every now and then, the amazement didn't cease. Ice upon the waterfall was the least of his worries, that just didn't bother him now, what was more of a worry had to be this path he was on. Now, he was less worried about that than he was worried about falling down towards the frozen waters that couldn't be broken without any harm. Sliding down was just un-forbidden, there would be nothing to save him if he went sprawling, plus the ice was so low below that he couldn't slide out. What was best was to hug the wall down and hope on the way to the King's chamber, that he didn't run into any other icy paths--though he doubted anything was un-iced here.  
  
As fate would have begun its fickle journey, the ice below him began to crack, the path was not breaking, and just a piece of ice was sliding down. An entire block of ice, what he happened to be standing on, just slid down like some sort of skateboarder who was using a very small board. The thin piece was only about two feet apart, so his feet had to be pressed together to keep from falling, and very thin from the looks of it. On further inspection, it wasn't entirely a block, or a thin piece, maybe in the middle, for if it had been thin, then the block would have broken in half long ago. That didn't mean that riding on the thing wouldn't cause it to crack, because it was just unsafe to be trailing on this stupid thick.  
  
"Oh Goddess, I just knew something like this was going to happen to us, your power gets heavier and I can't carry you around as easily as before! Link, you're sliding!" Navi squealed out in panic, she was in a fright, as he slid onward with just staring out towards the ground, keeping eyes on there, his bulk wasn't increasing, just the stamina he held, so it was more difficult to hold onto him.  
  
"Y-yea, just trying to hold on." A grin was piercing his lips, daring not to look up, since the smallest little satisfaction would cause him to break out away from his concentration and fall.  
  
"There maybe a way to keep this form lasting, I don't think that stupid ice is going to hold on much longer! Eureka, I have it! Link, I want you to use your shield, it's the only way that we can outlast it!" Navi pierced out in a panic, going out under the cape and retrieving the Hylian Shield, undoing it from his back and using her newfound power to hand it to him without a sweat.  
  
".Navi, you've gotten stronger! The shield?" He retrieved it from her and tried to think up what maybe her little plan was, the thoughts coming and then he realized what she was talking about in her voice. There was only one solution to the problem, that had to be the defender he was holding in his right hand, nodding to the girl with some realization. A grin pierced his lips as he sat the shield down infront of him, and when he did that was when the ice block shattered down into a little bit of pieces. That was good enough time for him, because with the shield down was a place to leap, those two feet assigning in there and one foot standing in the loops. Only one foot could stand in there, that was good enough because as the end of the slide came forward, the other foot was balancing and readying itself.  
  
That was an understatement of how amazed she was when he jumped ahead, she had expected him to stop at the end of the slide, though he didn't listen to the internal conflict in her. No, what she expected was he to stop at the tracks and just case off to the side, then they would climb ahead and continue on with the shield back in place. It would be a little frosty from the ride, and maybe a little bent, she didn't know if it could support all his weight or that it would suffice under the weight. Not at all, from the inspection of things, the shield was giving on and would continue with that, even if it did break, they could always find another shield. Wasn't true at all, this shield had some sort of powers, maybe it was enchanted from the tomb they found it in, or during the period that the two of them slept--this shield could withstand powers not usually thrown out.  
  
Mustering all the power he could, the edge of the slide came up, the edge was the last part and a little crack in the side shown the perfect jump was coming. Now rights after the ride down was that small shop, it was incased in some sort of ice an unknown sort because the thing was not the color of regular ice, it was red. The small ruby color didn't phase his mind when the crack came in view, you couldn't afford to do that when attempting a jump like this, because right after the shop was a right angle. Yes, there was an angle right after this and somehow, he would have to ricochet in the middle of the air and fly the right angle, sliding up the entire path of the slot. After the second slide up would be the King's chamber, then they would find out if everyone died, that stubborn man couldn't of done it, he was just too nice.  
  
"Are you ready, Link! I am not sure what you have up your sleeve, my hero, but I am ready for what comes next! I have faith in the Goddesses!" Screamed Navi out in a piercing voice, she realizing the void he was going to do and getting ready to pull out the 1st Aid Kit. There was someone there to help there, if there was, she prayed to them and hoped this person did what she wanted to do those Goddesses.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be!" She knew the plan, as reckless as his other plans were; though could you expect any less from the Hero of Time, he was confusing in general.  
  
The moment of truth was coming up! There was nothing holding him back now, the crack less than a foot away, and when it came near, he leapt near it and slid forward. Hitting the thing with dead aim, it gave him the jump- start to fly towards the wall, the shop disappearing after a few seconds and the icy wall coming up. Iced upon the wall, the shield would slam into it, then he had to think of where to press himself to go onward, otherwise, the fear would swell up and he'd miss. Groaning with the pain coming up, there was nothing else to do but give up on what was coming and exert it all with those hands pressed forward. The wall was next, the wall was right there and when he slammed right into it, the hands went to the right, pressing away and towards where the staircase was.  
  
His hands had fumbled, but eventually when he pressed, he pressed towards the north section, seeing that was where the stairs were located. When his shield--which he was standing with the front pointed forward--bounced off, he was flying towards the air, at least seven feet above and hit upon the icy path, sleeking up. His defender had been spinning in the air, when it had hit the edge, maybe it was because the friction had caused the sudden movement to exceed more than possible. The spin didn't give a bad use, by any mean was it; it actually gave him sort of an edge, though the after effects would leave him a bit dizzy. Maybe gravity was defied, maybe not, all he knew was that when he hit the middle of the path, the shield was spinning and headed up towards the end of the path.  
  
Navi had been tucked away at his coat, watching when the collision happened, almost expecting him to go flying; though when he didn't, her nerve was still there. Biting her whim, when he began to go upon the path and slide up, she saw that he wasn't going to go all the way and frowned, she floating out of the coat. Shivering out and crying louder, the aura around her was charging with her own energy to keep the cold out, though it still felt like the dead of winter was around the corner. Slithering through the cloddish air, she appeared near the shield and let loose her entire barrier, appearing inside his cloak a few seconds later, chipping the ice off of her. Now, the energy that she blasted wasn't enough to cause any harm to the shield, just giving it the boost that it needed to fly all the way up.  
  
What is she doing? The spin of the shield was creating an ear shattering sound, not enough to make his ears bleed, but enough so discomfort was there and they couldn't talk. Keeping his eyes forward, it felt like someone had added some extra power to the shield, like when the stamina increased in Epona. Letting out a cry of joy, the shield sped up the entire area and slid through the path like a cakewalk, obviously stronger than the other one had been, his mind realizing over towards Navi. How he admitted his love for Navi, the obsession swirling around his heart when the end of the path disappeared and they were disappeared into the next room. Joy would of overfilled inside of his head, had not the image of the fire now above him, this time incasing a fish, but not just any fish, the largest one in all of Hyrule--no we aren't talking about the Lord Jabu Jabu.  
  
"K-King Zora! What happened to him?!" Link blathered out in a miniscule of confusion, fury, and just the sadness of the situation, the man was incased in that reddish ice from before.  
  
"He's incased in some sort of fire, I have never seen something like this before." The little fairie began to scratch her head, noticing the man hadn't moved much in the years--he was still in the spot that uncovered the area where Jabu Jabu was, and hadn't changed much from the look of things.  
  
"I remember it, that stuff was on the shop door when we passed by, I don't know what its called though, I guess we could label it 'red ice', but I don't think fire can burn it." Just to check it out, the boy looked towards her, seeing she was still in his cape and prepared his hands in the shape of performing something. The Fire Medallion, as he had realized only a few days ago, granted him the powers to control fire, but also the ability to increase his normal magic attack 'Din's Fire.' Now the medallion, tucked away inside of his pocket, was beginning to resonate inside of the pack and then when he preformed the sign of the Tiger, it was over. The sign of the Tiger was meaning you were getting ready for a fire attack, the one of Dragon meant an air attack, while the attack of the Serpent signified water. Putting two fingers--the middle and one after the thumb--together, no whisper was given as those legs spread for the devastating attack.  
  
Smirking, that hand slammed down at the ground, he was now standing on the little platform the guards made him sit to talk to the larger man when he was young, when the fire went on. A circle of flames surrounded him, at first they were only about three feet tall, but now up to nine feet tall, so the attack was more than twice added on. Now, the flames spread out in all directions, but as he spun around, the boy pointed both hands towards the red ice, since now he could direct the flames and watched them fly at the ice statue. His grin faded when the flames all went inside of the red ice, the colors seeming to absorb the ice and add its on towards the person who made the ice. It was horrible, and that was when the flames appeared around the red block of frost, which was about twice the size of the man, and shot back at him.  
  
"Link, watch out!" Navi appeared around where Link's body was and began her aura; the redness of it absorbed the flames that were licking at the energy barrier.  
  
Dancing around her body, the flames began around her entire body like a hokage would, yes, the shadow of the flame was twirling about the small body of this fairy. She, herself, didn't know why she did this, it was a sort of protection against someone getting at him, that seemed the most obvious--though there was something else about this. No ice was forming over her body when the flames went inside of her, the ice of the place was melting, thinking if she survived, then the ice wouldn't be a problem. As they were around the little small one's barrier, he couldn't even remember how any of this happened, regretting ever having summoning up the flames. At long last, she was about to die, or felt the need to, when the pain didn't come at all, the hurt and death of everything hadn't appeared-- probably not going to make its entrance in spite of worry.  
  
Too afraid to touch his little one, there was nothing to do but watch in a sort of horror and exclamation swirling through the pit of his gut. Maybe he feared she was going to burn up, that was for the most part, since the flames were beginning to lick at her form. Kaci was reminded in his head, the shivers burning inside the pit of his gut, the hands coming across Navi's body and holding her to him with the fierceness. If he died here, it wouldn't be for anything, it would be because she was fading and then and there he knew without a doubt that this would be the end. Pain was not swelling through his body, as he came to notice and when the flames were undone, the atonement of not being dead was floating through his brain in a sort of ecstasy.  
  
When the worrying of everything was gone, the two of them were left with nothing pushed on except the excitement of the aftermath. Link was in sort of a worrying stance, examining her for any bruises or burn marks, while still his fear of something happening to her was existent. No reason why she should be alive, there wasn't a care in the world for this, his thoughts were splitting until the thing before it happened occurred to him. She had spread her barrier before the flames hit, and this was the red one that the Goro had sprinkled around her, to breathe in the flames of the Mountain of Death. Of course those flames would lick at her in the temple, the powder was used because it kept her from being affected with the fire, and like the tunic he was wearing, meaning that was what saved her life!  
  
Navi was just looking at how she was being held and let out a deep sigh of pleasure, her expression hidden from the boy, since she was staring down. Her realization of the tunic had come before his; she was just staring back and knew that if he had known about it, the boy would just of let it alone. Now, she knew that he had tried to protect her, but at the same time he wasn't hurt, the aura had surrounded him and engulfed him in the protection. The muscle of her heart was beating faster and faster, as she was pressed against his chest, the feelings of love fluttering to and fro her muscle inside of that chest. It was strange, he cared, she had known before, the realization of just never thought beyond her, and although she wanted to recollect on it, there was no time so the thoughts were shoved away.  
  
"T-the vest?" Link choked out as he walked over towards the platform, skipping past it and heading where the red ice was, still holding Navi close to him, never un-tightening the grip on her.  
  
"No, the veil, the veil protected me." He knew this; maybe he was just stuttering because the way he was acting, it was true the fright of his life was now in the way, rivaling with what happened to Saria in the dream.  
  
"I meant the vest protected me, or the cape, or both?" While the stuff had gone on, he had been having his eyes closed, so there was no way to check if the veil had gone over him or not.  
  
"No, again. The veil protected us both, I made it go around us both." Her smiled sweetened a little and she glanced over towards the boy, loving the way he smiled and nodded, looking over towards the fish now.  
  
Link's hand narrowed upon the block where the King of the Zoras was placed, the gloved palm just having enough time to circle around there before the pain began. Throwing his hand back in pain, a hiss of pain flashed out of his breathing mouth, groping those two hands together and rubbing them to calm it down. Yes, it hurt, the ice was not the same as regular ice, he had an idea this one was closely related to the heat, while the cold was related to the blue form. The extreme force in him wasn't bad, it ended in just a few seconds, actually reminding him of when you touch a flame for just a few seconds, it didn't seem as worse in a the time passing. It was probably not hurting since the hand had become a little numb; having to hold tap his other fist on the touched palm, just to make sure it was working.  
  
The theory was that this ice could be melted, in some way that was echoing through his mind, but there was a way, there just had to be. The tint of blue frost was silted down when the red flames of fire were produced on here, the two colors mismatching and causing it to melt. Okay, so fire would work on here, since this form was ice, but what could make the ice disappear, the red one that encased the only person who could help them away from their troubles. If there was a tunic around here, he held it and since there were no chests or even any rooms around, no way to plunder inside the dead people's rooms. On the slide he had rode up on, the doors that were passed had all been sealed up with that mysterious cold form upon them all, desiring it to disappear.  
  
"Where in Hyrule can we melt this ice?" Link whispered out in a breathing procedure, taking the glove off of his hand and inspecting the blueness that appeared around it--no it wasn't red when you were burnt, the azure colour was now in his face, taking the breath away from there.  
  
"Well, we could try--your hand!" Navi fluttered over towards the hand, holding it between her hands and rubbing at the wound, the numbness still there so the boy only flinched at the consideration of no feeling in the place he bore a sword, it was the right hand he placed on in the ice.  
  
This distinction was nothing he wanted to feel, the sword could be held in another hand, though he preferred the fingers around the one to the right. A sinking sigh disappeared from his lips as she kept those hands rubbed at that area, his eyes darting down towards the way she cared for him. Mm, she was so loving for him, he knew that other people were jealous because he had a pixie around him, although now he had someone who loved for this hero. Tender as a mother, loving as a sister, and even more beyond this imagination, the race of the two of them didn't matter, they were just too shy to admit it to anyone else. No one else cared around this sort of stuff, they also didn't have the slightest feelings about how the two of theirs relationship worked--it was a strange way for things to appear.  
  
"Navi, I think its red because it's the opposite of the red flames burning you." He chuckled a little towards the comment, since the pain didn't burn, but was as numb as ice could be when penetrated with a finger.  
  
"You are absolutely right, and I think I know where this ice is, I don't think this is part of Ganondorf's curse, the ice and everything is, I just think the red ice is natural, just around here, though." Never had she read of anything about them, the Zora's were a very weird race towards her, she only knew more on the Kokiiri and Hylians, plus the Hyrulians.  
  
"Navi, where do you think it is, all the rooms are sealed up." He leaned up against the wall, glancing over towards the Fairie; she had taken out something from the 1st Aid Kit and was rubbing it over the wound. "What's that?"  
  
"It is an herbal cream I got from Kakariko, a balm, I don't know what it will do, but might help with this ice burn--or freeze, whatever it is." Chuckling, she rubbed the cream all over the wound, leaving it there for a few the seconds, smoothing it in with her small hands. "Oh, the fire has to be in the Ice Cavern."  
  
"I see, who'd you get it from?" So good, the cold cream was washing over his wound, if he had been in pain then it would have disappeared, now the bitterness in his skin was loosening a little. Her motherly nature was kicking in once again, the love within him causing that heart to swell up, hoping that this moment could have gone on forever. Not so enough that if she grabbed a hold of something that it wouldn't drop it probably would if it was big enough, he might be able to pick up Navi or something. That innocent mistake was not going to happen, the numbness in his palm was going out even more, so much that he thought that Navi could be carried. No, he wouldn't risk that by dropping the little fairie, even though it would be a great test, the consequences were just too great to try something at him.  
  
"I got it from an old witch that lives behind the Bazaar." Link remembered that place; it was where he had found his shield on display, or one that looked like his, though without most of the magical qualities.  
  
"Mm, so where do you think the Ice Cavern could be, there isn't anywhere but--Jabu!" He yelled out, the hands wanting to shake with the immediate disposition, though the one being massaged kept itself calm, the other one going on and stroking her grinning face. "You knew that, you little scamp!"  
  
"I didn't know, I just had an idea." Ceasing the rubbing, she pressed her face into his palm and got the massage, a shudder appearing through her breath and rubbing across his hand.  
  
The incident of not feeling anything began to dissipate from his hand, up until after a few minutes since the talk began that it was gone with all the feeling back in his hand, the wound just an incident in his mind. Gripping a hold of the glove, the touch was back in, and slipping it back on his hand, he retrieved that sword of his and pulled it from the sheath, the coat opening as he did so. Grinning towards her, his mouth was gaping at the profound strength that returned from what it seemed all at once, though over a period of minutes. He couldn't help but throw the blade into the air, ripping the cape off and leaning towards the left, the sword sliding down into its scabbard with a clinking sound. Swinging the blade back and forth, nothing was wrong with his skill, simply the feel had kept him numb for only a few minutes, quite a catch when you think about it.  
  
Navi stared over at the boy; he was enjoying himself and had actually mastered that sheathing technique, she had seen him working on it a few days before. It was only practiced by the most prestigious of sword- masters, she had never known anyone to attempt it fully and live on, though she didn't know anyone with a sword, aside him. You threw the sword up into the air and leaned in the direction it was coming, timing the move and at the power the sword was launched at, very hard when you weren't looking. Attempting this was a bit reckless without a peering back, since the thing could get out of balance and drag across your back, slicing up your back. Some looked and made sure of it that was what he had been doing up until now, though the one slid inside without a glance at where it landed.  
  
Not that he had gotten some slashes from there, that was an understatement because he had a few rips inside of his tunic, and matching scars upon his back. Practices had been very harsh, she warning him that it was reckless, if he wanted a great sheath, then he could wear the scabbard down by his side. Just like the old Samurai in the ancient legends used to do, not like the knights of today, though he always complained that wasn't his style. Though he wasn't some stupid knight with the loyalties to everything good, his thoughts were turned towards the one of his own, a loving little spectacular one he wanted to vary. Grinning was always what he would do, at first practicing with her, then moving on miles away, so those screams wouldn't echo away.  
  
Staring at his face, she was gasped with the realization that Link wasn't wearing a little something on his body, the cloak that he received from Anjou! "The coat! You aren't wearing the coat on your body, Link, we are supposed too--oh my Goddess-- I am not wearing any part of the cloak either!"  
  
"You're right, we aren't wearing out protection, but I don't feel the cold on me, do you?" Inspecting her, there was no ice caking on her body, like when she had pushed up the shield, his own wasn't wearing any frost either.  
  
"No, I feel sort of warm, like when we are in the forest, that seems so strange, doesn't it? Oh, I think I know why I am like this, the flames were absorbed inside of my body, so they warmed me. Must have done you too, I suppose." Mmhm, that was a good reason for her, but what about him, could the flames have also encouraged the warmth inside of him when he grabbed a hold?  
  
"Nuh-uh, that isn't is for me because I was still shaking when I grabbed you, the cold spots were sinking through, so that can't be it. Oh, I think it is because the red ice I touched." Those flames were what warmed him up, that just had to be the only reasonable explanation for this, good reasons why the coat was no longer reliable.  
  
"Can we get out of here?" Draping the coat over his shoulders, the idea of heading towards Jabu was a good fact, just how were they going to get past this stupid fish? The Ice Cavern, which was probably just established, would be back behind him, since there used to be a series of caves over there, when he was a kid. Ruto had pointed them out; they were near that giant tree--which was probably dead after the coldness had taken over, and the plants did die when that happened. Tightening the strings upon his cape, slinking the black towards them, the ruby colour showing itself off, he walked past the giant fish, passing a glance over towards him, he would come back and save this man. A great man, like his father (the Deku Tree) he would avenge and revive this person, and so he be dead, then the revenge would be for the Zoras and him, not the mention the Princess.  
  
Navi nodded towards him, signaling she was ready to leave, and as the two stared over at the frozen ice, they were caught with some new science in their minds. Growling towards this, she was staring down, feeling the warmth of the aura around her body, probably the only thing that kept her from freezing to death. Unlike Link, her aura may dry out, or the coldness may have disappeared, since she hadn't really touched anything, while his hands had been placed on the frost. Almost feeling like groping it, she decided against it and just came against it because there was nothing wrong with the power from now, she could always hide when the shivers came back. That was true, glad that this had happened to her, that he had touched the fire, he depended too heavily on that coat, and enemies would notice and take advantage.  
  
It was actually not as thick here, walking ahead about a mile into the darkness, now lit with small torches on each side; the thing was definitely thinner. No, the ice was thinning when they took the stairs down into the blackness, up until he heard the slosh of his boots collide into the water. So, the curse was in the center of the Zora Palace, Ganondorf obviously not worrying about what was beyond here and that stupid fish from before. Jabu was either dead or had somehow disappeared down into the water, where it slept from before, that depended on if the water was frozen or not, it liquidated here. Depending on the situation, they were both confused when the light began to open up and the entire land appearing before them, the frost was very much different here.  
  
-------------------  
  
"He's gone! The Lord of the Waters has disappeared!" The yell escaped through Link's lips as they trailed upon the platform where Jabu--excuse me- -where he used to reside, the emptiness all so serene.  
  
"Jabu is probably just underwater, Link, don't be ridiculous. The whale can't even get through the hole out of here, what do you think he sprouted wings and flew away?" It was ridiculous to consider him gone, her thoughts were rolling back as she approached the icy edge, the fear of slipping was still apparent.  
  
Actually she was flying over him, he the one walking and having the fear of falling off, those hands crossed down beside his waist, a grim smile upon lips. He just knew that the fish was gone, the closer the edge got, the more he knew because the fact that surrounding the edge wasn't frozen water but small icebergs. No, that was an over-statement since the blocks were only a few feet across, eight at some and four at others, while the equal size in the same shape as the others. Hell, they were circles, so they had to be the same size that they were wide, none of them actually misshapen and looking like they were carved out of a large piece. Growling for the fairie to mistrust him, sure it felt weird, although it did seem that, he could even feel that the fish wasn't there, sensing its spirit.  
  
Having the ability to sense a spirit was a new one, he had felt it for some time now and couldn't tell you if it developed during his slumber or was acquired over time. The sleep may have charged it up, giving him the ability to see even more than usual, it wasn't like the aura, though, sort of in a different sense. It was hard to explain, he didn't think he could give a lecture on it, since everyone he spoke to would think that he belonged in the mental home. Along with the Poes and other loonies, so he wouldn't explain this to anyone but the fairie, proving his theory to her and showing her the new insight. If she could feel it was another question that pondered his mind, wonderful if she could, but that seemed not likely since she had never mentioned it.  
  
"Link, he's not here!" She whispered out in the utter satisfaction of his virtue, that he had been right in the hand, not a little something she could inspect--he wasn't under the water--the water was so light that they could see the bottom. "I don't see how you could have detected the aura of this man, or can you sense those like the Great Fairies? How did you know that he wasn't there, is there something I should know?"  
  
"Not an aura, Navi, it is more like a spirit I can sense, but the funny thing is that its hard to explain in these simple words." Yea, I can sense that Jabu is gone, I don't know how, I just can." Shrugging a shoulder, he waited for something to be answered, who knew what would happen between the relationship of them, after this stupid sentence was laid down on the two souls.  
  
"Sense souls? Care to explain?" No humor was placed in her voice, just the curiosity of a question, what people usually felt when they were intrigued by something, he had felt it several times in his life, well a lot more than normal people because of his backgrounds in the forest.  
  
Now, the spirit of Navi, the spirit of the King, and even himself he could feel in his mind, Jabu's was not there and staring down into the water proved it. As he explained this to Navi, she didn't laugh, didn't get uncomfortable, nor turned away, what he expected the other to do and even her. She was different from the rest, he knew that, but to what degree had always wondered in his mind, now the test was proved beyond those limits. He couldn't help but grin towards this, loving how much he trusted his fairie and she the same way, almost feeling a doubt she would never think of him crazy, how could he ever doubt his love? Chuckling, the explanation went on about how he could feel all of the people around here--reason he knew that the King still lived through that ice.  
  
Yet the explanation wasn't through there, not at all, he was just getting started it and went on to tell how he had felt these senses as a kid. Not as powerful back then, he sometimes could tell if a person was near him, it was a close-ranged thing, and other times the ability was gone. A bit of a psychic telekinesis, he had never felt such abilities in his reach, except the nightmares of seven years past, yet those weren't the best of talents in this field. No such thing s were available in his arsenal, there wasn't anything he could do, like lift things with his mind and those other cool talents you read about in papers. How unfortunate for him, this quest would be a lot easier for the two of them, only left with the fact that he could sense souls from a long while away.  
  
Just not the fact that the pretences were near, it was as if they were giving off something inside of their power, the soul was contracting to his mind. Inside the left part of his frontal lobe he could feel it, not that it twitched or made pain singe all over him, this was some sort of unconscious feeling that he felt. Grinning towards the girl, he spun around and studied those large ice packs, the break-off of some large piece that was no longer among them, either broken off so small that it couldn't be seen--melted was another idea. Spotting a lone spot just ahead, if his calculations were correct, than that had to be where the Cavern of Ice was located at, no where else stuck in the way. Shrugging at the thoughts, she speech was discontinued her and there he pondered another question towards his friend, how were they going to get across to the Ice Cavern.  
  
"How do you supposed I skid across there without falling into that icy water. I mean, I can't grip onto there." He said himself because she could float on towards the end, and the reason he couldn't grip was the edges had no where to grab, they were just too smooth and slippery-looking.  
  
"Yea, the edges do seem a little thin, maybe I could try to carry you?" She whispered out, knowing that wouldn't last very long, she might be able to get him half way there, then have to rest her little body, no help throughout the cave.  
  
"I'm too big for that now, you know that, but thanks anyway." Grinning towards his girl, the boy was undoing the cape, tying it around his waist, when the glint of the blade had gotten in his way, temporarily blinding him, the idea streaking on him when the sword was within view. "I've got it!"  
  
"What do you got? Link, don't go rush off--Link!" It was too late, she knew he always did this without discussion, maybe it was the fact that he went to such lengths to impress him. Letting out a small giggle, the fairie-girl just shrugged that off, the girlish thoughts of him doing all this for her--since explaining it would take the mood out of it--exactly what ruined the entire mood. There wasn't another reason to be doing this but for her, not that she minded, she thought it was one of the sweetest things that the hero accomplished. Taking all these risks, even though they were inevitable, and still keeping an element of surprise just for her was something she hadn't experienced before. Blessing whatever he was thinking, let it be with him and the Goddesses, the prayer was a silent fix as her eyes adjusted to what he doing, the sail over the edge.  
  
While she was thinking about him, he tied the cloak tightly around himself, stuffing it inside itself so he wouldn't trip over the ends of it while he ran. Pulling the sword out of its sheath, checking the edge for dullness, the serene feeling that this one would never break, none of his swords had ever shattered themselves. It was because the Gods blessed them, he knew that, feeling just so lucky to have them by his side, now the ultimate blade of destroying evil was in his palms. No, he didn't plan on going and killing anyone now, that wasn't the plan, all that was available was getting to the Ice Cavern, finding these new flames, maybe acquiring a suit in the process. Slicing down upon the ground, it not breaking the ground in half since he had no power in his slash, just creating a huge cut in the center, a grin appeared on his face when the ran took off.  
  
Taking off at a larger speed than he usually ran, the jump was made towards the nearest little block, it was about seven feet away, the sword held in the air. When the ground came into the view, his feet sitting upon them and about to slip off, the sharp blade was pushing into the icy below. Shoulders slacked down towards the ground, unplugging the blade and scouting how far, how big, and luckily how deep the others would be, compared to this one. Now these things were very thick, or so he hoped as he came down, and when it went inside, the blade was not breaking the ground on him. Relief was in his face, wanting to have tested it out, but afraid it would break and keep his chances from ever getting towards this small cavern.  
  
"Oh, goody, Link! You accomplished that, it was such a good plan, I didn't mean to worry, I just do sometimes, its in my nature about you. But you did it!" She was huffed from the breath of thinking he might fall down into the waters, seeing the plan, and flying out towards him at an incredibly large speed.  
  
"Yea, I was just doing this for the suspense, y'know? I am sorry if I scared you, but at least we can get away from here, depending on if all the other ones are as thick as this one, I mean." Chuckling, the sword was held in his right hand, just slinking down against the ground, his scout in vain, the way to the cavern looked all mixed up from here.  
  
"I can do that, sweetie, I'll be right back." Fluttering past the boy, her relief went in as she trailed into the air, scouting through the fog at what exactly was going on around here. It was true, there was a thick, white fog down on the ice, it about seven feet below than the place they had been standing on, for some reason not noticing it before. Yea that still baffled how they could have missed it, or maybe it had just come into view was another thought peering through her mind. Wishing for an easier way, those wings began to flap up and reveal the majesty she ran about the clouds, the air catching her and pushing her up even further. Groaning throughout the air, she was noticed all around that there was a way to go, it was exactly straight from where he was standing, down on the block.  
  
As she floated down towards the ground, her other idea of the thickness of each rock was in her mind, so she didn't take the way down towards her hero just yet. Trailing out over the ground, she found that each of them were as thick as the last, the cold blasting against her faith, the warmth making her even warmer. Even if it was cold, she would brave it for him, she always would, and the trip back was a lonely one, almost feeling as if that stupid stuff was wearing off. Picking up speed, the warmth feeling itself slip away, she was groaning and freezing all over whenever he was appearing before her, not stopping to greet him. Slamming her five and a half-inch body into his chest, she snuggled against the warmth, her aura brightening even more, the power of fire inside was returning.  
  
"W-what's wrong?" He spoke in a bemused voice, checking to see if she was hurt, her skin was still burning with the flames from before, it wasn't the coldness.  
  
As she was pulled away and inspected, her cheeks turned rosy when the cold disappeared, realizing it was part of her imagination and shaking that head back and forth. "Nothing at all, hee, I am just fine, I just got tired being away from your warm body, maybe the fog was getting to me or something, I dunno."  
  
"Oh you were, were you?" A grin appeared around his lips, those fingers lacing around the small--though larger body than before--pressing him towards her and holding onto her, fingers lacing around her body and just smashing her against him with no hate at all. "Well, I missed you too."  
  
"Hee, I am so glad you did!" Standing in the cold, she knew it was time to go, the romance could wait until at least this quest was over, she planned on pulling him back for more than a week's vacation this time, there was no one who ordered them around. "My heart beats faster when you are around."  
  
Giggling nervously, he shrugged a small shoulder towards her and stared off in the direction he thought they were to head, the north, but as the smooches were left on, he changed the subject when she mentioned the hearts, bursting out. "Did you find out where we are to do, and the thickness of each of those blocks?"  
  
"Oh, yea, I did. I found out that each of those blocks is about the same thickness as these, about eight inches and also that the direction we are to head is northward." Pointing in that direction, she was about to say something else when she was bundled up and felt him move out through the air. His speed, agility, and virtue were all-important points that were gone beyond belief; each of them improved more than thought the imaginable. Sure, she always rode on him when she slept, usually only hanging about his body (and awake) when it was time to talk to people, or converse with the two of them only. Now, the power lifting as he streaked through the bitter morning, or evening, she had done forgot how late it was, an idea of a break never filtering her. They would try and finish this break without the need of stopping, the graceful ability to go on and find no breaks; those were for the weak.  
  
His speed moved even more, using the sword to the fullest power, even sometimes cracking one of the blocks and having to get off before it broke. It wasn't that they were thicker, she had been right about the thickness of each, and it was just that how much power he pushed into getting to each one. The closer and closer he got to the end, the more determined his bones felt to finish this and get on throughout here without breaking his neck. The closer he got towards the edge, the more he cracked the icy rocks, and it was only a matter of time before none of them started working. Grinning up towards the ground, the last one came into view, that hand still gripping the hilt of the sword, as the rock formation appeared before the two of them.  
  
Sheathing the sword up, not putting any power and only sinking in an inch or so inside of this rock, he prepped himself for the jump by stretching a bit. It was true that from here on there was the ledge, sticking out of the thinning fog, it reached up a foot or so from where he stood, the climb looking more difficult than it was. Watching his little fairie, she was over at the other side now, seeing if he could do it with or without the armour, he going for the first one. No way that this weight would hold him back, as much as he had fought with it on, now that getting to a ledge would be a piece of cake for the Hero of Time. At last the stretching was finished, cracking the knuckles and undoing the cape, draping it around his body, tightening it so that it shown out if the white mist.  
  
Taking off with a leap, he jumped the foot into the air--which wasn't the hard part--his fingers lacing upon the ground and gripping with all his might. What had frightened the boy was that maybe it wouldn't be hard around here, the fog slicing up and moisturizing the edges just for him, a curse at him. Now as he yanked himself up, without any problem at all, the Gods had decided to smile down at him and grant the last wish of the hero they had chosen. Thanking with a silence in his mind, he would never reveal that sometimes he did give them thanks, it was only between the two of them that he was truly like this. Having Navi was what he thanked them for, giving him the love of Saria and surviving all these missions, he could never say that he had done it, that was an understatement.  
  
"Link, did it hurt?" When he was finally over, noticing the marks that were placed on his hands, he removed the gloves and stared down at the red marks from the ferrous climb, why hadn't he noticed that during the initial move?  
  
"I just didn't know, it is strange." Chuckling, he shrugged a shoulder, thinking maybe the numbness was returning and pulled his gloves back on, taking a quick look around, it was quite an area to be around.  
  
"All right, it if starts acting up I want you to tell me, Link. I don't want you suffering on the benefit that I would be worried about you." Giving a sweet smile towards him, the truth was that she didn't even want to think that something had gotten inside of his large body. What was in her mind was maybe that the ice had been infected and now was slowly eating away at his body, causing the easier things in life to become some of the household councils. Whispering she would never accept that, this about the time as he looked around, her thoughts were going to be settled when he came back to his old self. A small grim smile was appearing around her lips, the thing hidden as the veil appeared over her body, seeing that Link hadn't noticed, a sigh of relief was twirled around her mind. He could inspect through the veil whenever he wanted, absolutely giving her no privacy, it was a hassle when she was sad, although to think that someone had so much love for this one made the heart of hers swell.  
  
Cracking his knuckles once more, he reached for the hilt of the blade, turning a face towards the girl to tell them that they were entering, catching the veil with a frown. He had been inspecting the layout of the cave; it shaped in a small little cutout circle, looking like it was either carved horribly or by some friction of the winds and waves. That was a possibility, since the water used to be so high around this area, the tree had once rested here and now that all laid down was the corpses of nothing. It was a sad fate for them to suffer, he knew it and he thought that she and the rest of Hyrule had it in their minds, although no one was ever looking out for anyone else anymore. He was this voice of reason; it was his mission to do this and show the people that they could care, that he cared and that that was all that mattered.  
  
"You all right, Nav'?" His lips whispered out, the blade in his right hand was shaking a little, the numbness was not there, he could feel the way the grip was tightening as those words leaked out.  
  
"I-I'm fine, Linky, I am just a little bit nervous about this, the ice that you touched is scaring me, so scared that something might happen to you." It was the Goddess honest truth, she couldn't deny it to him, the act of lying to him seemed like a sin, not that he was her God or anything, it was just a bad truth to be displayed.  
  
"Navi, you don't have to worry about that, I can me take of myself. Besides that, I feel the blade on me, I can actually feel it." He smiled at her with his teeth showing their beautiful shade of white, not too much to blind someone; just the pearly whites of Heaven were showing themselves.  
  
"That's what I am scared about!" It wasn't that he was going to be hurt, this one could take care of him, the fact that her place was disappearing, little by little!  
  
"I-Is that what scares you? Navi, Navi, you never have to worry about anything like that, m'love. I care for so much, you are still my guardian, the fact that I have grown up doesn't mean a thing to me, you are the only one that does, no one else compares." Groping her inside of his arms as he walked inside of the cave, that was where he was headed down into the overly lit room, nothing in the way as of yet.  
  
"Even more than Saria?" A nail was punctured in his chest, she knew that, but the only reason she said it was that the truth had to come out, if it didn't, then her mind would never be put to rest.  
  
"More than Saria?" Some thought was put into this, he really couldn't give a one way answer because there was no important way to explain this sort of things. He loved her, he truly did, but then there was Saria in the way, his only one, his one that was the first love of his dreams, the first kiss of his. Hadn't they shared kisses over the days, over the years and months that had been spent together, their kisses had never been anything like the ones with Saria. No, not that they weren't important, the fact was that each time they kisses, it was maybe as friends, or was it as more than that--friends didn't kiss. No, the only people that did that were the ones who loved each other, those groups were spent together, and the decision was just too hard to choose.  
  
The lights form overhead, the blue ice around here was shining with some brilliance that was like there were torches surrounding this room. Not an ounce of red ice was around as he wandered on, the question was still pondering his mind as the minutes went on, the first room they were in had no enemies, or so far. There his thoughts returned towards the girl he loved, and the one lost inside the time forever, who would change when this was all over, or simply vanish. How fate had drug them apart, no it wasn't at all the fate's part, this was the whole fault of the only man he had ever wanted to kill, that bastard Gerudo. All he knew was that Ganondorf would die, his life would be on a stake when this was all over, nothing could grant immortality, that was the honest truth.  
  
A stupid man, who would pay with his crimes with his life, there was nothing to suffice him, justice would sweep down with its cleaver held high into the ground. The judge would be none other than the Hero of Time; he would make that cheap bastard pay for whatever he had done and some that wasn't passed through. All the hate had built up over the time he had slept, maybe in his mind that he knew what was going to come, a precognition in the slumber. Anger was bad, it wasn't supposed to be used in most cases, though he thought the Gods agreed that the man should be punished, if anyone else, then maybe him. Smirking at the thought of that, there was no time for talk because talk was cheap and that wasn't what he wanted to display around anyone.  
  
Who cared if anyone ever came back, the dead didn't, so neither could the sages be returned to their normalize spots, his love would remain a lone guardian of that temple in the forest, never to leaves. Besides the fact, their races were so different that it scared him, while Navi could grow up, this one would remain a little child for the rest of her life. Races and races were different in the love triangle; the most logical choice had been Saria when he was a child, now it was no one, since she was a fairie. No actual way to make it seem like this, there was no way to make him a fairie--why would he --or to duplicate her into some sort of human. His love would not be as strong if any of their races were decided between the different ones, that are what made him love each of them was the vast differences.  
  
"I-I think so, I really do. But we can't figure this out now, we need to finish this stupid quest." Shivering, the coat was wrapped around him as he returned to the icy feeling, the power was starting to really disappear from him, not his little imagination, as her had been.  
  
"I agree, this shall be sorted out later on, when we take a vacation." She whispered the last part, knowing he heard it because his ears twitched--they always did that when picking up something far or almost silent.  
  
Shaking the bitter head to the left and right, Link's background kept changing the further and further in the cavern that they dwelt. It wasn't like that he was in a volcano, which was not what was meant by that phrase; it was a ridiculous one to conjure up in one's mind. At the same time it wasn't that bad, for they were dealing with a powerful magician that could in case people inside of sheets ice. Maybe that man could turn the environment into some sort of hologram for them, trying to scare the courage out of him, making him run home in fear. No, it was still a cold environment, just that now as he wandered through the lonely room, all that surrounded him were small blocks of ice, also some red ice to the left.  
  
Scrounging around the floor, eyes only beveled as the body stood straight up and watched, those eyes were looking for some sort of switch, or enemies. There was just no telling around here, the harsh bitter wind picking up from his sensitive ears, causing a shiver to blow down that spin of his. Holding his arms together, the sword dangling in the right hand, still gripping it in the fear of an ambush, the flames of fire had completely disappeared. That was just fine, the cap was strapped on and right now he wasn't freezing so he had that much to thank the old fish- sickle, it was probably a precaution incase you fell into the water. Yes, those were his thoughts when the wind suddenly was a lot bitterer, something coming towards him and someone throwing his self to the ground-- where he had stood was now frozen.  
  
-------------------  
  
Navi had not seen it soon enough to warn him, something had been wrong about this room, she just hadn't had the perplexity to notice it, as of yet. When that strong wind began to blow was when she shivered and those sensors began to go out of control, the internal one that said an enemy was around. A slight probe in the brain, information rolled in, then altered her all at the same time that a malicious aura surrounded something within the darkness--when it wasn't seen, that is. Her psychic abilities weren't very keen, though the power to sense out an enemy had been endowed towards the budding fairie. Nah, neither of them were geniuses in that area, though as the enemy came towards them, that didn't matter, all that did was taking care of her larger partner.  
  
On pure instinct, she pushed upon his body and knocked him to the ground, the thought of the icy wind had sent her on the fritz--it was getting closer. Yes, the thing was getting closer when he noticed that, really not all that strong, but adrenaline was a funny thing to play it, it fooled you sometimes. Grinning in silence at that thought, she pushed down on his body, hands clasping on a certain area that would make him fall like a freshly cut tree. There was a certain spot in the human form that could paralyze a person temporarily, she not going for the full force since he needed to fight, just enough to make him drop. If this weren't so frightening, it would have almost been sort of comical when that face smashed into a ground, hearing her scream and holding him down.  
  
When the wind passed over their ears, she glancing up and seeing that indeed the wind had to have a bit of ice into it, that passing over there heads. Comically staring in disbelief, she whirled around and caught the pasture of what was coming after them, trailing on what seemed like a train on its tracks. Whirling across the solid ground was just a stupid ice figurine dressed up like a person, except if that was a person then it was a midget in disguise. Some stupid guy that was going for a prank and would be punished by the stroke of a blade, the ice didn't seem too tough to get out. No, it couldn't be a human, or any other race, since the thing was see-through and no body was encased in that stupid thing, its mouth agape, still whistling out the ice.  
  
"Link, its some sort of ice statue!" She yelled into his ears, noticing he had flipped over and was gazing towards it, the sword now lying at his side, having clanged when knocked down.  
  
"I see, a statue. Hm, that explains the wind in the air, well, what shall we do about that, then? I've got it, let's finish that, then!" Grinning, the hand was going over towards his blade, prying with it in that sweet manner he held such things with, a nicely tuned away.  
  
"I dunno about that, sweetheart, you seem a little over confident and when that happens, usually trouble is behind it. Besides, it maybe too hard to hit!" She yelled back, knowing the sudden change would make her and his ears bleed; they were right by each other, yet it was a little doubtful.  
  
No speech was continued in his voice, the anger of having spent such precious time to be wasted on the account of some stupid little figure. Leaping up from his spot, a yell of fury was pierced in his throat, the sword held up in his right hand--having retrieved it right before the attack was initiated. Maneuvering towards the left, the thing didn't seem to have eyes- (just soulless sockets) it didn't notice, that was a good thing for his plan. Eyes of determination were blasted down towards that icy glare with the matching blue eyes, swinging the sword over towards that neck of the monsters. When it connected with that area right below the head, the small little species that was in the way was when he knew it was over, the battle was finished before it began.  
  
Moving like a samurai used too, he slide past the eager monster, appearing on the other side of him, quickly throwing the cape up and sheathing it in. Right when the clink of the blade hit down was the exact moment that the icy head slid off of his shoulders, settling down in the icy grave below. Skull clattered upon the ground, exploding down into a thousand pieces as a weird blue liquid leaked out of the head, patching down the floor around. As anyone's guess, it was blood that was coming out, the blood of the monster, or maybe the brain mass that had exploded from the Blade of Evil's Bane. That was it, for the thing soon defaulted itself and seemed to melt, wanting to get out of this world or maybe just this room since the form was of ice.  
  
"You okay?" He whispered out when it was all over, only a single block remaining in the way of here, his foot going down on it and smashing it into smithereens.  
  
"I'm fine, Link, let's just go." There was nothing more to say the cape had already flattered down from before, as she tucked herself down into and enjoyed the warmth of the fireproof cloak.  
  
There was nothing more to say, and Link ventured on through the darkness, blocks of ice as they came into a new room that surrounded the light reappearing. Clearing the stalagmites and stalagmites with the swish of his sword, they came down with a snap and slid down towards the side with no harm. These stupid things weren't harmful, not even alive or possessed, just a hazard from the sharp edges that could pierce a man through the chest if it were to hit them at that sort of angle. At first there was a fear of the things shattering and penetrating them with loose shards, but as soon as he struck it with his blade--or his foot on the last occasion--the thing just slid down on the ground, nothing ratcheting. Planted on the floor, each one was blocking the entrance to the newest room, which from the looks of things was just being covered with torches, the brightest room that he had seen so far.  
  
Taking a few steps forward, the shards he smashed between the hilt of his toes, was when a shiver went up his spine, the tinkle of coldness in his bitter self. Gripping the sword as he settled past those shards, the precognition was out of his mind, that just simplifying the matter of fact that something bad was gonna happen. Always did, there some good moments around here, most of the time just the bitterness of the situation, usually more of less of a lie. All he would do was hope that nothing happened when he went inside, grope for the reality of everything would be okay, that usually calmed him down a lot. Grappling through the entrance, he stared forward into the brighter room, seeing there were no torches, but a giant skylight that lit up the entire room.  
  
"Oh no!" He whispered out and Navi couldn't even speak as they stared around at maybe the frozen man's siblings, which wanted some sort of revenge. The ground below them was different now, a little bit of a bluish color, but that was the least of his worries, and those things were about ten or maybe a dozen. A silent groan echoed through his mind, about to step upon the ground and charge in blind when he noticed that they weren't even coming towards him. Standing in the beginning of room made the duo a sitting duck, more than him than anyone else, it was the fact of the matter that they were standing at different parts of the room, exploring. Also was a straight line down the middle, yes, there was a clear path for him to run at, if he could catch himself and make it all the way, then there was a door to another room waiting for him (not actually a door, but a cave entrance.)  
  
Taking a few steps into the room, his feet were caught up below him, the sword dangling off towards the left and clattering on the ground. Wisps of wind had been in the room--how they breathe--but now they caught up in a panic-filled sigh and spun around towards him. As slow as these guys went, it would take them a while to go, though as he stared at them with the fear blasting in his face, his partner knew that they would arrive first. Caterpillar tracks were left in the ground as they embraced them self around, most of them sort of turning their entire bodies like a spine- less jellyfish. Who could you blame when they were made of ice, of course no spines was in there, this was just like the bubbles, except instead of liquid water, it was solid water.  
  
Before he could take off in a panic, grappling the sword before they would reach him, he felt a pressure on his back and realized the ground below had been slippery. With more speculation, a glance backward gave him the image of Navi pushing on his back, or so he thought since he couldn't see far that back. No way his head could spin around, though he very well imagined that theirs could, it was the simple fact of the matter that his spin was in the way. Thanking the Gods for believing him to be a vertebra, it had some bad possibilities, but left him with the fact of the matter that he could have looked like them. Well, all he knew was that his body was moving (sitting Indian-style on the ground), butt dragging across the ice and sort of likes a small puck.  
  
Sliding harder and harder upon the ground, he noticed the end was coming up, so that was when he reached for his sword. Up until the drag on he had kept the thing close to him, it leaving scratch marks on the icy floor, but now he slammed it into the ground, planting it. Coming to a haut right before the ending of the room, which he would of fallen and been thrown off of course, that was when it came to a stop. Grinning at the sudden change of luck, there was no chance in getting up here, so he just crawled onto the solid land, a nicely shaped cavern in the way. Nodding at the power of getting up, the heavy breathing of Navi reminded him she wasn't left behind, so on through the darkness he went.  
  
Wandering through a few more rooms proved nothing of interest, this wasn't exactly part of the temple and both of them knew it. A sigh of relief and one of fury were inside of his mind, sort of glad there was no temple or bad maze to go about, though the time wasted was just stupid. Yes, everything was spoiled and he hoped that they acquired this stupid fire, or he wouldn't even bother un-melting that man from his sleep. Everything was out of control, nothing going his way--of course it was usually like that-- anything could be like that for even the strongest of people in the world. Nothing was worse than wasting time and as the thing went on, not even a hidden door to wonder about, it was wondered what could be here and what was not.  
  
Nothing was around here that would signify this was a temple, or a dungeon for that matter, since besides the enemies that they had passed up, there was nothing. A better rephrasing of that would this situation had to be confirmed that the monsters weren't even repeating they after a while, just gone. Each one could easily be passed up; ruthless to the matter that anything happening wouldn't affect either one of the two of them. Or, if in contact with one of them, Link found that dodging the ice was so quick and easy, slicing them down even proved to is a simple task--smashing some of the others. Repetitions were not a usual thing to happen, the ice figures the only enemies in here, that only youma trapped inside of the ice monsters.  
  
At long last, he came upon an area where there was nothing to happen upon, only a single room with a block inside of here, the switch in place. The ice was not dragging in this room as it had been in any of the others, just not in the way for anyone to see what was going on. Steps were taken into the room, suspecting some traps and disappointed when there was nothing to see except the idiotic switch in the center of the place. Whatever fool had a trial and made the decision to put this here was either making the ultimate trap, or maybe retards were allowed around here and this had to be a center for them. Walking towards the switch, move of a puzzle on the mind, he was holding his hands behind his back, that sword dragging across the ground.  
  
"This must be a way out." He whispered in a toned little voice, that hand uncurling from his back and raising the sword, tapping on the switch-- nothing happened, so he figured it was safe.  
  
"It seems safe, but how do we open it?" A single blue button was sitting there, the thing marked with the insignia of a snow-flake, representing that thing that had fallen on him about an hour and a half ago, seeming longer.  
  
Laying his hands on top of the switch, the sword perplexed between strong fingers, the boy pushed with all his might, amazement to see it budged. No, it wasn't rusted like the ones inside of the Temple of Fire, just seemed a little odder, sort of like it was made of something besides iron. That was when he realized that it wasn't like anything he had seen before, the thing sinking inside, and water clogging around that small switch. Yes, it was clear as the air could be the oxygen in the sky and even the gravity that held them down, sort of like a boggle switch applied pressure too, popping with marbles throwing about. A weird paradox to think about though right now as something opened to his right side, that wasn't the least of his worries, at this moment.  
  
It seemed that the Ice Cavern wasn't as big as it had been upon the first glance, for when they peered into the next area, and last from the look of things, it seemed to be over. A lone room with nothing of any interest in here, his eyes were about to turn around and leave this place--empty handed- -when he noticed it. Grayish in color, the thing was some sort of mantle piece that used to hang somewhere or something out of a graveyard that a gravedigger had replenished. Yes, this was the fact because infront of them was a small pedestal, the little tombstone had embedded on it the picture of flames on the very top. Not just that, on the top of the flames, or colored in all around was blue, maybe showing that this was not just any fire, it was the legendary Blue Fire that they had been seeking.  
  
"Shall I touch?" He whispered as sort of a rhetorical question, his mind giving him the permission and that was where those hands felt upon the flames.  
  
"Yes you shall, let me as well." Her hands went towards the flame and as she placed them on the flames, pressing those fingers against hers, that was when the chill pressed through her body.  
  
This feeling, something is awakening! Link made a long and winded breath of fresh air out of his lips, hitting Navi in the face, though she didn't seem to notice since the same things were boiling through her. He didn't know how she felt at this particular moment, but he wasn't feeling as hot as he could, it was all boiling down to that last moment. Groping fingers aligned around that stupid stone, feeling it crack under his weight, as it seemed to do that, but when the thing exploded, he was still floating in the air. All in his mind was all that the thought sparked about; there was no way he was floating, that was just against the laws of physics. A shiver of pleasure was going through his body, almost like pleasure and pain were signified at the same time, the good feeling overwhelming the bad.  
  
Against her own will, she wished she wouldn't have laid a hand on there, now the regret was mixed with the satisfaction that it was there. The same emotions were flowing through her body, that voice was not there, it was just screaming down inside of her mind, though it wasn't the bad voice. This was the voice of a good person, maybe the Goddesses and told them that this was the right thing to do, but not give into the love. She couldn't even remember why she touched it, or for that matter why he did it, what did they plan to accomplish with the simple fingers tracing on there. What she was sure of had to be that this was going to give them something, maybe allow them to summon blue fire, or put them inside their graves--it was hopeless to let go.  
  
Eyes of both of them had shut tight, but if they were a wide, then each of them could of glanced and see that the tombstone was starting to light it self up. Link had not been imagining anything when the crack came upon, it was appearing and within a few minutes the thing would break down. It hadn't, however, exploded and he floating, that was just something that wasn't possible, giving the rest of that as simply a mirage. Yes, the thing was shimmering a beautiful blue; it was broiling as fast as it could, the most part of it that was brightest had to be that little one of the fire. Higher and higher they got, it was appearing that something was happening, this thing would either quit within the allotted time or blow itself to smithereens.  
  
The first happened, a huge crack melting down the center and the thing breaking into two evenly separate pieces, each one sliding down towards the ground and disappearing. Each piece was now out of sight when they both collapsed from the ground and something appeared by the two of them, too tired to even notice. It was sad, you know it was, though as the unconsciousness went out of each of them, a single eye was shown for the face of them. Whoever this was, they could tell that familiarity was with both of them, the arms embracing them and holding tight to the one with the white suit on. That attire seemed familiar, the scent did even and as they disappeared into dreamland, no one could be placed since their minds were on the fritz.  
  
-------------------  
  
Bright light flooded into his eyes, a deep voice is what sounded him awake, a groan escaping from those lips that caused him to cover his ears. Ears felt like they were bleeding and whoever had done this too him, he just knew they were going to be asking for trouble of their own. Never did it occur to him that he was somewhere new, somewhere that didn't have the Ice Cavern, his mind wasn't that focused yet. Nope, it wouldn't be for quite some time, the only thing that was there had to be his lack of sleep, the power of returning strength and that the pain from the fire was gone, so long gone not even a tinge was there. Whoever was speaking, they were either close-up, away from the person with a loud voice, or close to a person with a very, very loud voice!  
  
"Young hero! Awaken from your slumber!" The voice rumbled through his ears, knowing good well that this male voice was close up, and the vibration bouncing off of his ears and reflecting back.  
  
"Holy Farore, shut up! Who is this, anyway?" Eyes peered open and settled on him was a blue figure that stood over a brooding feet tall, the face of a fish in view and he was already cursing himself, too paralyzed to move. "O-oh, great King of the Zoras, I am s-so sorry, if I was not stuck here, I would beg forgiveness."  
  
"Ah-ha, it is all right, young hero. Thanks to you I am back to my old self." A chuckle entered his train of mouth and that was when he picked up the young boy and held him, in a giant embrace, pressing against the hero. Yes, he was held in a giant hug for a few minutes before the man looked at him and sat the boy down next on the pedestal where he talked to his subjects. When he was sat down, he didn't notice anything around him since the hero couldn't move his head, only saw that the man was starting to murmur. Whispering a few thoughts in the Zorian language, a small little sprinkle fell around the boy's body, he didn't know what it was, but it felt nice. An enchanted feeling over fell him as the whispering stopped, the hero turning to the side and seeing Navi was right at his side, sleeping.  
  
What happened was an old prayer of the Zoras, ones that healed people once they were hurt, not beyond a mortal wound, just a simple one? Link had been drained all of his power to receive the legendary fire of the aquamarine race, it was a special area and usually ones life was drained to death. Fortunately for him, Navi had grabbed on and only half of the power was sucked from both of them, usually would have been paralyzed for about a week. Even that prayer worked wonders and they were healed, they did need the power to get out of here or something bad would happen, he felt that a week after this time that the entire world of the Zoras would be destroyed. Call it paranoia, or anything you wanted, that was just how the old King had felt, especially once that nice little gentleman woke him up.  
  
"N-navi? What's wrong with her, King?" He whispered through small lips, not knowing his name, but it didn't seem to matter as fingers stroked upon the beautiful body of Navi, she not awakening.  
  
"She will over time, she had had less sleep than you so her power will awaken within a few minutes, just be patient." Chuckling with the thought of how he cared, the somber old man was worried, worried more than anything about one that he loved, one he cared for.  
  
"You said I saved you? I passed out, I don't remember that." It was true the last thing he remembered was touching that stone, everything else was a blank, something had happened, just that the thing was gone from his mind.  
  
"Oh, not you, but.you sort of did. A young man with blonde hair brought you to me a few hours ago, he touched me with your hand and I see you absorbed the blue fire, so I was awoken. After that, he said he was late for some business and would be going, and just as fast as I had ever seen, he was gone. This person was even faster than most of my swimmers are--or used to be." Sadness was toned in his voice; the voice of a man who had lost everything and it was true, his family was gone, his friends, and even his kingdom was destroyed.  
  
"Sheik must have done it." Navi's speech suddenly peeped out of her mind, looking over towards the two of them, and then he was embraced by a young boy and held together by the hands.  
  
"Oh, Navi, you are awake!" She had awakened so much more than expected he was just staring at her with those eyes widened and kissing at her with lips pushed against those of hers. "Why did you touch it, you shouldn't have, if you hadn't, then you wouldn't of been passed out, only me."  
  
"That isn't the case, young hero. If the girl hadn't interfered then you would have been dead; none of my men have the fire of darkness, because each one could never ever think of taking partners around. You should be glad this girl cares so much for you to sacrifice half of her life for yours, I think the fire shouldn't be dubbed the darkness fire if more people like you were to possess it. Of course now that the fire is taken, then we can't ever receive it again--a present from Naryu for our beauty here, but we failed her so it belongs to the hero now." Chuckling, there was no sadness in his voice at this, the fire wasn't really an important thing to have around, there was no more red ice, except for Ganon's curse.  
  
"Well, then thank you Navi." A smile beamed his lips, taking her inside of his hands and pulling her up where his body was, that was where their lips rubbed against each other.  
  
"You are welcome, sweetheart, I wouldn't mind doing it again." Giggling, she pressed against the young boy, receiving his kisses, between the two of them, neither was scared of what the King said or thought.  
  
"Mm, save the romance for later, you two. I have a present for the two of you." A blush was added to their faces as they watched the man go into another one of his chants, this one much quicker and simpler. When his hands opened up was where the vest fell down, the blueness of the tunic made the enchantment in Link brighten up. Just like the one from before, he held one tunic in his hand, while a small bag of dust was in his right hand, the two of them seeming to brighten at the thought of it. Dust, just like the other way, then that meant the only thing that they could conjure up, it was the same all around here as always was. The simply laced tunic was that matching the one on his body, except it was blue where the other one had been red and his current one was turquoise.  
  
"The Zora Tunic and dust, the dust is for her?" Link hinted towards Navi, whom was sitting on his shoulder, uncovered, and that seemed the blue fire had ever kept the cold from getting to them again.  
  
"Yes, this is brushed from the very scales of a Zora, it indicates the gills whoever it is sprinkled on and shall change her back to her old self, I can see her veil is a different colour." Chuckling, the older King threw them down towards the boy, he catching them with accuracy and there he watched the hero prepare himself.  
  
Throwing off his old tunic, it went inside of his backpack, there in the undershirt he pulled out the tunic and slipped it around his body. Fitting with no snugness, just the simple lock, that was tied down and there the dust was pulled from the bag, he pointing for Navi to get down towards him. When she was over towards him, he took out a little of the sparkling dust-- this time it was blue--the other time it had been a ruby, he thought. Whichever was fine, and there he made her shut her eyes so none got in her eyes, the sprinkling of the Zora gills was pulled all around her body. How disgusting it seemed to have the dead gills on them, it wasn't so bad since he had one inside his body, no it was just the simple matter of life that they had to accept with open arms.  
  
What the King of Zoras had said was she would revert to her old self, the timing of her shrinking had appeared in her mind, though it had to be done. When the stuff was sparkled around her, she began to not shrink, but grow a bit bigger, the aura flaring around her body was also changing. Maybe what he meant was her aura colour, she supposed so because the blue was now reappearing to its original state, reverting back to the old self. As she grew a little bigger, the veil got even larger and a bit lighter shade of blue when the sparkles finally stopped, him using the whole bag on her, because who knew how much was needed. Now the fact being was that who knew how much, because one thing was that this was supposed to last forever--or however long they were going to be inside that stupid Water Temple.  
  
"You've grown, Nav'! Was that supposed to happen, King?" It was true and from an approximate view she had been five and a half inches tall before this, now measuring in at a total of seven inches.  
  
"N-no, it was just supposed to make her revert her aura and make her breathe under water, but she does seem to have grown, has she, young hero? Should I revert her back?" He knew who this was, he knew all about the Kokiiri and everything there, it seemed that it had been a false statement he hadn't known about, the fairie also was smaller.  
  
"Of course not!" Both of them shouted out at the same time, staring at the intermission between them then both looked down at the ground and giggled nervously, blushes reappearing.  
  
"Oh, I see you want her bigger." Chuckling a little, he nodded and watched how the two of them acted, then his mind was back in motion and he gasped with some embarrassment, pulling out a slip, and throwing it out towards the young boy. "I almost forgot, that young man that you named as Shiek, he left you a small little song in some notes, I don't how to read it, but you might."  
  
Catching the note down inside of his hands, the crumpled ball was put up and there he undone it and took out his own little ocarina. It was ready, because he knew a transportation song was here, it just had to be, since neither of them knew where that stupid little Water Temple was. Looking at the note, it was spoke out as simply the Serenade of Water, the title that was written at the top, Shiek's signature below the scale. There was sadness to the song, it was a beautiful one but gave out a somber tone that only ones loved to hear when they were in a blue mood. Nevertheless, he took out a pen and wrote it down on the stationary with his other songs, throwing the other sheet aside into the water when it was done, not needing to practice this one (it was simple.)  
  
"Shiek, the Serenade of Water, I see that is another song. King, do you know where the legendary Water Temple is?" He just had to know, either if he didn't, then they would play the song and disappear to the new place, which was what Navi inspected when she questioned him.  
  
"The Water Temple? Oh, you mean the Aqua Shrine, well there was an entrance to it, in Lake Hylia used to be, but the thing is sealed up now, so you'd have to ride out there. I think that's where the princess--if she is still around--said she was going to go." As much as he wanted to hate himself to say that, it was the simple fact that Ruto was probably dead now, she was not around on this world, he the lone race left.  
  
"It is, eh. The Serenade may work, Link." Link was nodding, listening to the two of them, then when he mentioned that the girl was probably or not alive, his eyes seemed to connect, or dilate.  
  
"She's alive, King." He whispered out, shaking that head a little and confirming himself in the statement, his eyes going back towards their normal self. "Ruto is alive, I don't know where, but her presence isn't here or dead."  
  
"How can you know, hero?" The King blurted out in a worried tone, but not just that sort of mood that gave off, there was a sort of anger that would displayed towards the boy if he was just pulling his leg, as some of the old Zora's used to say when joking around.  
  
Shrugging a simple shoulder, there was nothing he could say, Link was baffled that he knew, since he could have never sensed if a person was alive or not. A matter of transfixion mixed with the simple fact of luck, the laugh of dismissal was just swirling through his mind, and maybe thinking it was a fault. At the same time he knew that the fault was the truth, that this something was not wrong with her, she was just trapped inside the Water Temple, or simply wandering around there. Maybe he was just fooling himself into making a better impression on the King, or trying to sooth the pain in both of their hearts from a loss of a friend. A daughter of his gone, the entire race disappeared and for some reason he knew that she was alive and couldn't explain why, it was a sad world for Link.  
  
The King was angered by the news of his daughter being found and nothing to be done about it, or the whereabouts of her not even any. Of course one would be pissed after the events of everything, he the only person of his race left after being exterminated by Ganondorf. The other races had suffered their casualties and fatalities, but none had been completely wiped out, as was supposed to happen, there were always some who survived the event and were able to live on. Now, as time would see, nothing was to stop him from dying alone on his deathbed, nothing to take the place of something to give birth too. Now the fact of Ruto being alive made a spark in his step since his daughter was alive, she would be able to make the race live on and give him comfort in old age!  
  
When inspected that it was unknown where she was, of course he would have been mad, if anything, he was angrier that the last of the race was missing. Being selfish was a quality of his, he wanted the Fish-men to live on and the only way of that was to let Ruto live out of the family, have children with a Hylian. A weird thought, it had happened before, but who knew what she could attract with the teenage beauty in her, the rouging hounds would be around the doors. They were, by no means, an ugly race and the most beautiful woman was left of them, of course she was going to live on and keep everything going. Anger was in his voice when he stared towards the boy and bellowed out that he demanded where his daughter was, she was his only pride and joy!  
  
"You don't know! If you know she's alive, you must have seen her!" There was no possible way that none of this could have happened without the sights to be used, the man wasn't as stupid as he looked.  
  
Just bowing his head towards the ground, the kid couldn't say anything, just shuffling the ground below him, and staring off towards the water, the ice seeming to reflect his image.  
  
"You don't know? I can't believe that." Sighing deeply, the anger fixing through his body, it was unknown what would happen, the possibilities were just so endless in pursuit.  
  
Expecting some sort of punishment for his disobedience for his actions, the boy was just cowering in a little bit of fear for his live. How was he supposed to know what would happen, never had such a situation been placed down on this young man's shoulders, still just a boy. A daughter and a father had a very special bond--or so he heard--and if it was anything what he felt with Saria and Navi, he knew he would be de-headed. Just to think of being killed why on the way to save the girl and protect someone else, it was a funny world, if he wasn't killed than a beating was obviously in order for any bad manners he showed. Yes, he was ready to accept whatever punishment when something measuring in as a dozen or so inches appeared before him, speaking out in his defense.  
  
"Lord, he is not lying about this, he can sense auras with his mind, their energy." So hard to explain to one whom was never summoned in the presence of the Great Fairy, but the truth of the matter was he knew some magical spells.  
  
"He is telling the truth, how does he sense auras?" He whispered through a hushed breath and stared off to the side for his anger to supress, it was his daughter and that would have to wait until after the story.  
  
"It is strange, but he can sense the auras of people, while I can see the detection of monsters, maybe a power we picked up from the Great Fairies as kids." Shrugging a shoulder, since there was no real way to explain it, al that could be said was that everything was different in this sort of world. "If he says she is alive, then she truly is."  
  
"I shall buy it, I will bid you farewell for now, go to the Water Temple and try to find my daughter, if you don't I shall not find it against you, young hero." A clearing through his throat made both of trembles from the after all, then something popping into his mind as he nodded and spoke aloud for once more. "One more thing, that boy whom you described as Shiek told me to tell you that when you reached the end of your destination there would be a gift for you, I have no idea what it means, but it seems fun to work out."  
  
"Fun." Link closed his eyes and stepped from the pedestal, gathering up the pack he had dropped to take on his tunic, there he stashed inside the cape and the old green tunic. With both inside, the cold air wasn't affecting him, plus the thing did mess up his accuracy at drawing his sword, a fatal mistake when in danger. Walking out of the newly melted room, well only the King, his thoughts weren't pressing on anything in the making, just where this was supposed to transport him. Now standing at the top of the slide, not even going to slide down, the only part to recollect was how to play it out and hope he wasn't inside the water. Being there would be risky at first, I mean who kept all that stuff for him, or made the water from escaping inside his eyes and nose because of a piece of cloth?  
  
Hands laced behind his back, reaching at the far side of the backpack and pulling out what he wanted, actually two items of the musical sense were there. Flaring out that stupid little tune that he had wanted to be taught to by Shiek, the disappointment of not hearing it with that sense of his kind of upset him in a way he couldn't explain. A musical harp was probably in his mind, when hearing a tune that meant something sparked and was able to conjure it up inside that small instrument. When his master did it--he didn't refer to him as that by name--it was easier to follow along, the notes slid out when that beautiful harp strung itself at all once. As they came to his lips, a glance on his shoulder revealed she was just resting there, not asleep, eyes sort of drooping for the once in a while.  
  
"Go to sleep." He murmured out, searching out those notes and assigning them the positions on the ocarina that showed him where to go when the time to play came about.  
  
"Sleep? I can't do that, you may need some sleep." She whispered in a hush voice, in case that fish (who apparently had no ears) was listening into the conversation of theirs.  
  
"Hey, hey, it will take a while to do it. I am sure I am going to have to walk a while until I come upon something that I can find the entrance to the Temple, you don't have to sleep long, just go on." A few minutes of silence had approached him, so when he stared over towards her the slumber was in her, resting on the collar of the shirt, using it as a cover like she always did. Chuckling a little bit, he wandered a bit farther from the door, coming against the edge of wall with a back pressed up against it, staring downward. With the small of his back rubbing against the icy walls kept themselves against him, not an inch of shivers were swallowing down his back. It really was something of an amateur hero if you couldn't withstand the cold, not knowing if he was a hero of not in this time, just that nothing hardly affected him. By the end of the journey, I can bet I won't even be able to be killed, a chuckle was appearing down inside of his heart, a feeling in the pit of his gut was showing itself off. How much had come about since this journey was around, how was everything and who had died and survived these past seven years.  
  
Reliving that everyone around him was mostly alive; the ones that were the most important had been spared the torture of the situation. Less important ones, rivals, and just general people that he didn't believe in to be around had been killed, or murdered off with the stroke of something. How sad it was to say that the less people of this important world had been killed, was there anything that he could of spoke without seeming cruel? No, everything else would of b been worse, there was no way to be good in this sort of thing, the matter of the fact that two of his best friends had been snatched from him, not dead, though. Well, fishing that sheet back inside of his sack, he just held the ocarina in the air, ready to receive what kind of gift that this weird Shiek presented. With those ocarina pushed against his lips, licking upon the dry skin above him, that was where he stared off towards the side, grinning.  
  
Sobering up some of the wind inside of his mouth, not at all dry as if would have been without the infinite heating powers in the core of him. With that in mind, the tune of the serenade blew upon and whispered into the ocarina, the tune going as quick as it had come. Feeling the sudden feeling he was going to he transported, a hand went to his fairie and held onto her--always afraid it would transport him only, since he was playing the song. A ridiculous action, since all of his weapons and everything on him was blurred around with him; it could have just been a small ruse in his mind to stroke the young girl at any given time. Blue was around his body, red, yellow, and green had been the other transports of the spells from before, nothing mattered when everything washed around him and his form was gone.  
  
-------------------  
  
Sunlight blinded into those open pours, never falling asleep, it was always the same since he never took within the allotted time to get here. A few seconds passed within each time he would leave, never seeing when he was gone, just where he appeared in the way. No, keeping your eyes open didn't work, he had closed his eyes the first few times he had done it, keeping them open one time, the result the same. Darkness just flooded over your eyes, like when all the candles go out in a house, it doesn't matter if they are open or closed, and the matter remains. Now, the birds tweeted and everything boiled over that he knew the fact of the matter that nothing was changing was remained he had transported inside of Lake Hylia. A beautiful country, this Hyrule was, it had everything along with a lake, a forest, rivers, domains, cities, castles, and even a great desert. It was wonderful how everything piled together in one sign of tranquility, how much it cared for another and kept itself together, despite the vast races. Each one had a bunch of differences, each was hated or despised another, while others loved and respected each other. A part of a Great Circle of Life, this thing was wonderful seven years ago, and then the time when that evil injustice from the desert arrived, maundering and raping the once- purified land. As the two of them stared at the land, there was something wrong and not just the wrong that can be fixed, it had to do with the water levels.  
  
Usually lush and wondrous, sometimes the entire place of the Hylia would overflow and cause a few floods when the rain was too high. Always they were minor and could be cured by simply building a temporary dam for the place, never had anyone died from such stupidity. However, now there was no amount of small water that could refill this once full lake, it was down to its middle-region with the water. With a groan, inspection was revealed the water was not just a different level, it was also somewhat of a contaminated stance to it, the other had been crystal blue and able to see through with no harm. Upon now it was a deep and sickly green, like the sea labeled in the tales and if anything lived down their to previous knowledge, it was long dead from the smell that overflowed.  
  
Burning both of their nostrils was what it had done, not smelling at all as how the liquids from the sea sniffed like, this was a different scent. Maybe it had to be something had drowned to death, he couldn't tell, but if that was so then maybe a thousand bodies were piled in here. Death was what was in the air, he thought, but it was not the same time when you saw a rotting corpse on the ground, this one couldn't be described. Almost feeling like backing away from the stuff, there was no turning back, he had to hope when they got incased in the water that this tunic kicked in and blocked off all those foul smells. If not then his own body would be the first person to throw up under water, a very sickly site when the bile was rising instead of the usual falling down.  
  
"Nav' what is that!" A hand was placed over his nose, gagging from the sudden awareness and sitting down where he had landed, it was another one of those platforms with the symbol of water on it.  
  
Wait a minute, she's asleep. I don't want to wake her or anything, not until we get out inside that stupid Temple, then I will need here with me. After this, he checked to see if he had woken up the sleeping angel, she still tucked right there and he blew a sigh out of his lips. When the sigh was gone, the smell had started to adjust to him, not feeling so bad as the long time of five minutes came and went within a blast. Yes, that was good because as the silence faltered on and five turned into fifteen of those sixty second turns everything was starting to adjust to it. Thanking the Goddesses he didn't over do it, a relief washed over his body as he looked around the landfill--the only word for it now--for something. The King had spoken of a certain present that was left by that man Shiek; it was nothing that he particularly wanted, at the same time craving for a gift for all his hard work.  
  
Leaning he back a bit, something thumped against his rump, and he spun around in fury (sure that some sort of monster had preyed on him.) All he was left with was a pair of boots, these sort of like the ones he wore, except there was something on the end of them, it was hardened. What he thought was that maybe this was a gift, but what was he supposed to do with boots that had those heavy weights upon them. About to dismiss them as a stupid farmer's, there was a small little note on it, curled up into two equal sheets, a small little sign on the one revealed to him, one he knew all to well. The bloody eye, the tear streaming down, and all those other marks revealed that it was the man who had trained him, so grabbing it, he peeled it open.  
  
Hm, what could he have left instructions for these boots or something? Groaning as he tore the sheet in half and ripped open the new letter, his thoughts were reconciled that this was indeed used for his quest. Shiek directed that to get down to the temple--explaining where it was if he didn't know--would require this boy to use the Zora Tunic and that melody to get down here, but there was another one. To get down in the temple he would need those boots; they weighed exactly two tons and would converse with his weight, meaning as much as he could lift. At first he was propelled at being about to lift that much, he hoped they did converse and were able to fight around with those on. Sinking him down, those shoes kept him down and when he wanted to take them off, all he had to do was think it, knowing confused how boy would he, the last of the letter said to just try them on with his own Kokiiri boots on.  
  
Crumbling and throwing the paper aside, into the nearby water, he looked over at the boots and did exactly what the man had expected in the letter. Slipping his own boots down inside of the shoes, he was refilled with a strong pulse of animosity, the boots seeming to blend in with his own. Blinking in confusion, the iron ones were starting to disappear while the Kokiiri were going through the new ones and just sucking them in. When it was all over, the other ones had been absorbed into the other ones, and he realized just like the tunics and chain mails, it was the exact same thing. A small little smile was placing his lips as he thought of the iron boots, a clanking sound making him jump and staring down to see they were there-- thinking of his other boots, they returned and the thought process was over, it was time to venture into the beyond.  
  
Taking a chance for a running start, he looked down below and saw that the water was just enough for him to go, the dive he hoped the scale protected against, like when making the dive long ago, it was shorter. Leaping forward the following feet, he was holding himself together when diving inside of the water was just as beautiful as a Zora, hands held together as going down. Feeling the intense pressure hit him, lungs starting to feel with the oxygen and hydrogen combination; he felt he would die when a click appeared. Staring around, standing below on the ocean floor, no temple in sight, eyes blinked themselves open and revealed the surroundings about. Stomping a foot on the ground also showed he could hear things, relishing in them that it was just fine and dandy for this little tunic, believing in anything that happened now, he was actually breathing underwater!  
  
Not attempting to take out his sword, since the slow motion of waving it made him feel distracted, he reached down and pulled out the Hookshot. Shooting it forward, the thing actually did go fast, not even water pressure held it back, so that was good enough as he took off in the northward direction for the temple. Keeping the hook with the shot placed in his right hand, he ran along towards the temple, it coming into view after about ten minutes of tracing. It wasn't that big, not even able to describe it since some weird grate boarded up the thing, everything around was a small symbol of Zoras and old hassles. When at last near the gate, a pull on the grate revealed there was nothing here, I mean no way to actually get inside this stupid dungeon without killing himself to blow up this gate.  
  
"How about you hit the small mark at the top." A voice whispered from the side of him, a small little voice that had a sleepy look in the tone of it, he not able to place the voice at first, until he did.  
  
"Navi, you are up! W-we can talk under here?" Two surprises at once, his mouth had some sort of block over it that kept the water from going down and sinking into his lungs, killing him, and Navi was awake!  
  
"Mm, I've been up for a few minutes now, the pressure of walking woke me up, it isn't easy to sleep when you're ears are popping themselves off. But back to the matter, you should hit that little white thing above us, I think it's a target of some sort." She whispered out, the words even catching to him, he taking a glance forward and seeing indeed there was this large seven foot thing that looked almost like a dead fish, sticking out of a socket and even looking loose.  
  
Nodding at a silent stance for her, the boy held the right hand up and aimed right for the target, going for the dead center, instead of a weak edge. A weakened end may have been a better one, but he didn't go for that, releasing the trigger to slam down inside of the center now. Almost expecting it to slide in and stick, that hook just knocked it off and watched as the thing slid out of the slot and began to open itself up, revealing to the top that it floated and stayed there, probably remaining all eternity. Creaking sounds attracted them both, staring down at the gate as rust arose from something that had obviously been closed for a while, the whirling sounding as machinery was rising the large gate to its post. Stopping at the very top, the entrance to the Water Temple was officially open and as he got ready to walk in, the familiar phrase arose to his ears.  
  
"You ready?" She whispered, sitting on his shoulder now and adjusting herself down to the water, the ears of both of theirs had stopped popping themselves, water level the same.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be." Chuckling between the inside joke, he knew that anyone around here wouldn't have understood this joke unless someone had graphed their adventures in a journal or something, or maybe a person spying on them with a novel in hand.  
  
Running a hand over her, stroking the larger girl, the size was quite an improvement when the kisses were sweeter at now, yes, more intense. As the thoughts of that boiled themselves over, he decided it was now time to defeat this place, get ready and conquer everything around there. This Temple had a dangerous monster, harder than even that best Phantom of Ganondorf and the dragon of the dark, each were very formidable. He could do it, though, he just knew it, there was no doubt about it and as he walked towards the temple, appearing down inside of the area where he couldn't sink through. Thinking of the old boots, he was floating against the ceiling of the entrance, now swimming through the water and sliding through the darkness, knowing he'd need these some of the time.  
  
Indeed, it seemed he did need that thing, he did not need the boots at this initial practice when floating now because they were floating to the top. The first room wasn't really a room; it was just a block that was filled with water, the top leading to the main room to this new little place. When they were underwater, the veil of Navi was around her body so it showed she just needed it on to breathe, not even placed on that small little face of hers. A good thing, to cover it would be a sin, was what he thought when swimming up towards the end, his swimming had also improved over the years, never taking any advanced lessons. As he floated to the top, pulling up all the way and staring over the edge, gasping in surprise as he was now over the edge and in utter amazement at the newest room, it really was something.  
  
Sitting on the edge, he gasped in amazement of the room, filled with wonder as they were on the top floor of a three-story temple, rooms sitting in every direction. The shape of this place was a thick square, there a large pillar in the center of the room that went down all the way, all the way to the end, each side of every floor had a room on them, most of them locked with keys or sealed with gates. This pillar that sat in the center could be climbed on, since the fact was that the stupid thing had a small connecting bridge on the square-shaped platform, so it could be climbed. He wasn't attempting the long jump--even though he could make it--the point was that those signs on it mesmerized him. Symbols were all around the door, it was quite a sight for the ages, no doors adorning the place--at least on this size--his main focus was not even placed on there, somewhere else.  
  
"Link, look below." Yes, she spoke up and with utter fascination there was nothing to describe the sight that beheld them on the second and first floors.  
  
Okay, so on the first floor was as dry, and a stare up revealed that indeed there wasn't another hidden floor, but below was a different story. The second and third floors were submerged in water, so clean and wishful that it made the others seem nasty to the touch, even the old ones. Waters from before had been lush and before, now the temple water--which he guessed had been sealed centuries from before was better. Lake Hylia's original liquids weren't even this good, they were just a stupid little thing in comparison of the temple water, fresh was ever. A chuckle was given, knowing that the best thing to do was start from the first level and make their way up, down the water they were going to go.  
  
"Where do you think we should start at, Nav'?" His mind was made up, he just wanted a second opinion and the wisest person to ask was his very own partner, her tactical sense was greater than his was.  
  
"The bottom, of course." A chuckle escaped from her and she nodded, her eyesight was looking below and towards the right was where she could see an entrance. Something down there was opened up, and she just knew it, the presence of enemies weren't around, she thinking that maybe this would be just like the Fire Temple from a few weeks ago. Hm, she took this time to spin around and felt a few more doors were open, but nothing as good as this, there was the aura of a person alive down there. She couldn't explain it, the life force was just down there and she knew that Link had known this, not able to distinguish just whom it was in the water below. This one had to be able to breathe water, have a tunic, or some sort of scientific equipment that made them invulnerable to the water below and the pressure.  
  
"I was thinking the same thing, I just wanted another voice in this." There he nodded towards her and let her get under his hat--as not to get lost--diving down into the water below, thinking of the boots and sinking. Entirely no use in trying to swim below, he could only swim six meters before he had to go back up and relieve his muscles, a weak swimmer, which was for sure, maybe more since he had gotten older. Scrounging the seas wasn't something for him, the forest was a much better place he would prefer any day, this maybe one of his last times swimming. Nothing else had to do with water, so this would kick the bucket pretty soon of the idea of being in the sea, no one he knew was down here anymore. It was strange how this happened and as he slid down towards the ground, only a few minutes later, the small dust kicking up as he looked forward the entrance, a nod was given towards it, that was it.  
  
Neither of them preferred to talk under the water, unless necessary, because each was afraid the veil may get loose and water would flood them. How sad that would be, so when he made his way towards where Navi pointed, there was no other stops on this way, only the fact of what he was headed. Now as he ran along the ocean floor, nothing yet in his way of enemies, the Hookshot hanging from his right hand, a place with torches in it was around here, the place that Navi had told him to go. Also where he wanted to go, the young boy stared around that this place that was encased in stone, the rest of this place looked caked out of mud or dirt. Some dry material that could last years, he was sure of that, especially those symbols that surrounded this door in a way that made it seem like the royal room.  
  
A deep breath was taken--quite weird for underwater--and he stepped down into the long hall that led forward, knowing nothing bad was here. Navi hadn't warned him of enemies, though maybe some could encase themselves that was a thing to consider the grip on the Hookshot held. Mm, when the darkness was starting to be lit up, it was indeed getting lighter because of something, the temple above, those floors had been lit by something high above. Maybe a weird energy that they possessed, on the floor it was lit by the same energies placed down into the sand, he had passed over one with confusion, but still it was weird. Maybe there was energies in every room, or the tunic just lit the way in some spots, it was good that it was there, he heard the bottom of lakes were supposed to be pitch black.  
  
Navi had a bad feeling of this, it wasn't that a monster was going to come over and attack them, just the closer and closer they got to the room, the more nervous she got. Maybe that they were running into a person that was rose than that stupid monster, even worse than the one named Ganondorf. It felt a little queasy in her little face, so bad at this that they were about to puke, the overwhelming energy of the aura was something she hadn't felt before. On the contrary, she had felt it before but only in herself when she was thinking of the young boy named Link, so maybe this person was in love with another. At long last they were inside the new room, someone was there, it was a someone she smelt before, the scent was strong even underwater.  
  
"Who're you!" A voice, a feminine one, rang out in a nice tone, the boy turning towards the figure and only seeing a silhouette in the darkness; it was hidden in shadows.  
  
"W-who am I? Who are you!" Her voice seemed familiar, something he had felt when he was younger, just not very long, whom he had met only a few times around.  
  
"Yes, who are you and how did you get into the legendary Water Temple." Stepping down into the light here, it was revealed that she was a Zora, and quite a beautiful one at that, one of the best he had ever seen. Standing at a beautiful five feet, nine inches tall, the woman with the beautiful blue skin brooded over him by two inches, he having to stare up at her. Mmhm, as skinny as she had been this entire time, this older woman, looking only a year or so above him, had some muscle on herself. As a muscular person, this young boy was keeping it to himself not to call her beautiful, the fish-girl was one of the best he had seen in his life. Not only that, the small head of hers was different than any other Zora's, it was a lot different because it was shaped like a bulb, remembering only one Zora like that before.  
  
On further aspect of her light blue skin, the arms were as thin as ever; the torso and everything were also built in a nice aspect. This wasn't that important to the boy, but she had two large mounds that were not covered by the skin, it was showing itself off, not being able to help but stare. He was a budding boy and at the further thoughts of such things, he stared down, glancing at where her arms were, something was there that his eyes had never beheld. Attached from her forearm and coming down towards her hand was a fin that stretched out several feet--almost six--and kept itself in those beautiful colours. Only blue and green and white were used but the colors that they gave off, the patterns was what was met, those had to be the best he had ever seen (making designs of different natures, like the snowflakes.)  
  
"Hrm, you look like someone that I have met before. I've--you seem familiar to me, does she do the same to you, Link?" Navi whispered out towards Link at the last part, speaking the other towards the figure, Link nodding in the satisfaction that she was right--there was someone about this that was a present of the past.  
  
Looking down towards her body was even more beautiful; the one was some of the exotic nature as the fins attached to her hands were also on her thighs. The same designs were painted on her skin, though not the same; they were displayed in different nature with the other ones showing off. On top of that small head was a third eye, this one purple, while the ones in her pupils were a beautiful violet, lighter than the other one. So familiar, that he was sure of staring at her body that this person had somehow been in his memories, on his quest and was someone close to him-- for a short time. Groaning at the thoughts, he knew that this person was familiar, it was so different from before and then it preyed upon his little cerebral memory.  
  
"Ruto! You are Ruto, aren't you!" His eyes widened in amazement, Navi's doing the same, and doing a double take at the woman placed in the water, leaning against a wall now.  
  
"Yes, I am the Princess of the Zoras, so what business is it to you?" She smiled towards the man with a grin placed on her lips, then caught the wind of the fairie, the other stuff on him, clinking it all together. This boy was about seventeen or so, seven years after she had met a familiar boy whom had been ten at the time, she a year younger than before. A masculine face, but showing the beauty of femininity was in him, yes, plus the fact of a sword (that familiar Hylian Shield) and the weaponry on him. Yes, he was apart of something; he was newer than ever and just doing that made it all click that this boy was none other than Link. Long blonde hair--like Shiek--was streaming over him and keeping him secure in there was a tunic, but this time it was made of a Zora tunic and blue.  
  
Link just stared off to the side as he was being studied, never one to really show much embarrassment for the situation, she eyeing him like a piece of meat. Hadn't he done the same, he thought and decided maybe he had in a little way, this one was definitely had something in mind than just innocence. Now as he was being measured over by her eyes, his own guided to the girl of his and Navi was seen with the server jealously in her face. Two friends were meeting each other again, it was one sided since he hadn't said his own identify, he would in time, the more important thing was why was she here. It was too dangerous to be here, she wasn't wearing anything on her body, no protection against anything, and there was no way he was taking her again. The thought of her sitting on his head now caused a shiver to fall down his spin, a giggle was appearing in him, the blush down his cheeks.  
  
"You are.Link from the Kokiiri Forest, are you not?" When the eyeing was done, she crossed her arm over her chest and just stared over at the young boy, she looking a bit older now.  
  
"Yea, I'm Link, and you are Ruto. Hee, well it's been a while." He grinned over towards her with those arms crossing over his chest and the Hookshot held down, hiding itself from the rest of the way.  
  
Ruto's face burst out into a swell of excitement; she was staring over at him with some tears bustling down those cheeks in happiness. As she did this, she swam towards him and slammed against his chest, that big body picking him up and pulling him into a giant hug, nuzzling and kissing at him. Happiness was swelling in her heart, he pushed all the way across the ground and now slumping on the ground, well she was slumped and he was sitting in her lap. If she would sit on him, he might've been squished, so this was a much better way to show the affection boiled down inside of her arms. Well, his feelings weren't shown that much, all he was done was embraced very much, a new one for him, especially by one bigger than him-- it was a nice feeling.  
  
Link was sort of confused why he had been tackled, never had he been missed much, or when he did it was with Saria and not this important. When he had come back towards her at the beginning of the forest it had been so beautiful, but the fact of the matter was that nothing this big had happened. Maybe it was, Saria did like him very much and had jumped on him, she was just a thirteen-year-old girl and he had been seventeen physically. A very vast thing when someone that looked older and stronger than you were doing the same thing to you, weight made all the difference (so did height.) Mmhm, everything was done this way and there was nothing to change the fact that he felt so good about everything, the way she touched him and caressed those spots.  
  
While the two of them were enjoying the moment--as Link had dreaded--Navi was bursting right beside the two of them and really shivering with fear. To conceal her from blasting the thing to smithereens, that young fairie just appeared before the two of them and pushed him away from her. A small groan was through her body to do it, the force of will and courage of keeping her away was quite enough to get the two separated for the good of everything. It was easy to yank him away from her since there was no grip on there, but pushing Ruto away from that boy with the force of her training--without the powers it could have been done very better. Chuckling with everything placed in her face, that young woman didn't know what to do until he was thrown away from her and against the wall, not hitting hard to do.  
  
Link was pushed against the wall, actually quite fine to be away from her that was the best thing to do since Ruto was getting too affectionate. Smiling as he sat up, his hands went out and stroked the young fairie for her good deed; it was better than being squished to death in the hug. Actually, she reminded him of Impa (Ruto did) because of the bigger body and one that didn't stumble when it went around, some power placed in her body. She wasn't a little kid anymore, an elegant woman she was, one with a lot of power that could defend herself with a weapon or with fists if trained in the right manner. Staring over towards her, whom had just sighed and sulked her shoulder--not because pushed away--he sensed it was something knew and of course the hero knew it was about her family and race.  
  
"Ah, Miss Navi you didn't have to push so hard." Ruto whispered out, scratching her head with the force she had gone, she hadn't gone too far just slid against the wall and hit her back.  
  
When she didn't speak anything, Link picked Navi up and hugged her to his chest, keeping his fingers laced around her larger body. "She's jealous and has every right to be. Princess, why're you here, your father said that we would find you somewhere around here--he thought you were dead, of course."  
  
"Daddy?" She let out a squeal of joy and leapt upon the air, floating on the way down, her eyes swelling up as she spoke again to the two of them. "Daddy is really alive, oh thank Naryu! I thought he had been frozen to death, but wait--you can't melt that ice without a special type of fire-- don't tell me?"  
  
"Yeeup, I went to the Ice Cavern and gained the abilities of the Blue Fire." Smiling, he held his hands out and the spark appeared, nothing needed for the thing to appear, and the fire didn't go out because it was the exact opposite of the red fire that went out in the water.  
  
Nodding towards them, Navi linked out of his arms and fell down on his shoulders, not at all hurting them that she might've done when he was younger. Now at her bigger form there were just things she couldn't do, things she was glad of and a few of the others that were a little bit sad. Glad that she could be kissed almost like a person now, before her lips had been so tiny that love was the only thing that kept the two from not kissing each other--it was so embarrassing. Now it was over, but one thing that she missed so much was being held in such small positions, hardly able to fill under his hat and the fact that she was getting bigger. It was sort of scary changing forms so suddenly, hoping this was the last one, it was big enough for her and the only fairies larger than her had to be those crazy old Great Fairies.  
  
"So, father is alive. That is wonderful, but you asked why I was here? I was here to find a weapon to kill this evil monster that is trapped inside here, the monster of the Water Temple from the old ages. His name is called Morpha, I think and he runs this temple, though I have yet to close any of the puzzles or anything, I can't operate the water gates." A huff appeared in her mouth, she looking back at him and kicking up into the air, preparing to leave him, or was she just heading for another level and whispered this as she swam up. "Follow me."  
  
At the realization of what happened, he saw that the levels above were indeed filled, each going up to the third floor from the sign of things. Not even having to let himself swim, he just imagined the iron was gone and his boots appeared, gripping at Navi as he floated up out of the first floor. Closing his eyes from the way he soared up, it was so fast that he was afraid of hitting something, so hands went over head and protected the area he sometimes wish was equipped with a hard hat. He still couldn't see clearly the first floor, so as he passed up the second one, all he saw was an empty room with nothing around, the first had stuff around--just all shadowed over from the darkness. What light had lit up the tiny part of the room was in the third floor he floated up, realizing that it wasn't bad, this place wasn't flooded as he thought, just up the entrance was it wet.  
  
His hands had let Navi go sometime during the initiation, and she waited on his shoulder he floated up, hands at his sides and just kicking his feet every now and then. Appearing at the top floor, his head emerged from the water, gasping breaths out--even though he had no need too--and stared over at the entrance, giving it a good look. At a good glance, the room was empty except there was a small little plaque in the center with a Triforce on the end, some Hylian text at the side. No doors were here and the only thing around was Ruto, she was looking at him and awaiting his arrival, the normal temper of her had gone, revealing she had matured over the years. At long last, he yanked himself over the edge, coming completely out of the water and seeing none of his baggage was hurt or damp another advantage of having the tunic, almost scared his supplies would be drenched.  
  
"Hm, finally. For a Hylian you sure are quite slow at your pace, I wish'd you keep up more. Now take a glance at this statue, you play your song of Zelda's to change the water levels with an ocarina, but the thing is I can't change it since I have no instrument. You do, right?" Okay, so maybe she hadn't matured all that much, and as he thought this was when she walked over towards the small picture with the Triforce Symbols and watched him get up.  
  
"Excuse me, but I don't have fins like you. Yea, I own one." Groaning, he sat up a little, checking his clothes for wetness, even the under suit was not harmed and a smile was grinning his lips when she spoke of the marriage.  
  
"Whenever this over and we marry, I sure am going to put some new clothes on you. And, thank Naryu I came along to put some new weapons--no you won't be a fighter, you are going to help me rebuild the Zora capital by supplying with me, we can have a lot of babies." She giggled and leaned against the Triforce mark, not even paying heed to it and waiting for what everyone was going to say about this.  
  
Marriage, what in the world does she mean? He remembered one of the very last times, or most important, that the two of them had spent together alone and that had to be when he received the Zora's medallion. Along that time was the question that she asked him, she had said that to receive this as some sort of engagement present, which was what it was. Engagement was a word back then that meant nothing to him, he was just in a hurry to get the thing back and receive his prize for stopping the world. Never discussing it with Navi, he would of when they had gotten back to the forest--since at thirteen he was supposed to return back here--but destiny stopped him. It had been forgotten in his seven-year sleep because Ganondorf was all that was on his mind, only now was it remembered at the course of time.  
  
"Married?" Link whispered out of a hushed tone and didn't even dare stare at the girl named Navi, he knew what marriage was back then, and even now he knew it better. "What do you mean I was supposed to marry you?"  
  
"L-Link what is she talking about?" Chuckling a little, the girl had an evil look in her eyes, no longer hanging on his shoulder, but protecting him like a mother does to its young so it can't be eaten by the big-bad Zora who wanted to steal him away from her.  
  
Engagement as he knew it now meant the profound time one spent before they got married and usually the person received a present. On most occasions the woman received a ring or a jewel from the man, but sometimes they both exchanged gifts or the man got it from the girl. In any case, that was the consent that said you were able to be married to this person within the allotted time, he knowing that when he turned thirteen was the time for it to come around here. Ruto and them couldn't go look for them, because the Forest would turn them into creatures of the night, so that meant he either died or swore it off or something like that. Now, however, he had come back and even though everyone was dead, the race had to live on and she was probably hoping he would marry her and consent to that sort of thing--fat chance of that happening, he had been young and naïve.  
  
"Yea, to get the Zora's Sapphire, my mother said to give that jewel to the man I would love and I told him to come back when he was thirteen so we could be married--but this jerk doesn't even come! Oh, well, when the demon of this temple is destroyed, then we can work on it." Smiling towards him, she didn't seem to see Navi was overreacting at the fact of the matter, maybe Ruto liked the reaction of the fairie.  
  
Before anything else could be said about it, something swept out of the ground and threw the two of them away from the princess, leading them aside. Not much of a tumble, maybe meant as a distraction to get to the prize, each didn't go too far and when they did, it didn't lead that far away. Used to this sort of stuff, the thing still hurt, just not as much as one of a true stamina would venture, a regular person's skull of been smashed. Now a huge crack appeared when he threw his head out of the rubble of the wall, about to reach for the Hookshot, when he knew something was wrong. Link and Navi slammed against the wall, shaking their heads in confusion of how each got a bump on their heads, still trying to clear it when a scream came out.  
  
A scream interrupted both of their attentions and both threw a neck towards the area to see that Ruto was no longer on the ground in her pissed mood, she was sinking away. Something of a clear colour was wrapped around her body and dragging her away, each of them knew that helping them was inevitable. A groan was out of his lips, about to pull out the sword when the thing blipped out of no where, as much as it had come and even the floor that it had come out of was disappearing, leaving as if he hadn't come before. Nothing was attempted when the wall that he even went against was knocked out, each of them standing on the dry ground with a sulk in their shoulders, knowing that the things had been in vain. As hard as they had tried--not really--another victim had been captured, but of course they knew that the monster wouldn't kill her--they needed her as 'bait' for him.  
  
"So what did she mean by that?" She let out a growled little hiss, sort of like the mother cub was protecting her pack and Link had turned from one of the pack to an intruder.  
  
"Huh? That was back then, you know I don't want to marry her, I am sort of glad she got taken hostage." Smiling towards her, he saw she had calmed down and nodded back, he slipping out an ocarina of his own and walking over to where she had leaned, the plaque undamaged.  
  
Whipping out the ocarina, he remembered the tune from the royal family and knew that was probably the one, blowing it out with a whisk of the wind. When that happened at all, the water began to descend from the end of the thing and slowly fall down towards the ground, draining itself. He didn't know what had happened, looking to his friend for a few seconds, she shrugging and going over the edge, yelling out his name in a surprised tone. Jumping up, stuffing the instrument down, he headed over towards the hole he had climbed out and saw that in the case of the water down there was a huge ladder. Yes, it had appeared out of no where and just said climb down me, even the first floor was done with water, changing the water levels was an understatement.  
  
"Wow, music seems so magical in these temples." He muttered out of his breath, mounting over the ladder--it was made of a strong wood that looked like water had never touched it--beginning to climb down.  
  
"Temples, the stuff is better in all of Hyrule." She agreed as he began to go down the ladder, she flying over him and inspecting each area as they went down there in the second floor. It surprised her how great this ladder was, almost expecting it to snap under them and he go flying down a few floors to be killed. Playing the song wouldn't help--she just knew it-- and jumping was probably a stupid idea so trusting the ladder just had to be the right thing to do with them. When at long last, he was followed over towards the way at the last jump, she knew the second floor exploration wouldn't take up no time, there was something there! Jumping down when he reached the bottom of the second floor (ten minutes after starting the climb) he realized that there was a chest in the middle of the floor.  
  
Slowing himself over towards the end of the chest, he kicked it open and let out a suppressed sigh of relief when the silver key was standing there. Taking out the ring out, he slipped it out onto the other key and slipped it down inside of his side pack, staring down towards it with a smile on his face. Keeping it handy, not too far form his hands, he had the feeling there were a lot more inside what seemed to be one of the most complicated journeys of temples that's in his way. Yes, it was so good to be here and have this in his hands a relief that when a door was in the way, which he would conquer over, it with passing colours was in the way of it. Climbing down the ladder, or getting on, the longest way would be quite a while, he knew that the first floor held some secrets that just didn't wanna be discovered, or did they? As Navi had seen something under there, so had he noticed that there were three little statues or something, not able to stare down there yet, it was just too far, maybe not torches but something medium length.  
  
Continuing down the ladder, he came to a halt at the first floor, where the thing stopped right about the time of fifteen minutes later. Throwing himself down, the glove coming off and lighting up the entire room, he used the power of the Triforce to get his area done, inspecting it with close intuition. Not much was here except a door that was covered by some steal bars; a torch in the center was somehow lit with red fire, two others off to the side. All beside that, there was no way to inspect anything else, the symbol of fire was carved in a sign above the barred door, giving the impression that the torches had to be lit to get inside. Since Deku Sticks were no longer available--or of much use because of the size--the best next thing was to use his archery to skill it out, to deal one flame arrow.  
  
"Link, what're you planning to do?" She perked over his shoulder and saw him retrieving his bow and two arrows from the quiver, holding one in his mouth, while the other he aimed itself up.  
  
Not that he could talk, all he did was point an arrow at the torch in the center and then towards the unlit torch, doing the same to the other one with confusing nature in mind. Err, Link wasn't a good one at charades and from the look of things, he didn't do much of a good job at it, a shrugging nature in mind. Pulling a groan through his lips, the thing was placed in his lips and biting it with teeth curled in a snarl at how easier it would be just to summon an old Din's Fire. Reason he didn't want to be that they were in a closed place and that it might hurt someone or it might cave in if a wrong turn was taken out. Taking down the arrow from his mouth now, he was ready to explain something to his partner, when she began to shake her had that she had it down.  
  
Stringing the arrow in his bow, he pushed himself to the left and let it fly the arrow catching fire and before bursting out it slammed into the pit of the left torch. Each of the two unlit ones was settled in a corner of this square room, so as it turned into a lit one, only one left, he switched into the left corner. Stringing the other one from his mouth and pushing it out, the thing spread itself and thrashed forward into the other corner, two of them now lit and all the trio were done together. A spraining sound caused the bars to begin to throw themselves up, a door opening up for him too; it was a wooden door that could have been knocked down if force was necessary. Sheathing the bow back into the side of his backpack, he sometimes wondered how this came to be how all those stupid things were held in this bag, shrugging a shoulder and dismissing it as magic.  
  
"There we go." He whispered as himself, knowing she heard it and as he stepped into the next door was open to her suggestions or statements, she usually made them.  
  
"You could of used Din's Fire, y'know." She whispered in a hushed tone, incase there was an enemy there and she knew something bad was here, she could feel it in her body. "I sense something new around here, but I am not sure what it is, probably an enemy around here."  
  
Just at that exact moment, a screech entered his field of vision and before that sword sheathed out, he yelled towards her in a loud voice. "It woulda collapsed the cave!"  
  
"W-what would? The monster is called a Shell Blade, the inside of the mouth is a weakness!" She brightened the aura around her body as to keep her from not blinding anyone, but brighter than the Triforce in the way, a sort of shell was sitting about ten feet from where he stood, having scanned it earlier. "North of you!"  
  
"Din's fire would of shut it off, and made it collapse." Turning around towards the northern direction, the boy turned over at the ground and saw that there was a pink shell just lying before his eyes. Groaning, the blade he had his hand on the hilt when cautious steps were taken forward, and well ready for what was to come to pass in this day and age around here. Around the shell was a linked key on a chain, probably the guard dog or something was what he thought when wandering over towards the thing with the sword pulled out of its blade. Yes, he wandered a few more feet when all of sudden the thing's mouth opened and a tongue shot out, making a roaring sounds as it stopped inches from his face, teeth bared back in meanness. This thing meant business, that's all what the boy knew as he jumped back, the air loosening his fall back, sort of getting used to the water feel back until he drained the water.  
  
With a shot, the thing went for him, throwing itself in the air and launching a full frontal assault, whatever the shell creature was had to be in a hurry for him. When it got within the distance of him, he swung the blade at the creature's shell--not as an assault--just trying to defend him from being gnashed with those sharp teeth. Not wanting to be gnashed at, he swung it forward and that's when the shell was cracked a little, watching it bounce off the blade and go across the room, a few of those teeth cracking when it hit the wall. Diamond-shaped blades were in its mouth, and it was just hard to believe those were the real teeth of it, once or twice giving a double take or two towards them. Smirking as the thing got back up, Link had to give the thing some credit, a little of the shell was cracking, so it wasn't yet time for a bad assault and as the mouth opened to attack him it was all over.  
  
A smoking shot entered its mouth and bounced through the inside of the shell, the monster closing its shell and whimpering in silent pain. Closing that armour was the worst thing because the beam just zoomed through the outside of the shell, creating a full hole that oozed with blood, the monster sinking down towards the ground in a small painful manner. Staring off to the side, sheathing the blade back down (the Hookshot put up when they first entered the room) he would only use the shot of hooks during the water. Navi was smoking from her barrier, having been charging up this whole time and waiting for a shot, since getting horizontal shot by Link was proved to be sort of difficult. First he would have to break all the ugly thing's teeth with the stroke of his sword, then go in for a stab or a slash to the left and right, something that Link had said he hated (this way it helped them both out.)  
  
"You always take the fun out of things." He spoke in a humorous tone, bending at the knees near the monster and ripping the chain off, not taking the delicacy to slip it off incase the thing wanted some revenge with fingers taken.  
  
"Yea, yea, you know without me I would die." Grinning, that teasing tone came out, she pulled down inside of his arms, those hands going over and stroking her newly acquired shortened hair that from the Fire Temple.  
  
"Mmhm, I wouldn't want to be without you." He whispered with a silent tone and put her back on his shoulder, turning around towards the door was headed right before him and on that would be other lands. Walking out through the door and giving a glance to where he met Ruto, it was a little sad that she was kidnapped; though someone had to be gone with them. One of the Sages had been captive, the other one was a guy and wouldn't have been captive much of one, and now he guessed who the next one was. Yes, she was of the Zora race of water, only one other person was the candidate for that and the King fit the description, not really sure of what it went. Since the first sage was not a King, the second one was and so the third one wouldn't be a royalty, just a regular person of this.  
  
At long last he was in the old room at the bottom of the Temple, the main room and from the look of the ground gave him the look that it was made of sand. A regular beach at the bottom of the place, that platform was just sticking in the center and showing off like a Tiki statue from the old religions. There was a small door infront of him, it was blocked up with a key he would go there later on, now all he had on his mind was a thing seen on the way down. Ignoring that, he knew where to go next, it was a place right next door that he had noticed there was a block sticking out, the block was not in the way, just was done. Something told him, as he ran to the left of the square and peered inside of here, that it was time to push it and maybe it would lead to a new place or not.  
  
"Link, there is a door." Navi spoke out when he wasn't going for the first place; he was just walking over towards a square block that was carved in the wall.  
  
"I know, I know, I'll do it on my way back." He muttered and headed over towards the cave and while about to climb in, there was a door with a key right to his left, this was in the way. The doorway was seven feet in the air and under it was a wooden block that you could climb on and make your way up there, quite a nice thing since it was blocked with a key. Okay, so he would deal with this block, check that door with the wooden climbing, then there would be the one connected to the pillar. He just had an idea that the pillar would lead up to the second floor that would be a bad thing in this case, since everything else was in the way. Now, throwing himself into the dark lit spot, he slammed down into the red brick, it right before him, there was nothing else in this entire doorway.  
  
Slamming a balled fist in the center, the auburn block with the mood in the center slid down a few yards back and then it fell down into a clear pool of water. Glancing down at the thing in the water, there was no where else to go, meaning the only thing to do was use it as a future reference. No weapons were needed now, so he just stared down at it and as he wandered away, thoughts were slinking towards the aftermath of it. Maybe there was a strange passage underground that would lead him through here, whatever the case was that he had to do the right thing. While he slipped out of the whole, his voice rang out towards Navi in an enlightened tone that was to tell him where they were to go next.  
  
"Can we try the wooden block of the door?" When they had come, Navi had noticed it, he just knew she had since her eyes wandered over there in a familiar tone and that was where she nodded.  
  
"Sure, I think that would be great, but what do you got for the block." Of course she had been curious about it, why wouldn't she, the stupid block had been a waste of their precious time in here, this place looked all unstable. Sometimes during this place, the walls had crumbled when Ruto was taken away, the area had been water around it for Goddess knows how long, water sank into places. Who knew when this place was going to just give away and collapse, it was quite a journey that she didn't want her or him to be in for, the death of it all. How funny it would be to fall down and die when a loose brick in there way, a stupid temple that was worse than the other two that had been completed. It just had to be the water, there was no doubt that was what caused this place to be so loosen, otherwise the others (which she guessed were completed all at the same time) would be just as raggedy.  
  
"I think we may need it in the future." He simply spoke, wandering over where the wooden block was, standing on it, checking to see if the stuff was molded with water and discovered it was made of iron, the thing had been in the water for so long that the thing was rusted. "It is old with water-age, and a metal of some sort."  
  
"It maybe rusted, but remember that you thought it was wood. Who cares if it is a little wet, it isn't a life and death situation. Yea, but good enough to climb, so let's go on." She smiled and tried to brighten him up, he may have been a little disappointed that it was like this, but considering the situations, rust never really broke in most cases.  
  
"Mmhm, you are right, I mean if we were crossing over a huge bridge of rust then I would be worried, but we are only getting up to open a stupid door." Giggling at his nervousness, the boy jumped up the small little one and looked over at the door above him, taking off the most recent key. The one that was halfway crushed by the lightning beam of hers, he hoped it worked and as it slid in, the thing answered prayers and did its work. Watching the key melt inside of the lock, not only did the lock disappear, but the wooden door melted it self and showed that below water level was bad. Mmhm, the wooden door had been submerged for only who knows how long, which meant no one with an ocarina had ever dared to lower the water level. This was a good thing for him; taking care of the doors was sort of tough in the temple of flame and now in the aqua church was going to be easy. No, this place wasn't going to be easy, he had the feeling it was the worst around here, at least when it was done, the stuff went downhill.  
  
Walking into the new room led the both of them that this entire temple was made of square-shaped rooms; all the others from before were the same. Besides that, he was sitting on a platform that was connected to the side; walking towards the edge and peering over said the interference of nothing below. On his other side was one of those things from Death Mountain and Lake Hylia, the Tektite, this one asleep and aside it was a door that was unlocked. Not believing his luck, and bad luck, the boy was about to pour out and leave when the tone of familiarity from the Flame Temple peered over his eyes. One of those crystals that you hit and something happened, the fire disappeared in this temple and he had an idea this one had to deal with water (there was a huge bubbling fountain at the bottom of the two- hundred foot drop down out of here.  
  
"Navi, could you strike the switch for me?" He whispered hunched down at his knees, whispering so he didn't wake the monster and bending as to see what happened when it was hit.  
  
"Mmhm, I'll do it quietly." She also whisked out of her mouth, going over towards the switch and pitting it with her hand instead of an energy blast of Ki. As soon as that happened, she heard the water bubble and nodded as the fountain rose up the what seemed forever drop and appeared at the level of them. Across the place was fifteen feet, seven towards the center with the fountain and another seven to the other end, the pool only a foot across. Adventurous souls could attempt this, and heavy people could fall, if you weren't a certain weight, then you could just forget about it and the thing would sink you down to the ground. Quite an action to take for someone, she knowing that the boy would do it, so she already floated over near the fountain, waiting for him to attempt it.  
  
He had followed her mind predictions, leaping up when the thing started up and held himself outright, trying to restrain himself from leaping too hard. At long last--or so it seemed--the thing reached the top and the timer had began to start itself off, he taking off like a bullet escaping from a newly prepared gun. Sailing the first seven feet and landing on the center of the pool, it didn't move, which told him he was just the right size for it, almost scared it would pull him down. He'd have to loose a few pounds and come back in a few weeks to try again, not that he was fast, the water pressure was intense on the fountain, he just didn't know how much. Cracking his knuckles, the timer telling him that thirty seconds were left--it was sort of like Morse code, you have to follow the beats-- the next part worried him.  
  
Taking a step or two back, almost losing his balance because there was no room, he took a few steps forward and knew when the ground was gone. Having a glance down before stepping, he had to do this to restrain from running in the air, it didn't work like in the comedy stories of the old days. No, that wasn't the case and when it was in the way, he leapt down the seven feet, his feet placed in the air and not even watching where he was going to land. Link made a fatal (and comical) statement when not watching where he was going because there was that monster right below him, sleeping and maybe dreaming of killing a man similar to him. Falling down on his feet, a squeal of pain entered his ears, the cry of something in death and a squelching blood pouring all over his feet, causing him to slide forward when trying to get up, a good thing that he didn't go backwards.  
  
"W-what happened?" He was too afraid to look, just gathering himself up and awaiting the soon to be land on his shoulder, which always meant his fairie was right by him.  
  
"You landed the wrong way." Just trying to make it seem like a normal thing, her hands over her mouth to restrain the laughs, she knew how much this would upset him.  
  
"I-I slipped, Navi. What do you mean landed wrong?" Then she heard the chuckles of something, his face masked in confusion, eyes still held nothing and just staring down into darkness.  
  
"Y-you.oh Goddess!" She burst into a stream of giggles, examining his legs that were covered in the green liquid of blood, not even baring to look at the ex-Tektite because there simply was no more.  
  
"I-It's not funny! I thought I was going to die." With some guilt, his eyes peeked open, knowing it was safe, those eyes trailed down towards her laughing gesture, growling a bit in anger. Then they went down towards his boots, seeing the muck that covered them, and a little face was made from him, not knowing what in the world it was that covered them. Simple deduction revealed his location of landing and the fact he looked over where the monster was (expecting it to be up and rearing) only to see half of a decimated body was left, and three of the legs were twitching with it, wriggling off-ward. Feeling the sickness rise in his throat, a hearty little gag was revealed there, starting off at it with the force of puking was really showing its dark side. The force of him landing, plus the boots, had caused such destruction that the thing was an innocent victim in him trying to slide across here and what was worse had to be the fact he couldn't wash these boots off for a while!  
  
"Sick." He let a small gagging sound out of his throat and picked himself up, keeping from slipping by grabbing the wall to support his weight, the door before him just sitting open.  
  
"Sure it is, but you just had to see it happen to someone else to think it was funny. Hey, are you mad about it?" She floated over towards him, his face was masked in a grumpy nature, but he seemed to be holding back something, a relentless emotion she couldn't decipher.  
  
"Of course I am, the thing was innocent and I killed it!" He let out in a pursuit of fury, trying to grab the door, only to fall down on his behind and throw his hands in the air, almost throwing a regular temper tantrum.  
  
She didn't laugh at this, just appeared over beside him and hugged his face; he was starting to cry over something more important than this. Could it have been Ruto, she wondered and shrugged it off since he said he was glad she was gone, there was no way that fish-woman had to do with this. Then the realization was that maybe it had to do with everything, her being kidnapped was just an outscoring of what was going to happen. Comforting him as best as she could, she shook him softly, embracing his face and those hands went across her body, rubbing in specific spots that he knew were part of her specialty. Shuddering at his touch, those magic fingers in the air, his way of comforting her was to do it to himself, the boy had displayed it some nights that they slept together and pressure got to him.could you blame him when everyone expected so much of you?  
  
Silence was all that waited for him, he gripping his fist with the immense pain inside of his chest, the saddening nature that was coming back, leaving it alone. Nothing could stop it from bursting through but himself, and as he made sure of this, the only thoughts that flowed through him was how much he would cry when this was all over. A glance over towards the door revealed he knew something that the others didn't want him to know, a trap in the making was just awaiting them both. Relenting the self from the door, turning away from it and watching with peeled as the thing sort of disappeared, it vanished with a start, showing it was merely an illusion. A mirage that was the same as those fake doors inside the previous temple, except when you dealt with water, then you dealt with fake beings, the water mystified all that dared to trespass within it.  
  
Huffing breaths were taken as he dodged out of there, Navi floating behind him and in silence he narrowed his eyes towards the last passage on the last floor. Snapping through the sand, if there were any hidden enemies in there he didn't know, nor care while the emotions were starting to run dry from his body. The run did some good, it kept everything from going off, when you were taking off and speeding you're vigor up, then the whole world started to make sense, those pitiful things called emotions were just gone. Sometimes, it was wished that these pitiful things weren't around, they only clouded you're judgement and made you keep from doing the last thing in the world that otherwise is considered the worst option for humanity. Taking a few runs forward, that place was right infront of him and with a small little surprised smile, it was incased under the water.  
  
Strange, the place was a literal Wonderland with the rabbit hole belonging to an eel instead of the furry creature that always seemed to be late. Diving down into the waters below, he was automatically felt with the feeling of satisfaction, nothing was wrong with taking the battle out, and there he held onto the Hookshot with those eyes sliding around the ground. Before him were some rocks, that was all, they didn't look in place, but he really wasn't worried about that for now, all he had to do was make sure everything went according to place. Jumping over the rocks, hearing a creek in his step, he automatically took down in the water in those Iron Boots, dodging everything that even resembled a rock, purified they were monsters. At last there was a lone gate infront of him, nothing in particular about it, except the fact that the pounding was getting faster and the thing was hanging from the ceiling!  
  
"Link, they are called Spike Monsters, but at this level I doubt you can deal with them, let's just--the gate." She whispered in a bit of frustration, staring at the thing you had to climb to get into, he was an all right climber, just in the water seemed a little more difficult.  
  
"I-I know, shit." He thought with the small mentality, his power of thought returning and all of the emotions were drained from him, hands loosely hanging onto that shot that gave out hooks.  
  
"Go on, I'll cover you!" She yelled and saw him beginning to climb out of there, he was scrambling up there when she turned her back at the three monsters steadily had been aimed at him. Youma usually didn't notice here, that was good since the element of surprise was there, these monsters possessing so eyes, so it even made an untimely mistake when dealing with a seven-inch fairie. Well, they didn't seem much of trouble, the aura having been charged up for the few past seconds as those monsters tried to scramble up, the rocks having transformed of some sort. It wasn't enough time to judge their differences, just that now they possessed an iron body and spikes--well they did--because as soon as the beam shot through them, they were dead. No screams were given, nothing was thrown out, the ashes just appearing and as soon as that was done, she soon slipped down through the cracks of the shut gate, it large enough for her to go through, but not for him (he had shut it.)  
  
When she drenched from the water--that only being a passage to another place--they were out of the liquid and only in a room where a chest stood. A simple blue room, well dark violets like all of the other rooms around, they were made of stone, just soaked in some sort of strange dye. Maybe back in the old days when they could promptly use the Blue Fire, the elders had painted this place with it, since regular fire would burn, maybe this one didn't hurt certain things. It was hard to tell the differences between the two flames, all you could do is hope if you were hurt by it, was as soon you weren't ashes. All that was considered that was this chest was in the way, something in it and as she looked around for anything else, his body was leaning against it, giving it a shove.  
  
"Help me, you big girl." He whispered out in a teasing tone, gripping on the side and pulling, this one of the biggest chests that they had run into since ever.  
  
Smirking towards him, she fluttered over where his hands were, placing her hands on top of those of his, giving a huge yank with all of their power. Both of them were put together so the thing did give out, the chest flowing off and both of them, being thrown with it, landing on the other side. It was a good idea to make these things expendable, of course they were thousands of years ago, and what Navi feared did happen. Shattering into a few pieces, that small little thing was showing itself off, it was indeed broken with all the years of wetness around. Not to mention the fact that years around had dripped certain stuff into it, now only the material inside remained and what it examined, as were parts.  
  
"W-what is this, certainly not a legendary weapon!" Link let out a small little growl, scooping up the materials and just stared at them, they certainly did resemble a few things that he had, showing themselves off in a flourish of colours. A long chain--about thirty feet--was coiled up in a bundle along with a bunch of other coils and screws to add to something, a sharp hook on the edge of that rounded up rope. That was when he realized these were parts to a Hookshot, just like the type he had, a whole new body also in there, it just a weird dismembered parts. A body of this new shot of hooks, actually a bit longer, was violet where the other one was a simple gray; he agreeing this had to be a sort of upgrade on it. They were all stored inside a sack, or a cloth that was completely dry, so maybe one could carry them around as careful not to lose the tiny pieces.  
  
"I'm not at all sure." She gathered up the cloth and tied it in a bundle, floating with the not-so-heavy sack and placing it down inside of his backpack, tightening it around the pocket that it was placed in, no sense in losing it.  
  
It was a cheap gift, that was for sure, he placing his hands at his sides and examining the place around to see if something were in the way, not at all surprised to find anything. With only a key left in his pocket, this was no time to gamble around for something; they just had to find another, since he knew where they were headed next. All the rooms on the bottom floor were done, heading up for the second floor and exploring all four rooms, then it was off to the third and final floor, doing the same to there. In that center room to use his last key, he knew it was strange, just without a key in here, he felt so desperate and alone, as if a locked door would turn up and he out of luck. Gripping his fists, a smash was given towards the ground where the shattered box was, hurrying over towards the hole (keeping an eye out when Navi was on his shoulder, smiling towards her) then diving inside the water.  
  
Nothing was in his way, so within a few minutes he had headed over towards the center door in the sand-filled lot, taking a glance around for anything. No enemies in his way, the key slipped down into the slot, leaning against it as the rusted foot, along with that lock, was disintegrating before his eyes. Mmhm, as he stared beyond amazement while the iron door was rusting before his eyes, there was nothing to do put peer inside the room, it dark like he expected. Not as much as expectations were led, because as soon as a glance was castled towards there, the places had a dim light about it, and not just from the room they were heading out of. Glancing towards Navi, she using herself as sort of a flashlight, he nodded and stepped down into the dry room, feeling his footfalls as he walked.  
  
"We're standing on another one of those rusted platforms." He was invaded within his thoughts by Navi's voice, he taking a glance down towards it and nodding with that, this one was actually stone and not rusted.  
  
"Well, kinda. Hm, does that mean that maybe there is something under here?" A glance around the room made him feel like he was in the future or something; the place was vastly decorated in a way that didn't seem all that familiar. Along this square room was small little squares in the ground, each placed in a pentagonal with lines all around and the pentagon basically a background for it, or a banner of some sort. In this way, he was sort of staring upward when noticing there was one of those plaques that raised the water level, it was on the second floor, which was a very long climb and had no ladders around. A groan was escaping his throat because there wasn't anywhere to go it was like they were trapped and raising the level seemed to be impossible. Actually, along the three floors were small little blocks that were seven feet wide and across, each was held up in the air towards each floor.  
  
"The Hookshot! Link, see up there!" She pointed over towards where the second floor was, a small little thing like in the Forest Temple, it was a circle with a square in the middle that was a magnet that held him if hookshot at.  
  
Of course, he hadn't noticed it before because that glance was so fixed towards the plaque that was out of reach, this blue room suddenly seeming a lot easier. Watching her gather up there and lighting herself up for him, a direct target his that her aura changed a pure green, for the time being, and that was when the shot fell forward. Only about twenty-five feet up, the thing connected and soon he felt the tug on him, knowing within a few seconds airborne would be possible around here. Yanked through the air, knowing exactly when he was to fall, his thoughts were focused on landing, there was a trick to this and if you didn't master it right then you were dead meat, the trigger was there. As soon as he came within the distance, he hit the release button on the hookshot and landed on right where he was on the front of the ground, staring where the plaque was.  
  
His ocarina slid from that pouch and blowing out the tune of the Royal Family, he heard the water start to sink in from everywhere, it soon rising right above his feet. Now with boots only a little drenched in the water (of course not really since the tunic held them dry) he stared over and saw that indeed the platform had risen. That also meant that outside the water had risen, it just had to be, he still curious how it was inside of here and also trapped into the pinnacle. Brilliant, because down there was where he needed to be, stepping on the device was what he did, pulling the blade out and doing what came natural towards him. The blade landed in the center, sending a shockwave out towards him, causing the stone to crack and break into tiny pieces, a precaution this was, because of what he saw on his way up.  
  
Why, you ask, did he crack it in half and waste such precious power when he knew something by the name of Morpha was after him? It was simple because of those spikes that resided on both ends of his way down, scrounging down with that in mind, a smile pasting the face. Mmhm, as he slid down towards, he knew that the Iron Boots would of led straight down on top of those thick, seven feet long spikes that just stood out of the ground. Wanting to chomp him, they would never get their chance because they simply weren't dealing some amateur, this was the Hero of Time, he was ready for anything. Now as the ground slowed down, passing through and appearing in a room that favored where he had seen the rocks attack him about ten minutes before, the arena was empty, a gate was ahead with the first glance.  
  
"A switch." He whispered to Navi, keeping his own, a feeling of remorse of going over and touching the thing was not in his planning schedule, the thing about twenty feet from them.  
  
"Yea, let me shoot it from here, I hear something." A scuttling sound was coming out of her ears, and as she sparked up a shot, she heard him yank the sword out and prepare it. A lowly thing to do, but somehow the sword seemed more appropriate, even if they were underwater, it was good enough because the way he held it, the sword was humming in a soft tone. Going for an energy shot, no doubt, it was a good thing because she heard more than one scuttle, she heard quite a few and even some new sounds to those elven ears. Mmhm, something was coming and as she pulled back and shot it forward, she knew that something was coming because when the gate at the top opened up, screams shot out. Covering her ears, backing up from the few feet she had fluttered forward, actually getting behind the hero so the shot wouldn't get her, the sight was bad.  
  
Two of those enemies where they had the sharp teeth, the clams with the Jaws of Life were fluttering about, clamping their teeth to see whom. That most of been the sound was the gnashing of their teeth up against the steel cage, trying to break through and get at the two of them, smelling fresh meat. Of course they wanted to go towards him, to get there and she didn't even know how long they had been stored in there, never being fed and if most of them were just corpses up there. Shivering at the thoughts of that, she felt the gate slide shot and was caught with that it may open up when they were done or stay closed, just a trap for the two of them to die on. The beam of light slid out of her body, extracting itself in the body and slashing forward through the air--or water--going down in a huge blast just to take them all out in a sudden whip.  
  
Screeches from the clams with mouths were given off, also those rocks were sitting there and not yet active, each one awakening as the light went out. No remorse was in her body, she just let the power flow--knowing that it wasn't that much (woulda been without the training)--everything was good since Shiek's power arts lessons. Energy came out and blasted them all around and as soon as the light disappeared, the ashes were rustling down inside of the ground, throwing it about. Inside the ashes was something she hadn't noticed before, and she was glad that these things didn't get hurt easily, a small key was standing about and almost half-bent, still able to be used. Wow, it was a good thing that everything was concealed, otherwise the loss of seeing a half-melted key would have been a site for sour eyes.  
  
"It's broken!" He cried out and threw himself down into the ashes, taking it out with some examination, blowing a sigh of relief as he hooked it on the rink and stuck down inside of his side pack. "Almost broke, you sure don't hold back on me, did you waste all that energy on those stupid things?"  
  
"Not at all, I just used it for some powerful training to thank for this. Otherwise I'd be passed out." Giggling, she floated over towards him, and nodded, that was sure a lucky break to run into Sheik, she had an idea that they were going to need it soon enough--Onii floated through her mind, making her mind feel wet.  
  
He nodded towards her and walked over towards the entrance of where they had come off of, thinking about the boots leaving his feet and they're the iron was gone. Disappearing without even thinking of the gate and as he emerged, there was no remorse because prying a steel gate was not something he cared to attempt. Trying his sword wasn't even worth the effort, plus leaving something on the switch wasn't joyous since if there was something important there, he would come back for it whenever the time was right. Bombs did not work, and as he pulled himself and took a glance at the iron door infront of him, a kick to the door made it fall down since a lock wasn't on it, the realization that this temple falling down was apparent. Slipping out of the new room and into a new one--well not new, just another floor--he shrugged a shoulder at the areas and nodded, it felt nice to be out of the pinnacle of light.  
  
To his bitter surprise there was a door standing right infront of him, the wood block right infront of it, bared with a key and ready to being opened. Nodding, he leapt for the door and made his way over there, leaping the feet across and not even dealing with getting ready to swim over there. Nothing to worry about, no monsters were on this floor either, he worried that they guarded the pinnacle and making the accusation that since he had been on all floors already. He almost expected those small little things with the legs he had squashed to be around here, using the water with legs like those water-spiders, even though this one only had four legs instead of the usual eight. Mmhm, it meant nothing was guarding the way and when his newly recent key slid into the lot, the door going along with it, that doorway stood open for him with open arms.  
  
A bare room was before him, there was only a switch in the room that he awaited, just the same shade of blue and violet like all the rest had been. Except that normal white switch had been where the crystal was summoned and the geyser went down, the opposite of what it had been when he smashed that monster. None of the youma in here, he stared at the very back of a wall, the back showed that indeed a geyser was spewing its beautiful water for him, the lukewarm never harming him. Speaking of the spewing fountain, it was up all the way so that he couldn't get up there, not even attempting to slide in there, since the pressure would kill him, plus no time to get over there. Only one solution and he knew he, walking over towards the geyser and staring at Navi, still a little confused at what the problem solving was.  
  
"Urm, it's all the way up, go any ideas?" He whispered out of his usual tone, making sure that no one in the upper floor was awake, this taking him or her up in the third floor if a door led out of here.  
  
"You could try hitting it, then let it go down and while we're both on it, I'll try to nail a shot as well, this way we sink up towards the new room." Mmhm, a quick plan on the go, that was usually how she didn't work, not expecting the duo to be able to manipulate water, she just wasn't expecting this.  
  
Before she could shoot a shot out, he undid the bow and nailed a shot down in the center of the crystal, the thing shattering and watching glass spew in different directions. Only going a few feet from them, they were lucky that the thing was still in working condition, because it slid down towards its weight and was ready for him. Mmhm, as this happened, he stared at the water fountain go down, he able ready to go up when a creaking sound shot out his hearing temporarily. Something was coming towards him, he just knew it, the bow held ready as he backed up, and motioned for her silently to follow him along, staying back away from it. Maybe it was the cut of the youma to act now, because a tinkering sound happened as something with the four legs dropped down, quadruple mad at him for some reason.  
  
He was ready, of course since he backed up, and the arrows went flying through the air in a quick paced battle, slicing into the skin of it. Of course these monsters weren't very hard to begin with, they were actually on the side that he could step on, preferring to use some of those arrows. Those sharp pointed pieced the skin and with only a scream of pain, the thing sunk down towards the ground and remained quiet for a few seconds. Just when you thought it was over, the thing leapt into the air, one last arrow going into the middle of its eye and with a slump it was dead to the world. There wasn't much need for his bow since the Forest Temple, a little somber about that and would push it towards its limits when something came his ways, a feel of the sword just didn't clash with him right now.  
  
"Good riddance." The words danced from his mouth as he stepped down on top of the platform, watching there was no need to hit it again, it began to rise automatically when his feet placed on the water.  
  
"I could have just blasted him, you didn't need to waste that many arrows." All together, the hero had wasted six arrows on that monster, the seventh blasted down in the center of that ugly eye, shattering brain matter. Now as it poured under, the thing disappearing from them and she feeling a little sick about it, yes that evil side had reappeared on him, one that reflected towards the monsters. Never was anything put towards him, nothing would be directed towards her since the bones in her body knew the truth that he'd never raise a finger towards her. Animosity was reflected inside of that mind, she knowing a simple shot could have taken care of this monster, it was a laughing matter at how easy they were. No, they were both a little vicious about these matters, but there was just sometimes when nothing affected him and the arrows directed each time into the skull.  
  
"It's fine, Nav', I just wanted to take it out." Turning over towards her, he smiled one of those beautiful smiles and it was forgotten from her, she placing all of that full confidence inside of him. As it raised up, the darkness began to fade from his eyes, everything revealing itself in the time being, just a plain room he expected from the scent of here. Yes, he could sometimes smell the blood in a monster if it had just killed something, which was a secret talent of being raised in the forest was heightened senses. When the water level raised all the way, he stepped on top of the place, taking a glance around and revealing there was only an open door for them. No thought was put in as he walked inside of the room, or in actuality was walking out of a room, the bars sliding down under him.  
  
Spinning around at the bars, thinking that they were trapped, a spin around showed that they were not trapped, in the third floor of the main room. For a better explanation, on the third floor of the main room was a carved small hole at the top of the ceiling, a glance down showed it was only seven feet down from where they landed. Inside of this "room" was just a block about fourteen feet across and ten feet wide, not very large, some sort of hidden passage for them. No way he could make the jump down, since the water was at the second level and he thinking the fall would kill him, since the reason was no way to raise the water. Wait a minute, his eyes were focusing over towards a block that was covered with dust, it was a pale blue and held some similar characters as the other two had before.  
  
"Another level-riser for us, I can see a pattern rising here, good thing it is one of the last ones, eh?" He spoke while dusting the gloves from the plaque, everything came down inside of his face, coughing for a few seconds, before the eyes closed and reopened with fascination, the resembling triangles shimmering in the dark glow from before.  
  
"So the final third level has come to pass, eh? Go ahead and try it out, we can make the jump down if you wanted too, or I could carry you. It couldn't hurt to be touched in any particular way." She brightened across it, so he could read the inscription, of course he didn't need any special help with this, the tune was written down there incase forgotten by someone.  
  
Sparkling down from his ocarina came the tune of the Royal Family; it put up and down inside that satchel before the water began to rise. When at last it was gone, and he knew this might be one of the last times that refilled it, but the fact remained that one of the levels was unexplored. It didn't worry anyone, this was supposed to be a hard temple, the hardest, or so the facts said in their own special ways. Indeed, the third level was fell all the way to the top, seven feet below was a dive that he could make in this tunic, even without it that didn't seem too far. Clearing his throat and nodded to her, he held his hands together and stepped off the ledge, falling down and sinking into the liquids below.  
  
With mouth closed and eyes shut, he sank down and resurfaced within a few seconds, legs kicking in the style that kept him up, not even needed too, it wasn't a dog paddle, some sort of variation he made up. The tunic was making him float like a life preserved, a very good thing since he wasn't one of the best swimmers in the world, and if tired enough could pass out and sink to the bottom (not that it would kill him.) Eyes were focusing around and where he saw beside him was indeed where he wanted to go, dubbing all the other doors as just dubs, just ways to make a person want to slit their throat, temples were usually like that all the time. He had ran into a few of the duds before, that one with the block at the bottom was just a stupid door no one even wanted to follow into at any cases, useless puzzles that affected the person in more ways than one, usually just for a joke. Swimming over where the door he had entered to refill the last level--the locked door from before just a level above, recognizing that all of them had been shut down with keys.  
  
The same rusted door was standing in his way, climbing on top of it and pulling the keys inside of there, watching the door and everything disappear from his eyes. Standing inside the new doorway, while running water was disappearing all over his hues, and there he stared forward at the block he stood at, the melted ice just flowing all around. Sleeping Kesse were standing at his sides, not feeling like messing with them so a few little steps were led forward in a sneaking fashion. Almost feeling as good as Shiek, his hands went over there faces when close enough, breaking their necks as silently as a Shinobi would, standing in the center of the room with nodding pleasure. Taking a few steps forward into the block, a stare over the edge was where his eyes widened as far as they could, almost bulging themselves out of widened sockets?  
  
Okay, so going down from where he stared was a slippery slope that nothing there except a small platform on some cranes that slid back and forth. Now that wasn't what made him stare around, it just had to be the fact that opposite of there, in the center of the room, was a deep pit of blackness that led to nothing. This wasn't a bad room, by any means, because opposite of the seven feet pit was another slope, this one where all the water was going down. Yes, down there was a huge fountain of water, a bunch of platforms going on a circular motion, disappearing inside of the waterfall and reappearing right on the other side, it was just like the other end. Well, almost like that except one little platform only went down a period of ten feet down and up, while the other was meant in a circle.  
  
"Wow, I wasn't expecting something like this, it is like a water wonderland around here. I wonder how we expect to get across here." He whispered with a hushed tone, so that any Kesse that were around didn't decide to awake and pull a sneak attack on him.  
  
"I don't know except by some good speed and luck, are you sure you want to attempt it?" A stupid question, they had to do it or face the consequences of never knowing what came next, that just couldn't be done in this sort of game, if it was even called that.  
  
"Of course we have too, you know that. I can't just quit on here, it is my profession to brave these odds all the time." Smiling towards her, he waited until the platform was near his feet, stepping down and landing on the solid thing with such ease, seeing it as it began to descend.  
  
"Yea, yea, I just am worried what'll happen if you fall down there." A breath of passion suddenly came out of her mouth; she staring down over the edge as it finally hit the ground, a platform also in the way. As the waited thing was coming on, the one of the second platforms coming into synch with him, she was expecting him to fail in his mission; this just seemed too hard. With such ease, her eyes admired him as he leapt upon the first platform, seeing the second and quickly raising towards the occasion on that one, mounting it in seconds. There were little marks on the place where someone could use a Hookshot to climb up there, Link using his newfound training to bound those heights and climb over them in such ease. She admired him, loved him and actually hated him for being this strong, she knew that cockiness was never in his mind, just that something equally more powerful would come.  
  
It went back to a night before when she had the dream, and over all the years the voice had come and decided it back to close it down. On the horse heading towards her was when it happened, less than a week ago, it could have been a dream or a precognition, or a little of them both in reality. She was scared, of course she was, something was coming and it didn't know what it was, she had no idea and he was still the clueless one of it. No way that he would find out about her crazy little obsessions of that, there was no way to clue him in on this and add to his nervousness. Link was already messed up about a few other things, he was a little bad about the most things around here, but now adding her own problems, was the last thing that was on her mind.  
  
"Don't worry, Nav', I hate it when you worry about me." He did hate it when she worried and that was as he thought when scaling the other one of those platforms, realizing his rate of speed was slow. Hrm, at first he was just a little stupefied, then he remembered that the mechanical switch was going back at the same rate, even if he was sitting on there. It didn't matter about anything, he just had to go ahead with it or die out or something like that, it was the thought of the matter that counted. Yes, he had to go fast or it would lose him and he'd sink over the edge in a matter of minutes, not a good thing when going against so many enemies that waited ahead. Grinning, the race was on and as he scaled the other end, nothing was in his mind except getting to the top, knowing no surprises were waiting for him to go there.  
  
Power-leaping across the third little platform, he scaled up the fourth, fifth, and finally appeared down on the last one the sixth one. Dancing through the air in an acrobatic measure, he leapt the extra foot and landed upon the edge of the area, it resembling the last area. A door ahead of him was unlocked, it was a good thing since he was out of keys now, the last ones of before were now gone from away him. Walking over towards the edge of the door, kicking it down with a foot, the familiar smell of water was around; also a shed of blood was reeking in it. Dreading what was coming into this, nothing at that point in time there; he just unsheathed the door and stepped out through the door with the dreading fate disappearing as the light came out.  
  
A long little block he was standing on, a cross of water was sticking out and filled to the top with water, he staring to his left and seeing another block. Yes, another was also to his left and his far-left was also a larger block, to his right was just a wall that stood in the way, like in the edge of a wall. Only five feet forward was the edge where the water met, about only ten feet deep and nothing below there, he stared forward at what was ten feet from his little eyes, resting on that new form ahead. Weird about the things around was the fact that each held some sort of dragon entity on there, standing out like a totem pill, a gray dragon with evil eyes displaying fangs out for this one. It was turned away so he could only seen the side of its face with a clear view of that, something also was headed towards him, a few hundred feet away and skating on the water seemed to be that water-spider from before.  
  
Pressing the blade against him, the distant him began to sink out as the fairie ducked behind him, readying her for the impact of it. Within a few seconds, the blade began to glow a silent blue, he letting it flow out and sink against the air, a distant wave appearing in the aftermath. The violet-blue sank into the air and headed in the direction that the boy had the sword pointed at--near where the water-spider was heading. Covering her eyes as she saw the blade coming towards, she just knew that it would be evil, the Master Sword may have been good against the good, but against someone evil, no mercy was shown. Not ready to explain it, she was sulking on his shoulder, knowing they were far enough not to receive any debris, the fact matted that it was dying.  
  
The wave of energy sank down inside of its body; a scream of pain echoing through as it went inside the body and just stood there for a few seconds. No one was expecting it to just stay there except Link; he had the sword drawn down, his hand with the Triforce was held open in a palm, squeezing it shut. When he shut it, the Triforce under the gloves beamed out under there and was sinking through the once-penetrable gloves, just showing their true colors as the beam broke up. When it did break itself up, imploding around the body of the monster, that was when everything blew itself up and guts splattered all across the horizon, shadowing the water where it was near. His eyes no longer rested there, the beam had calmed down and now the sword was sheathed, just getting ready to sail over where that dragonhead now rested on its haunches.  
  
"How did you do that?" She whispered as he prepared himself, taking out in frenzy and landing down on the other side, hands crossed around chest and examining the reptile head that was ten feet in the air.  
  
"I really don't know, Nav'." He stooped down over towards the head and to his surprise there was one of those crystals from before, incased in the glass and ready to start off a timer if stuck by something other than an arrow--no more shattering the stones no more. "A way over there, I see, what do you think?"  
  
She didn't know her point was blank and there was no way to jump to the north where the next platform was, it stood about twenty feet away from them. Too drained to even make it, she knowing he was too, her hands went down and tapped the glass, amazed at what was to come as soon as that happened. The head of the dragon was sinking down from the feet he couldn't climb, now only the head stuck itself out, revealing what to be a head, but that wasn't all that happened. Stretching out the following twenty feet, the neck came out and created a bridge for him to cross, it was a regular way over to another one. Yes, a head of a dragon still stood on another one, another switch was up there and he guessed each led to the path across each one.  
  
Pacing across the path of the neck, he came towards the other side and examined where he was going, a whole path opening up for him. In the center of the room was a crystal, only he could hit with an arrow, but since there was one right near him, no reason to break it at this point and time. Well, he was not messing with it; his eyes only stared up at the purple dragon neck and head above him, this one extending a twenty feet and above were something new. Yes, a second platform was heading for him, if he could tap the crystal and get on, then there was time to climb up it and ride it back up towards the top of the area. Right then and there the world would continue on, each area was hard to examine the next since from one area there wasn't an over-head map; now he wished this temple had one.  
  
Slapping a hand on top of that crystal, the thing sank down like he had imagined it would, it coming to a rest towards him, a joyful expression painted on. The horns of the dragon were in his way as he stood on the thing, sitting down on his behind and just staring over at the switch. From here it looked a million miles away from here, the sword wouldn't even be long enough to strike that stupid little thing hard enough to punch it. Climbing onto of that little thing, he sat down and tried to reach for the switch, utterly missing as he was sat down on the forehead. Just keeping his head down, a face went over towards the love of his life, the smile beaming his face when he realized she could do it for him, he was gladly obliged to have her here.  
  
"Would you, sweetheart?" Peering over at her with a graceful smile, he just sat down on the ground, straightening himself so not to sit on the horns and hurt a few extra spots on him.  
  
"Sure, Linky. But I can't use up too much energy, okay?" Smiling over at him, she began to concentrate the energy inside her body, condensing it down to something that would help do it, the aura was forming in her bare hands like someone who was about to create an energy blast of devastation.  
  
"I wouldn't have it any other way, love, I need you to help me fight in the upcoming battles. Otherwise I am going to lose it, the battles without you just aren't worth them anymore." As he spoke that, he saw she was just about ready for her demonstration of power, this would be a quick thing and then on their way they would travel onward for the next part of this confusing puzzle.  
  
Flushing a little, she gave up her emotions and growled with the content one someone finishing anything, she let her hands reach out and that was when the aura was gone from her body and throwing itself forward. Keeping a grip on everything that was going on--since losing you're power would cause everything to go down--that would ruin the whole experience and just drain the power. There she grabbed onto herself and let out a cry of fury to release the power in an even better form; it was really going to blast through and causes everything to come in the beautiful way it did. Just slamming down onto it, the thing was aimed for even more of that since it ricocheted over the smashed little crystal and going for the one in the middle of the lake, making that contraption start up. As the head rose over, she watched him step over it and keep onward over on the second little floor of this third floor, it was really just a cliff hanging off than a floor, since all that was there was a dragon head.  
  
When his fairie struck the crystal in the center, it had activated a dragon to go down, or so he presumed when he looked over towards the end. As the head came to a stop, a grunt of discomfort escaped his lips, looking ahead and seeing no more obstacles were going to stand in his way towards this newest room of puzzles or monsters. It was always like this around here, whenever you messed with something the wrong way, you were rewarded, in the temple the exact opposite happened, he knowing this wasn't some sort of reward. There was a normal door with its gates staring open for him, the door was completely gone, so someone had used a key or was ready for him to come in. A prophecy that his end was nearing him, that or just the fact that someone was in this temple and had gotten this far, but how did the person left the other doors by themselves.  
  
Yanking him off of the end of there, those hands pushed up and there he landed on the other side of the horns, staring forward. Feeling the dread wash over his entire body, the hands went forward and stared ahead, almost tripping over and decided down from the head he would get out of there. As his hands pulled forward and yanked the blade from the sheath, he headed over towards the open door, eyes glancing down inside of there. Now as the sword was dragging across the ground, staring over towards her with eyes that were dilating a little bit, just the sort of thing that most people wouldn't believe. Once last bit over conversation was given, the old-time's sake was in mind because he felt like the boss of the temple was down here, even though there wasn't keys of the boss.  
  
"Any last words." He chuckled a little bit and stared over at her fluttering about his shoulder, a wonder of how those wings never got tired-- yea changing the initial subject cooled the nervousness in his system.  
  
"Don't joke like that, silly." Even though she was laughing, her eyes were a little bit in anger for that, she always made him mad when doing that, it was a stupid thing to pose on him, he knew how much she worried about him.  
  
"I'm sorry, little one." He smiled a somber mood to her, she lightening up and glancing around the room, he just focused on the room before him, a cloud of smoke was over it so that his eyes couldn't adjust to it, the sad part was they had to go inside to see something.  
  
"L-Link, look!" She pointed her hands over towards where a little hand stood, well it was something you put you're hand inside and then something happened, an entire veil over it.  
  
His mind was conjuring what it was, walking over towards the machine and taking a seat at the panel that was hidden only a few moments before. Well, what had happened was that the place was black, the entire structure, and in a shadow so you could not see the entire thing without some good eyes. Link had them, just didn't look in that general direction, and so you usually suffered the consequences for that sort of stuff when you acted upon it. Mmhm, there was no way you went about this, wondering if it had to be a trap or some sort of helping device, maybe this was the key to the room or a weapon of some sort. Taking a glance for her for the approval, she nodded, and there he stuck his arm in the thing, glancing at the words with the text in the Zorian language, it computing inside of his head.  
  
What it read was this was a machine that transformed a hook that shot into a long hook that shot, his mind rumbling over the words. Yes, he computed the Zorian language more than he expected, seeing that in his sleep he had mastered most of this one, some of the words not making sense, like the directions. Hm, when he looked where the directions on here were, the words made no sense, he taking it into his own hands to device some instructions as hand dug out for the stuff from before, along with the Hookshot. What he had to do was put all the stuff inside of there and then put his hand and the hookshot in there, and wait for it to begin, luckily that's how. Maybe they would all come together and fit in one; connecting and creating a longer shot that gave the hooks out, a new name was in order if it happened.  
  
No, that wasn't how it went and as he dumped the parts inside of the machine, he saw there was a slot for the Hookshot, placing it all inside of that box. The box was the cloth that he had thought from before, it actually what everything went into, he nodded slipping down the hand inside of there and searching for the button. Coiling around a small trigger, his finger went to it and pressed on the trigger, a humming noise starting up and groaning with a bit of pleasure. Nothing had ever been in him like this, hell, he had never had such a good back rub in his life, well a backrub was not what he had ever had period. The thing was like a massager, it gave you a good rub, and the seat he was leaned against was definitely giving him the best back rub of his life, energized with mechanical energy.  
  
Navi was now leaning against the seat too, enjoying the warmth's of the jealously she had just had, hearing the machine start up and glanced over. When the machine started up, she saw that everything was grinding around, or heard it since you had to close the lid on the thing to see anything. Yes, and as this was happening, clicking sounds all went into the room, Link not even noticing since he was in pleasure from the rubbing. Mm, she was enjoying it too, but when the machine stopped after five minutes, the hum ending with it and stopping everything, a clicking sound came out and the thing slid down into his hands. Feeling the cold of the blade against her partner, she felt it also from his body, they were sort of interlined like that, he stopping and looking down as she did the same.  
  
Pulling away from the machine, eyes of blue examined the machine and just looked at the thing that was strung in his hands, it was quite a beauty. About two feet long--like last time--the thing was just standing in his hands and now the violet was mixed with the blue, it the same one as before, just a different feel too it. All the mechanical parts were not seen, the new tool dubbed the name Longshot was imprinted on the side, along with a small Triforce in the way of here, showing it was rightfully his. Grinning at the long tool with a stainless blade held on it, the grin was going as he looked over at the door, knowing this was truly the weapon of choice, an upgrade of the Hookshot. Wanting to test his beauty out, he was not ready, walking over towards where the door was, a hand linking down and clicking the trigger.  
  
That was a mistake, there was nothing like doing that to shoot it forward, since it sank down inside of the smoke and slammed against something, propelling him. Of course he was going in the direction it, not knew how far this new Longshot went, having a good idea it was more than the regular thirty feet. No longer was he reduced to size, knowing the size wasn't the limit with this one, everything would go his way with this weapon. Only problem was how to use it, the Hookshot had never been a real boss-killer; maybe this Longshot killed specific targets or something weak against metal. It went quite a while, twice as much as before and as he sank sixty feet into the new environment, stuff all around him that wasn't there before was now into the view of here.  
  
When, at last he landed down on the ground, seeing that his thing had been gnashed into a wall, the room wasn't dark at all, it had been the smoke mentioned earlier. Yes, now as he jumped off the wall and stared around (pulling the thing from the wall) his eyes stared around in amazement at the place around him, it was like a platform in the water. Yes, he was standing on the very edge of a platform, he was hanging off the wall because below was thirty feet of water waiting for him to go in and sink down. As he stared around that area, knowing good well it wasn't a regular liquid, the boy was now on the edge of here and just placing eyes to scout the place out. Now what he was standing on was a completely blue platform, no doors out of here so he decided that this was the boss, there just weren't no keys in this rotting temple, but the question had to be where he was.  
  
"Where could he be?" Navi whispered out in a hushed tone so the monster didn't overhear them, which were a bad case, was a sneak attack against anything with strong hearing.  
  
"I dunno, this is the main area of the battle, you think?" He spoke his mind, wanting her expression more than anyone else, it was worse when he knew this alone, when not, he just felt a little bad about it.  
  
"Yes, I am sure it is. There is no doubt since there isn't even a door out of here, hell there isn't one in!" Pointing over towards the ground, there was the door where they had come in, shrunk down to the size that his hand could fit in, feeling a bit awkward about it and not sure what to say.  
  
Growling with a bit of content stared down into his voice, the boy was just about to give up and decide the boss was dead when something happened to him. Him was the Hero of Time and the something was a rumbling sound, there was no motions coming out of anywhere, the ground was perfectly still and he realized with a start that the water was the stuff reacting. Yes, the liquid was coming down, though it wasn't like someone was after them or anything, more like a tidal wave was coming and they couldn't see far away. No, it was ridiculous since the room was only fifty feet apart, the platform was forty-five feet and there was only a small little five feet separating the ground and water. Now, what could be happening were his thoughts, he was thinking that when it rose out of the ground, it was the something that he dreaded and at the same time knew was going to happen.  
  
Sure the stuff below had looked more like Jell-O than water, and with that she thought it was poisonous and they weren't to touch it. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined what would happen, the boss wasn't here, the boss was somewhere else and since it couldn't fly up in the sky, that left only one other place. Yes, below the ground wasn't an option since doing that would be a little bit of stupid, that only part was submerged in the water, except when they looked earlier, there was nothing. Uh-oh, she knew it and when it at last rose from the water, the tidal wave actually something a lot more dangerous, there was a lump in her throat that she wanted to smash in with a hammer. And with a triumph of terror, she was behind his back, scanning the person with eyes just a glazing over at the monstrosity that was capable from the Man in the Desert.  
  
"A water-monster?" He gaped out in an almost amusing tone, still the thing sticking out of the water, just taking its form when he spoke those small words. There, standing exactly seven feet tall and in the form of a hand was a molecular water monster, defying all the laws of physics that had been established. Yes, this monster was just weaving and bobbing around, acting more like a retarded person than a monster; the amusement was for that the reason Link had decided to chortle in his voice. As he glanced over towards the monster, he wondered how this thing could be controlled; his thoughts were answered when he caught himself over towards the edge. In the center of this creature was a thing just staring over for there, it was actually an eye that was in the water, though not hurting it, incased in some sort of membrane of thick jelly.  
  
"It's a nucleus." Navi didn't speak about the first matter; she just glanced at the thing standing in the center and nodded with her confirmation of the investigation. The only reason the water was around was because a water daemon--the nucleus--was trapped inside of there and controlling it with the adapt ability. Maybe this was a daemon, maybe it wasn't, and the point was that this creature could manipulate the forces of water in just a way that no other she had ever heard of could. Such an extraordinary being, there was no limit to the powers it had, probably able to control other elements, or it could be the lone brain of a long-dead water-god, the possibilities were endless. No one really knew how this was going to come about, she thinking about that Longshot that Link had and nodded with that habitat in mind.  
  
A nucleus was what she had said, he nodding over to what she said and looking at the older youma; this creature was out for him. There was no way to deny that he wanted this thing dead, and it probably wanted him the same way to it, each feeling was mutual. No one wanted him alive in these places, just wishing to meet a friend that wasn't stupid or helpful for him, Shiek was never in these places anywise. Even if the thing used to be good, it was long possessed by that evil man form the desert so everything was coming boiling down to this moment. Now, the sword was sheathed down into its back, taking out what had to be the Longshot with the new name, no way was his weapon was going to sink into that nasty stuff.  
  
How fast he wanted to end this depended on how far this was going to go on, the restless tasting, the youma finished that when it took off in a blast. Readying itself, getting full control over the body, that monster let out a screech out of somewhere, how it talked was unbelievable to her, and even to any day in time. Now was the time to finish it, maybe that little eye- like creature had decided this and went on to go on, a quick death was what was in order. Sloshing the hand out, gripping in a fist of some sort, the thing sat down on the en pavement, leaving a slimy trail when it would slither away from one little spot to the next. The hand was slapped on the ground, the fist curling tighter than ever and that's when it launched itself forward, heading right for where Link was standing.  
  
Maybe this was some sort of show down in an old spaghetti western and if it was, then Link was ready his hand on the 'gun' and about to draw. When the other one's weapon went down towards him, the hero was ready and dove off to the left, not even close to the edge, his Longshot aimed and fired. Able to do this in fast-motion was a truly remarkable thing, the fairie about him and near the monster that was named Morpha, guiding at its weak spot. Yes, that beam pointed and soon the hook shot from its place and landed down into the water, seeing it pierce the nucleus with a fashion that he couldn't describe as joy. Hitting the switch for a return, the monster was returned to him, the water sloshing in all directions since it wasn't guided and went back to being water--it had only nicked Morpha a little, so it was bleeding barely through the internal organs.  
  
"Morpha, I presume you are?" The thing had no speech, no mouth, and probably no internal organs, he didn't know much about nucleuses, but knew that this one couldn't survive out of the water very long, it would dry itself up.  
  
Stupid Hylian! All the monster did was croak out some water, cursing him while the thoughts were centered on how to get out of here in one piece, of back in the water.  
  
"Go ahead and kill him, this thing is dangerous to be meddling around with, the thing could get at you and screw up this temple!" Navi cautioned in a tone of harshness worried about that this didn't seem to be the boss at all, it was too easy to put and seemed easier than most monsters.  
  
"He is a doesn't show much of a threat anyway, this stupid thing couldn't even break the skin on me, he has no chance to effect me with any attack--" He broke off and cried out in pain as something touched him, he throwing the thing aside and slamming a foot down on it, not sure what it was. The cry of pain is what gave the monster enough time to travel back and as Link was sucking on his finger now, the shoe was lifted and nothing was there at all, it seemed the plan of Morpha's had indeed worked on him. Now, as he searched around for something to beat on, to kill the little monster with a step of his shoe, a plop went down through his ear sounding. Cursing under his breath for disobeying Navi and suffering the consequences, he was met with the realization that maybe this thing had been underestimated. Now was when he prepared the Longshot more steadily, peeling the residue of skin off of there and just staring at the water all around, an entrapment it was?  
  
-------------------  
  
A tentacle or something had stung him and just as his foot had almost come down, there was no body left, because the thing had slid down inside of the water without fail. Morpha's plan had been simple and sweet; the aftereffects had left him a little scarred, underestimating the power of this boy. Whoever it was, this person had the temple treasure, a rumor had been going on that the hero of time was around--this boy was undoubtedly not he. A hero of Time was a brave warrior that wasn't scared of nothing, while this klutz had just sat there and been beaten, his ego getting the best of him. Egos weren't a good thing, if he could laugh, then the guffaws would of come out and shattered the heavens, chuckling it up with everything around. Another wave and the fool would be dead; the last time of underestimating the boss of the Water Temple was going to be the last one forever.  
  
Well, the former boss of the water temple, though he wasn't about to let anyone else know that, these people would take it to their graves. His old room did look something like that; the room of illusions was doing a bad copy of it, the flood was supposed to be split into several other forms. Aside that, the area had been much scarier and his presence with this water were just as bad as anyone who had been controlling the elements was. Thousands of years had been spent to perfect this art and he realized he just might lose because of it, because of the change of room had done it, all for the simple satisfaction of screwing up. Ever since his defeat and the rise of Onii, everything had been as bullshitty as the next thing, his respect as a general was lost for him, people ridiculed him for all his accomplishments that had been done in the previous past.  
  
A former crewmate, that stupid man of incredible power, not even created but a few years ago, before the generals were assigned, he was something. Excellent in battle, increasingly even more so in the other arts of fighting, there was no doubt that Morpha was less strong, but Goddess- damnit, the thing had been here shorter than he had. There were no fights to determine who was in charge anywhere, it was if you control the element, the different one of power with the Phantom, he was part of Ganon, after all. Paired with his guardian, there was no one that could best them except the man who ran the show, and even then, he had a little sweat on him when finishing pounding that boy named Onii. Yes, the thing was a kid, not even an adult yet and already he acted like he owned everything around here, the fight was one to remember, it hadn't lasted that long for kicks.  
  
He had been asking for it, the position, and gloating over the few weeks since that he was better than he, preferred this was one to the others was. Why, you ask, did he want the nastiest temple of them all, it was the simple fact that it was more complex than all the rest, the hardest. Such a prize to receive at the end, he explained, was dearly to him, and nothing would stand in his way of achieving that sort of goal in the time recommended. Now, he had teased the Morpha character for the position, asking why such a sissy got it, while he was dubbed the miniature boss, getting past him over for the weaker character was not good. In the past, other heroes had come and those that got to Onii never even made it past the Illusion room to the next, each dead at the door.  
  
Now the tables had turned and he had to deal with them, never able to enjoy a goodnight's piece without some punk coming after him with the clicking fights. Everyone had the same feel that this stupid idiot had, they were always cocky, held their time true and always alone with themselves. There was something about this new one that he happened to inspect, it was alone, but at the same time another presence was around here. Yes, they were easy, he dealt with them with the satisfaction of smashing flies, and it was the thought that mattered, how he got down to this position. Nothing could forgive what had happened, he loving to take the anger out on different people; these so-called heroes were the best fun, since there was no innocence in them.  
  
A difference between them and him, I don't know how, but I have a keen sense of it. Growling with a sound satisfaction, the matter of those two were going through his body, suddenly able to know how to do it.  
  
Now his eyes were still down, staring down into he water with the plan formulating, pushing it aside at that ever-so anxious paranoia that was coming out of him. That dot was what told him that a weakness was there, that dot had been around the thing and even speaking to that person, yes he was talked too. Of course that sparkle was an assistant, or something of some matter, how else would it be here and able to assist that person in such a way that none other had. No, this couldn't have just been some sort of helper, a special relationship was between them, and otherwise that creature wouldn't have risked its life for the measly Hylian. This one isn't alone, he never would be and that meant that a strength of a bond had been established, also giving off another little pressure that could be used for his advantage.  
  
Automatically splashing through the water, swimming over where the two of them were searching, it went the other way around. Fluttering to the other side was hard, he had to search each area to see where they were looking, and small talk about what they were going to do was about. If his plan worked, that monster and his legendary weapon would be dead in a matter of seconds, each would never have to deal with him again--they'd be dead. A sneak attack would be better, when he came out, only a dripping sound went about and knew that a Hylians ears weren't that good, no one's were that good. As soon as the getting was good, he sprang all the way from the water and fluttered through the water, heading down for the one, realizing his timing was not as good as expected.  
  
-------------------  
  
"You think he died?" Ears twitched when a plinking sound came out, he ignoring it for the time being, just keeping the eyes peeled for something coming his way.  
  
"I don't think so, Link, but we can all hope. I think that coward is trying to for a stealth attack, so we should keep our eyes out." From his notice, the boy saw her ears didn't twitch, which meant that he was not going to hear anything, Navi's senses were just as good as his.  
  
"Stupid idiot, he needs too--watch out!" That splash made both of their ears turn up, Link's peering even more and then that was where the large wave came out, he spinning around. Maybe she didn't sense where it was coming from, she turning to the left and seeing nothing, he catching this and doing the only thing that he could in this desperate situation. Hands were fluttering around for the weapon--what weapon, you ask--why it had to be the one that shot the hooks, the upgraded one! Of course, but where had he put it, no he couldn't remember and the paranoia was struggling through his mind, feeling like all of a sudden that his brain would explode. Crying out in the pain from the nervousness, the thing was coming closer, at a speed he couldn't even see, knowing that throwing himself would just kill him, a desperate last scenario in this situation.  
  
Shocking out the thing of passion, his savior was in the way, and there was when he made his move to turn the events of this shifty little attack. Nothing would stop it, nothing except the force of what he had swelling inside of his hands, combined with the power of the Triforce, and a dash of courage gave everything to build the self up. Sliding infront of Navi, the Longshot held out, he just pressed the trigger, not bothering to aim since the thing was spinning in different directions and fired. Feeling the impact caused him to fall back a little, the ground coming within in, and when he heart the spurt of something, that's when he clicked the return button. Nothing was under him, Navi floating above him with that mask of concern on his face, he not looking at her, even looking at the returning chain.  
  
A squishy sound went through something, the returning chain had slid back into place and when he looked over at his hand, lying down away from his body, Morpha was there. The hook had penetrated down inside of its body, the center, so there was no way this thing was going to escape from the extended hooks. Extended, you mean, what that was had to be the hooks had spread wider so that when taken off to piercing metal, a hole that was twice the side of the regular spear-head would be before. Now, a glance down towards the struggling monster, he felt the fury of trying to attack his girl, which just wasn't anything you did to him. His punishment would be swift and good, torture was not something be believed in, nothing like that would come to man, but death had to be a sweet tone. Letting loose the thing with a glove, he threw the thing to the ground, his foot readying itself and coming down with a swift nature, this time. The previous time, they had paid for it by leaving it down and this time around was when the foot went down and boots slammed down onto it. Having a stomping frenzy, he knew that maybe the hook had killed Morpha back there, not really caring if the thing was still alive or dead to the world. To make matters worse--better for Link--he thought about his boots and slammed the last one right into the core of the monster, iron stuck on the once- impervious Morpha into a plating pulp. Taking his boots off of the thing and feeling the guts on the iron, they slid back in and his boots were healed, about to turn around when a sizzling feeling went through his nose, smelling the scent of burnt flesh and feeling her aura turn on.  
  
"Stupid parasite, what was he doing?" She whispered out of a hushed breath, staring down as the last beam landed down on that Morpha-monster, knowing the life was gone, just feeling the joy of heating it until only a bubbly mass was left, no hope for resurrection.  
  
"He almost came after you--I was so scared that he would get to you, I was so frightened that I almost lost you." He sighed out a hushed breath of content, the little fury was just exploding down in his mind, not able to comprehend of how he would be without her and who would this mission land on--it would screw everything up. "I just don't know what I will do without you, I feel that the intensity is flowing through my mind, I felt like I was having a migraine or something."  
  
"Don't worry, I won't ever let something like that hurt me." She smiled towards him and just knew that this was meant to be there was nothing else that would scare her than losing him, everything else was obsolete. Desire was flowing everywhere, not the energy that was going through a regular person, just the kind that each other spitted out in hate. Nothing else mattered if it died, she knew it and he knew it, they were just afraid to admit it, their eyes meeting each other together. Fire and Ice, the two were like, the two of them felt together and knew that everything was working together, if it didn't, then the two of them would die. Those two elements were mixing with such enthusiasms that the two of them knew that without each other, death was the only answer.  
  
Pushing at him, he pushing at her, she fluttered over towards his face and looked up into his eyes, her eyes matching the same ferocity. That intensity was coming closer as the nearer and nearer that they got together, the matching hues were staring at each other, noses touching as her larger form from before just stared down at him. Never since she had grown had they been this much together, this closer that even the heart- beat was getting even further down the road. Pulses reached their momentum of exploding, everything coming down to this moment and the lips were nearing their takedowns, about to close down on each other and move in for the take-over. If that voice had sounded out in a momentum of laughter, then he would of kissed her and who knew what would of happened after that, probably something that wasn't described in books, the naughty stuff, yet they were stopped by laughs.  
  
Echoing through the entire place, the two of them spun around with the cheeks flushing from both of them and noticed with a startled gasp that the room was changing. Not just the floor, but everything around here was in sort a morphing stage when they spun around, the theory of how to get out of here was solved for the moment. While the solution had been found, now there was something else that boiled through his mind, the laughter coming out and it sounded a little familiar as two problems popped themselves up. A new one was sorting up when the room turned into the beautiful floor down to a completely white room, one door near the way he came out and another opposite of that, it near him. Now just where was the giggles and guffaws coming from, when a speculation came about, he realized it was no where in particular, just the general direction as if there were speakers all around sounding it off.  
  
"Who is that, Navi?" So familiar, it sounded like maybe if Link had a close brother than that was the one, a person who sounded almost like him, acted like him and everything else.  
  
"I don't know--it sounds like you." She muttered the words out, he hearing them and making the connection, refusing to believe it, had he ever sounded like that a day in his life?  
  
"I've never sounded like that before!" He retaliated in the force of battle, the love of conquering from before was gone and now all the defense was put on, how could that be him, he was never like and never even knew a person to mimic him before, no twin brothers.  
  
But it sounds so much like you. At the times that he went crazy, she knew in her subconscious that it was he, the place in Lon Lon, just before she left those soldiers to her doom. How she knew it was because the fact that he made the sound of it, that was a difficult thing to make at each other, accusing him of acting on his own. Maybe abandoned as a child, she sensed it and just made the connection that it was silly, even if he was left inside of that place the entire life of him, no twin was about. Even if so, the boy couldn't have been taught if he had a 'brother' and still, that kid was so different from the others, it was strange who this laughing idiot was. How silly, the boy was a Hylian and there were only triplets in the forest, never ever one that looked like him and was treated as an outcast in other situations.  
  
"Fool, how can you expect to pass anything on your own if you always run on someone else's judgement! A wonder how you were able to take care of that idiot, I don't think I'll ever understand that source of power from the eye of a water-god. Stupid little ass-hole needs to learn better than to judge his superiors, but you did do me a favor and a curse, fool, you spared me the enjoyment of killing him!" The voice boomed from all directions, the door where he was supposed to go creaking itself open and the Mad Hatter's speech going on like that of an insane character from a paradox world went on even more in just a bit of passion. "I shall spare you're for now, because watching you amuses me even more than anything else I could dream of, its just like a little story-line. Not much is left, see if you can survive."  
  
"Who the hell are you?!" Link blurted out in a mad fury, how dare he be called a fool in front of no one, he just had to not be insulted by someone like that. Fury was already held in his hand, the hands empty since the Longshot had been put up right when they were about to kiss, now ready to pull it out. As he put his hands down on the hilt of the blade, ready to pull out and take an attempt, something stopped him, nothing physical or magical, it was a feeling inside of him. Well, he would of taken his sword out and looked for an attack, knowing it was useless, there was no point in denying the inevitable of his feelings. Link was scared to death, he knew it, knew the man had it in his thoughts and even suspected that Navi was sensing the feelings of dread that went through Navi's mind. A groan of dread spread over him, even feeling worse than Ganondorf was spoke with, this was ten time's as worse, as if Ganon was a puppy-dog compared to whomever was mocking him.  
  
"Who do you think I am, who do I sound like?" Chuckling even louder than before, the shadow of a person had not shown himself, he was just away from the land, voice spreading in all directions.  
  
"Navi said you sound like me, but that isn't possible, I have no twin." He spluttered out in a manner of fury, slamming his hands down into the ground and trying to make sense of this, it didn't make sense how a person that sounded like him wasn't him, twins didn't even sound this close.  
  
"Ah, Navi, so beautiful and so sweet, I dread to think when she delivers the final blow on you, darling, but it must be done." For a moment, just a moment, his voice faltered and he sounded so sweet and innocent when speaking of the fairie of Link's, she seeing this and sensing something about it, there was an anger inside him, and yet there wasn't anything there at all.  
  
The fairie of the Hylian was actually blushing, the veil hid the fury in her cheeks, seeing Link wasn't looking and being so glad about it. No one had ever seen Link jealous, since he had no reason to be because the perfect girl was only seen cute by him, yes, since others never saw the real her. Everyone else of that origin didn't ever see her; they always just saw the sprite and even when it was her face, just a cute reflection of a young girl. No one knew the girl behind the veil, it was all different about here and as they stared at each other--Link at the direction the voice came the strongest--she knew in her mind it was him. Inside of her mind, the person of the dark features appeared in her mind, she just knew that Link was here and yet he was there, in some parallel universe, the other side of Link had appeared and this seemed to be not at all a good version.  
  
Link's fury had subsided and when his face pushed over to his faire, he saw her veil was up and blinking through made him gasp a little. Her eyes were focused to the roof of the place where the voice came the strongest-- probably revealing himself to them as a teasing sort--anger furcated inside of his brain. Jealously was showing the colors, something he had never even shown when Mido always used to mess with Saria--because he never knew the older Kokiiri's intentions--that may have been one case of it. Nothing had ever felt here, it was so strange and at the same time, revealed how much he loved her, there was no one that would seduce the young boy except if it was him, knowing his intentions were so in vain. Just from the standpoint of here, the arrows came from their slips and that bow was out in an instant, shooting an arrow straight towards the highest pitch of the voice.  
  
The arrows sailed through the air, a grunt of surprise of catching someone off guard and then there was a swishing sound around here. Those arrows that he had sent were being sent back at him, Link seeing this and grabbed the young fairie and diving out of the way, seeing no need too. It was the thought of saving her, those arrows weren't even close to piercing here, and all were being directed back at her by some foreign energy. When each arrow hit the side of the ground, it blew up, he rolling away beforehand so that he was out of the way and debris was shattering all besides him, nothing piercing anything. Good work that he was out of the way, down from the rest of it and rolled on the other side, waiting for something else to come at him, nothing coming out and the chuckle sounding off as the speech began its normal routine again at him.  
  
"You really are stupid, aren't you? Oh, well, I have to go now, my beloved is waiting for me, and to wait until you both get through the temple. Guard that Longshot well, Morpha used to be in charge of the place and it was his ancient weapon, there is none that can hurt me, only pure luck. I look forward if you were best me, then the Hero of Time would take on and conquer the Villain of Time." A small little smirk was sounded in his face, a whisking dodge was made as if he was disappearing and reappearing at another spot in time, the sounds disappearing as the door where he to go was now shining through, just appealing. "I bid you adieu, and do not worry, I shan't have a trap for you, few other things are here and until you come to me, I shall use my power to hold this Goddess-for-sake temple." Now with the voice trailing off, the man was gone into the distance, there was no way to tell he was gone, his energy of power was just gone, they realizing the trail to go towards him coming up.  
  
That stupid bastard, I'll best him whoever he thinks he is, no one shall beat me at the quest I was assigned too. As the two of them sat there, the thoughts recollections, Link grabbed a hold of himself, choking back a sob and walked forward into the new room, left alone to no one.  
  
He just needs time to himself, that's all, yes, there is nothing I can do but let the boy cope with himself, that way it'll be better for us. I know it's hard for him, being mocked and bested that way, I just felt so compassionate around him that it was a strange reaction. There was no reason to go after him, not at this time, just let him think it over in his thoughts and then get out with everything that happened--she cared for the young boy, his emotions were just developing into those of an adolescent, very complex.  
  
When he was gone through the door, all she could do was sit there, the blush from before was gone, and the scent of him still alluring all about her mind, a controversy was there. Not following him for the time being, it was better for him to keep on his own, that made everything better, the time for being alone was not there at now. The time to be together was there, she knew it, he knew it and most of all, the two of them needed each other or otherwise everything would die together. Like the people of legends that depended on each other's life energy, nothing else would be around without the two of them--or so they thought--the laugh was choking down inside her mind. She would follow him in a few minutes; the thoughts now were just going through her mind on what to do those hands around her when she thought that, the stuff was fading out.  
  
Palms about her own size was about here, something of a cloth was over her mind and a weird scent came onto her nostrils and mouth. Now when they came over here, the solitude of being with Link came over, she felt like going to a sleep, it was just something that went about her, no nervousness at all. Portraying the feeling of falling asleep, she knew something was wrong and as she fell back, she saw a face that scared her own, it was one of her own. Yes, this person resembled her in every way, that person was the same size, height, and evens the same scent that came upon her, except the color. Nothing was scary, she knew it and most of all it was the fact that Link would save her, he would fight the one that looked like her and take her back to him, yes, those were he thoughts when the unconsciousness hit.  
  
-------------------  
  
About fifteen minutes later, the kid was leaning against the wall of the new room was not even known to him, all he saw was a giant blue block around, already knowing what it was. Now inside this blue room, no way was Link even bothering to solve anything, he did, however, take out his ocarina and blow the Song of Time in the bitterness, the 'complex' puzzle solved within a few seconds. Just shaking it off and pushing the playing machine back into his satchel, the young boy was not going anywhere, he'd wait for Navi to do this and worry on with the adventure. Why would he apologize, his pride was hurt and though he was a little hurtful to his fairie, no way was the apologizing nature placed in him at this very moment. With it disappearing, now in his way was a complete hole of dirt, wandering water all sloshing around and showing off what could only be known as an underwater passage, or a spring of some sort.  
  
Another minutes passed by, he not even sure when he woke up, because as soon as he knew it, a dream was flowing around in his mind. There was doubt from this; he was no longer inside of his room anymore, or the temple, for that matter and his weapons were all drenched from his body. Feeling enlightened from the arsenal (pretty complex dream, eh) while the smell of water was around his body, a glance revealed nothing even in the stock. Of course it was an apparition of his mind, he just knew it because the entire place was a sky yellow, there was no sky and yet at the same time, everything was filled to the top with it. Nothing was in his view, as if a fog was lifted around the place and he just let out a grunt, beginning to pace himself around and see where this place would lead him, he never had regular dreams, this had to be some sort of prophecy, or a dud.  
  
Stupid ones, they are just like those ladies. Thinking for a few moments who he meant to blame this little concentration on, he took the moment to remember those three women, the beautiful ones who liked to take care of things, misunderstood as they were.  
  
He never clearly remembered the moments when he was with those three women, each resembling an older form of Saria, Navi and Malon. No, they just had the same color hair, he remembered that none of them vastly resembled them because each was an adult, much taller than he, and had some weird symbols on them. It was so strange to be around here, that young boy had remembered that they were sweet and kind, one of them very spunky, the other one wise and the last one was brave. Not much was done out, the young boy was just a little confused about their purposes, each of them was different and then none of them stated the real purpose of the dreams. Each of them had a weird presence, like a person he had never done and now they were not here, there was nothing here but a dark and empty void in his mind--it was nothingness and yet something-ness.  
  
Whoever those people were, they weren't around and he hoped that he either woke up or found the warm ladies who gave him comfort, they really made him feel good. Most of all, Navi wasn't with him, in some of the dreams she had been in him (asleep in his hat or shoulder) now she wasn't even around, in every dream was her aura felt. Of all that was going on, his sleepiness was sinking inside of his mind, that was a good thing that he wanted, to be around here and then at the same time to be back awake. As his invitation in this world was shown to the rest of the people, he was just staring forward and wondering when the sands of time were going to give off. Loneliness, the yellow the only thing that made him not sigh in the regular relief or die in fear, that sun kept him from living through everything.  
  
The clicking sound made him turn around and realize all of his senses were active, licking his lips and seeing the taste caused him to see that maybe this wasn't one? Gripping his fists in the internal fear, when the lights went out, he knew they were going to go, it was like a candle switch had been shut down in a sound, knowing the sound it made when it clicked down. When the sound came out, the room was filled with darkness, it was black all around and he saw the nothingness was going to swallow him up in a beautiful void. All around him he saw nothing, of course he really couldn't see since the blackness was about, sensing there was still no evil around here, the evil was not in here, though the holy light was not bustling through either. Whatever Gods were around here didn't exist in this void, he felt like the entire world was dead and he was the only one to exist on alone.  
  
Suddenly a light sprang out of no where, the whiteness caused him to stare all around, and it was a thin beam that was twenty feet away, it causing a delightfulness to swell in him. Taking off in a speed of light for the beam that was forward, there was nothing around here to be sure of, the darkness scaring him through, among other things inside of him. Nothing would be here so towards the light he ran, hoping that the sooner he got here, the sooner he awoken and saw the miswritten that destroyed him, that evil one who resembled him was going to take it down within these past thinking moments. Paying for his sins and apologizing to Navi, the kid would head there and then go for that man with the evilness dwelt inside him, the growl of fury for revenge of humiliation was going through, he would pay for everything, indeed. Yes, the one who resembled him was going down, he just knew it, the little voice whispered in his mind as the light was a foot away, he leaping into it without thought.  
  
There, standing in the light was the man from before and from a complete view, this was the man whom he had faced only a few minutes ago, or almost. Wielding no weapons except the sword that was held inside of his left hand, the thing just holding down as it leaned against it, letting himself is stared at. His face was covered up with a veil, the veil was sort of like Navi's, a pure black energy was surrounding the face and showing off its features, even the clothing was around him the same. Yes, the tunic that placed down on his body was even just like the heroes, it not talking, though he knew it was a male and this one was just as black as the rest of him. A grin was talking down through the little cloth over his body, he knew that this man was mocking him, something fluttering over his shoulder and showing itself off.  
  
Well, when he looked over at what was at his side, there was a veiled figure floating above his body, the same dark energy surrounding it, except a familiar tone about it. This one was about seven or so inches tall, looking at him, for he could sort of see through the veil, but nothing like the gender or anything else was revealed, seeing it down by him. Obviously some sort of partner, he could guess, and when it disappeared down beside the boy and let the veil disappears, a beautiful figure was shown to him, well sort of. The blackness was around the face, a short little black dress wore on the black body, and even raven hair was shorter in some areas than he had seen before. If that couldn't make matters worse, when the boy stared over at what was in the man's left hand, a spark of blue was laying in a sprawled out position, the blue haired girl was crying.  
  
"N-Navi? You have Navi!" It didn't matter if this was a dream anymore, this punk had Navi, and he not seeing any bruises and on a different scale, saw she was being handled with the best care.  
  
"Yes, there is one of yours, isn't it? Unfortunately for you, she shall never be returned." The girl whispered out, a voice that matched Navi's, though he knew she wasn't speaking because he heard no sound at all, what he heard was in his mind, sensing the feminine nature of the seven-inch girl and the fact that no sound was there.  
  
"She is right, young Loser of Time, this one shall never be accompanied for she is already mind!" Chuckling through the mindless drone, the boy pushed his sword forward and slashed at the light side of the boy, the dark side was throwing him away from it all, pushing him aside.  
  
The sword should have pierced him into a million pieces, it resembled the Master Sword except it was dark gray and the other side was black, in a magnificent color of powers. Each one caused him to stare back and knowing his sword of Evil's Bane would not hurt anyone, it wouldn't go against that stupid one, he'd love in a sword-fight, it was like an evil precognition. Now as the force released from him, the impact sent him flying down and disappearing from the beam of light that had concealed some sort of place. Away from Navi, away from them all, tears were streaming down his cheeks as the beam got lighter and lighter than ever, going away and fast. A portal was opening up inside of him and when it came to be, the thing sucked up inside of him and soon he was out of that, entering another world.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Navi, no!" He threw himself up, tumbling over the wall and tumbled forward, rolling down into another room, his eyes glancing and see that he was back in his old world, the temple of Water was before him and now was the time to see Navi back together.  
  
No one, back in the world.it was all a dream; he doesn't have her, does he? No, she gone in the other room, waiting for me to get over my fit and come for her, that's all it is. Nothing else is going on, I don't have to feel this sense of pain anymore, I can just enjoy myself fully. No, he couldn't, because as soon as he realized where he was, the fear of getting into the new room was more vast than ever, knowing he should of never left her on her own--a fatal mistake he would laugh for earlier.  
  
What he had done was roll forward and somehow get turned around and then rolled the other way and was back inside the old room where that man had been. As dark and dank as it had seemed, now a brightness was to the room, he realizing in an instant that something was wrong, terribly wrong. As he searched the room for his partner, the dread got bigger and bigger, he not knowing what it was, barely able to space it between good or bad (believe me, it was very bad) or so he concluded. Searching the bright room with a bit of gloom in his step, the fact she was hiding came apparent, so all he did was check the open areas and the spots that were closer than ever, growling when cracks became empty. Now as the room was finished and the dread mixed with his senses, the simple fact had been, that she wasn't in here, Navi was not in the room she had been less than an hour ago--or however he'd been asleep.  
  
Oh, she was hiding, that was all, yes and as he looked through the room a second time, he knew she wasn't in this room, she was somewhere else in this Temple. Of course! How could he have been so stupid, she was wandering in the next room, he concluded before checking under his clothes and hat for her, knowing that's where she was residing inside a bit of a fit. There was no other explanation for that, he knew when it was in he way and as he searched through the room one last time, keeping a sly distance in his step, nothing else was coming about. A groan was slinking out of himself, groaning about how mad he was going to be--and crying and screaming on the inside of things, knowing how huge his worry was growing. Now no physical violence would come to her, but as he ran into the next room with it crying inside of him, everyone knew this was no ordinary value, she just had to be somewhere.  
  
Tightened fists revealed the pain that was dwelling inside of him; indeed there was something strange about this, since his eyes had glanced when first awakening. After shifting through areas of different scenes, he able to conclude that she was no here, she was not here and that meant that someone had her--that someone just had to be the bastard. Showing some stupid naivete of their fight, she had been captured because he had run off to cry and now they had two hostages, one he could care less for the other that frightened him to death. In a manner of speaking, the time to cry was coming on, remembering this was the third time in a new quest--also a level elemental--where someone had been captured, that someone was coming on again. Of course he wouldn't cry like last time, all he had to do was put himself up and reach behind his sheath, grabbing the sword from the scabbard and deciding to get her back.  
  
A quick hole was before him, the tears streaking down as he slid down the twenty feet and came to a land before him, pulling the sword aside and taking out the Longshot--knowing this area was unfilled with monsters. Just pulling the Longshot ahead, he was standing on the solid ground of an underground spring, he looking over to his side and seeing that a water- fall was right beside him, he on the only part of the stream that solid land was at. The rest submerged in the evil water that sought to destroy him, and with a groaning material in his throat, the boots remained in the normal state as even the Longshot went back. Nothing was needed now, not even this and all of a sudden he felt the tears drip from his cheeks, pushing them back with a grunt of pain and falling head-first down into the water. Surrounding his body and soul, the wish of the tunic being off and not working did appear, each gone when the current drifted him away from the area, nothing but running water in his way.  
  
I'll do it; I'll kiss it. Kiss the ground, his blade spoke through his mind and when he was near the end of the entrance, the blade hit down into the soiled ground and yanked him up. No land mass around, he knew the only way to get out was to use a simple energy trick he had mastered in his own time, it took some training and drained up power, though the results were awesome. Not even waiting for consider the results of the stronger foe, the boy was only concerned with Navi, knowing that it would power him against that stupid bastard when the time came. Propelling through the water, nothing around except a door that was in the way, he fell up the ten feet and appeared down on top of the ground, the sword refraining down inside of his hand. Standing on the drilled hole, a door standing front before him, the chuckle was held, sensing that something was in there, evil or good, though at the time it wasn't the dark shadow.  
  
Around the door was a simple small key with it linked over the door, pulling it off and seeing that a door was standing before him, the lock rusted from underground. Not even going for the old simple instructions, a simple boot slammed into the shut entrance, it creaking and moving a little on the hinges at first. Holding out in a more forceful stance as a martial artist has, the leap through the air was what gave the needed mentality to strike down the opponent. More power was in his kick and as it began to glow, a hum echoed through his body, reaching up and slamming a foot through there, the hinges breaking themselves off and shooting out ahead. Shutting through him, he just stared through the entrance to the door, his hands staring at his side and glancing forward to his newest surroundings.  
  
Inside of him, or in the room, was spikes standing before, him, and they were flashing in all directions and looking over at him with the intent of kill. More looking like the shark teeth of a giant fish, the Longshot was out in a few seconds as he stared in the new area, that was dry as could be, wanting to finish it soon enough. If this was done and with a cock of the trigger, the shot of the long hook shot out and penetrated the area above there, the switch that he pulled forward and let he fly through the air. As the pressure his ears and caused them to pop, the streaked tears were leaking still, pushing themselves back and no more shone out, it was time for action--no more tears of pain for him. Slinking forward the forty feet in the air, he let go soon enough as soon as he was on the ground floor, giving a good look around and noticing this was indeed a very new room for him.  
  
There was nothing else inside of this room except an open area for him to follow, the duo of keys were now hanging out of his pockets, he noticing this one was unlocked and relieving. Now all he did was kicked this door down with a regular shot and it was opened for him, an evil sense of many auras were around his body now. Shivering, the room was prepared, the Longshot held tightly, seeing the flash and hearing running water that made him think they were under water. Not able to sense what was in here, he so wished she was here, that made him bite his lip hardly, causing a bit of blood to drain off of it. Licking the salty blood with the sweet tongue, he shook his head and vowed no more thoughts were going to made of her unless it was when she was rescued from the clutches of that evil person in black.  
  
Sleeking inside of the room, he was positioned on one side of the room, the area infront of him was full of all sorts of traps and on the other side was a locked door. Nodding at his luck, the traps that were explained were not that hard if you were fast, nothing could be outsmarted in this situation, the currents in here were sort of frightening to him. Scared that they might pull him back and slam him into the room, the huge room was ready, and it could have been swarmed if what for not those other people. Okay, so you have a giant pool around and there were a bunch of Tektite monsters roaming around the area, looking for a snack, not even the worst part of this scenario. Boulders were rolling down the center, coming from maybe the water-fall or something, all he knew was that this area was screwed up with a bit of fashion in a twist that no one wanted to go through.  
  
Grinning with a bit of sleekness in the smile of passion, he looked over and nodded, slipping all his equipment up and slunk down inside the water, thinking of metal shoes. Heh, all he needed was this, the monsters were those water-spiders, the funny thing was none of them could deal with him, he not having much pity for them either, at this very moment. Thinking about taking the blade and just taking each of their legs off, then slicing the corpse in half, he knew that this couldn't be done--no generosity was not into him, this was something else. Not in a torturous mode as he sometimes was, the smirk was held and arms crossed each other as he passed through the first spot of the underwater passage, this one was where the easiness held true. When the center section was holding itself true, the over-achieving boy just looked over at the center passage, a boulder passing right before his eyes, ten feet away and blowing a bright dusk around the turquoise suit.  
  
Soldering past him, his thoughts were on how to get past, one going through every five seconds, and the area that they went past was maybe ten feet across. As slow as he was in this water, no chances were going to be taken like that, so he had only one smaller alternative to consider that one maybe the craziest of them all. The boulders may have been wide, but they were only ten feet up, while the water area rose a great twenty-five feet, giving more than enough room. Nodding, those hands were held together, glancing up and dispersing that the water-spiders had gathered around the place he entered. So, they couldn't sense where he was in the water, themselves not able to submerge, that was a good thing, he knew it and let himself fly.  
  
The currents swept him up from the room and within a few seconds of not having the metal on his feet, his body sloshed against the surface, alerting the attention of the enemies. Fright was in his face, looking over where the other side was and seeing there were no monsters, they were all headed for him--a relief if the water picked him up great enough. Groaning in the pain of death from them (because they were moving at an extremely faster race, the currents not even bothering them) nothing was left but the pure luck of the enemy to be outsmarted. About three-fourths there, the luck was on his side and then he realized the twists and turns of the currents would do him in, considering dropping to the water below, knowing it was a mistake. They would get smart and keep watch on the area, where he was supposed to come out, so if it didn't work now, he'd sink down, death was not afraid of him when the impact came.  
  
Slamming into the side, his quickly pushed himself up and dove out of the edge, scourging up a little ladder that was held, they coming faster and faster. At last he reached over the edge and threw himself up the last five feet, landing upon the safe ground, a small little sinister grin caught him while eyes just triumphed in a sort of glory. Each of them was too small to handle it; they couldn't make the jump up there, no hands to grasp the ladder, so essentially only guard-dogs for the bottom, the top. Hawking up a bit of saliva, he spit down the long way, watching it land on one of the creatures and it cry out in frustration, a bomb going out as he dropped it. One would think the explosive would of gone in the water and gone out, but the monsters had connected a sort of barrier, maybe trying to scale one another when the bomb slid down inside the center of there.  
  
The explosion caused him to wince for a few seconds, the ears unaffected and also the worry of something coming up for a sneak-attack was in the past. Now as that was finished, the second to last key was slinking inside of the lock, he staring at the ground in a bit of thought, the thoughts dwelling on that person kidnapped. No, he was about to think of her when that voice in his head commanded him to shut up and deal with it--that she was alive and would survive to see another day. It didn't matter how gruesome and evil that man had been, when he had seen Navi was when Link discovered a gentle side to the shadow, wherever it hid, and also noticed this as a weakness for him to exploit--if he had a hostage of the man's. When the lock slid down and the one of the final doors (or so he assumed) breaking and rotting for him, the Longshot retrieved out and readied itself for the position.  
  
-------------------  
  
The blackness was around, the sense of desire was gone and all that remained had to be the loneliness in the situation of it all, and what more the memory. What was she? Where was she? And how in the world was she in this place, were some of the questions that boggled inside of her mind, still hazy from where everything was in here. No matter how much the question was, the person still knew of how alone she was, who she was still uncertain, and this places existence still had to breach. Never had she felt so lonely--in her period of existence--or that was how she remembered it in her heart, not caring how the memory settled out in this. How had this happened to her, she didn't know how she could know this was the saddest time of her life, a certain something was in her mind that gave her happiness?  
  
A link of some sort, I don't recall. All I know is that someone is here, or someone inside my mind. Not a link, its Link! Yes, that was it and considering that in her mind, she could feel nothing in her smile, the ghastly feeling dwelling in her mind for even thinking of those weird thoughts.  
  
It wasn't amnesia, maybe a chemical in her brain that would soon go away, this person was someone new, this Link, or whatever the name was. Recognition appeared in her mind, feeling it click together in an instant and knowing--and yet not knowing--whom the boy named Link was. Nothing was clear in her mind as of yet; the awakened form would take a few minutes to recover, either that or a few days, weeks or years. Heroism's name was pasted on his figure--not able to see his face just yet--knowing full well he was a handsome fellow whose feelings were revealed back to her in a sort of heroine state. She almost smiled in the blackness when all of a sudden a dull gray light awakened her senses, something about her size appearing, clearly able to make out the appearance.  
  
Seven inches in the same height about her, that's how big she imagined herself as of now, the resemblance stopped there since she couldn't tell anymore about herself. Beautiful skin was a gray ash, the hair was a dark raven and was spiking out in a cool little tom-boyish haircut for some sort of style of it. She couldn't see her face as of yet, getting the impression that under the veil of black was a beautiful and sweet face that innocence liked to leak out of--just like her. Yes, the more minutes of study came, the easier it was to cope that her skin was soft, so was her hair in that style, the colors and everything didn't match, so this was no mirror. All and about that, the skin was fair and smooth-looking, almost feeling like putting fingers on it would be a sin or some sort.  
  
All of a sudden the light sprang from the gray and beamed out into a white color, the full face revealed as the veil disintegrated with the rest of the shadows. Her skin, hair and everything wasn't changed, so she was some sort of shadow with the most beautiful of face ever presented in the beauty of a girl--or so this girl knew. With the studying of her face and small nose, the full cheeks and beautiful lips those were painted black, and the finish of the face had to be those hues. While hers were a sparkling blue, this one just streamed out of the azure and painted in a midnight color, it was simply enchanting to stare into them. With the finish of the face completed, the over-all conclusion was that this girl had to be some sort of cloning of her--no of Navi--the memory was coming back in a flash.  
  
Before she could conjure up and look down at her body, the delicate hand of ashen skin came forward and struck across Navi's own cheek, the burning sensation in her cheeks, when glancing over there, Navi thinking before the girl spoke out. How could someone of such beauty hurt me so much?  
  
"I can't believe he wants me to keep you alive, what he should do is go ahead and killed. -" She broke off and a sort of sadness surrounded her face, a shake of her head revealed those tresses brushing back and forth across her ears, which were of the elven descent and just as long. "I would feel so terrible if either of them died, even though I hate him so much, I love them both at the same time, but why do you need to be here. I could take them both on by myself, I would take care of the two of them and keep them from killing each other." A sigh made her sulk down and let loose the anger that was originally there, giving time for a question from the fairie that was confused.  
  
"Um, where am I? And who are you talking about?" It was better to take care and conceal on who was being teased at, otherwise the girl would go back to violence and in here present state, she couldn't take it--Navi felt so drained.  
  
"Who? Oh, that's right, you are a little drained from the chloroform. I am talking about Onii and Link, the Light and the Dark side of the Hero of Time, just like me and you are the Dark and Light side of the Hero's companion." A little chuckle came out of her throat and she cleared her mouth a little, the voice did sound almost like Navi's, a bit of viciousness in it, even when she wasn't trying to sound evil--a natural reaction or something.  
  
"Onii? Link! What about Link!" She cried out in a horrified tone, like a mother lioness who had heard that a part of its back had been taken--more over a part of its family a son of some kind, the friskiness made the somber face on Dark Navi (as she had labeled her) peeved.  
  
"How dare you talk to me that way!" Dark Navi had a peeved look upon her face, but her voice had transformed into one as deep as Ganondorf's, keeping the femininity in it at the same time. A fist rose and struck her in the mouth in a balled fist, not feeling anything crack in her jaw, sort of somber that nothing had been hurt in what she would label to Onii as an 'accident.' The growl really sent the brat on her knees, feeling something lock around her body, the smirking monster watching in a sort of chuckle as the binds were tightened around her, the ropes holding her down. Now, the fear was rising within her face, it was a good thing for this girl that the good side was scared, that pissed off tone was really helping--only as scary as some were. Hm, a chair appeared out of no where and in it the young girl went, the binds wrapping around the chair, holding even the stool down with the ropes.  
  
A gag had appeared over the young girl's mouth, so she was unable to feel anything, or speak when the beating came from the monster. A whip was what she heard, even a blindfold appearing around her eyes and keeping her from viewing what was happening, sort of from her own safety from the sickness that she heard. Almost wishing for earplugs, she did her best to lean against the vines and finally they bent down in a little closed space, the sounds soon drowned out of her. Well, she felt it, the numbness that the monster applied did wear off in a few hours and when that was done, she was crying in pain--could have been minutes or hours--she just woke up in pain later. Before any of this happened to her, she just heard the signs of pain and occasionally under the folded ears, screams of laughter escaping from her--this certainly was a dark side of something.  
  
Within twenty minutes, the laughter had no occurred and folding her ears up, she heard nothing at all, she felt nothing and best of all was the sense. Before she had awoken, the reason she woke was a shudder of dark energy had been in the room, now the only thing she felt was that of her own self, not even anything close enough to be picked up. With a two hundred-yard radius, that was a good thing, she'd be able to sense when the evil fairie was coming back and try to hide, or maybe it could sense her. It was a possibility the thing was hiding its level of power--sure she was a girl--it just happened to be a shadow, not a real being and from the way it acted, there was no fairie in it, the thing was a beast. That was another thing she had to consider, not even to think anymore because unconsciousness did overdrawn her and threw her out of here and into the world of dreams.  
  
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For the next half an hour, Link had been in a room that troubled him so much that even Onii looked more tempting to do this sort of fight. No, the puzzle wasn't something that confused hi, --he'd gotten used to those over the years--it was how the way was designed that made him mad. A first instance was the boy was standing twenty-five feet in the air, a room was above him that couldn't be reached and below was a pool of water, a brick bridge that went into a wall, then another bridge that connected also. Nothing was really different about the walls, he couldn't see down there, the ladder below the only way to get down they're with a safe landing. The guttural growl of fury was on when he looked down, seeing that the room was full of Stingers--the ones from the Water Temple--but not as much as threat as they had been years before.  
  
Now as he was down the center and standing on the bridges, the easy part was taking care of the monsters, not even lifting a finger and simply taking a familiar stance. The fury of Din's Fire floored through his body and came out in all directions of the world, doing more harm than good, well, actually a miracle he had done it. The monsters were all curled up in a bunch, sleeping like the dogs and as each of them did this, the fire incinerated from the floating bodies and melted them into charred eel. Good thing that they floated to the surface to sleep or he would have been a dead duck, glad that since he was so far inside of here, that the monsters were less on their guard. None of them suspected a person to get this far, he staring away from the remains and seeing all the walls were burnt up, even two special ones cracked open and revealing a familiar- looking block for him.  
  
Ha, an entrance, that must mean the entrance was there, I just push this block and then presto, I am home free and into another one of these rooms! And maybe within ten minutes I'll be out of this maze and there I shall find Navi and avenge her for whatever those creeps have done to her. A man and his guardian, I just see how they feel familiar and at the same time, it feels like we were meant to be mortal enemies and the best of friends. That was what Link had thought, now remember that the world isn't as nice as one person sees it, if it was, then the world would be a very simple face, the complexity was just dying to leak out.  
  
Fifteen minutes had passed and still the boy was unsure of what to do, he had decided that it was not very good to be around, this was what he did. Okay, you see that he pushed on the block and it slid across through the hidden passage and hit the end, he thinking that was it and something would happen. When nothing had in ten minutes, he took it upon himself and slammed the other end, this time across on the other support and it slid again, this time the spot where he had found it. Sounds confusing? Well, it is, you had to be there to get the incredible visual feature, you always had to be here in this tunnel to understand how this bustling technology worked in its own way. Now as he took himself to lean upon it and think, the other half of half an hour passed quickly, the thirty minutes rang up and he knew that time was running out, they were getting impatient.  
  
With a quick stroke of genius, no time to sit around and think the boy left it in its original spot and actually went inside of the passage of where the rock's home was. Staring at it from a side view, hands slipped behind the pressured rock and there he felt a switch, knowing this was the way to push it because of that emblem. A small pressure mark was sitting with a triangle on it, he noticing it because it was opposite of the ladder and when his fist landed on it, the mountain of rock was not crushing him. Instead, it was aiding him in his attempt to solve the puzzle, the rock sliding down towards the emblem, he knowing when the two connected that something would happen to help him. As it was rumbling down and slid into the slot, the water began to rise, he even hearing it through the thick walls and inside the underground stream, he had summoned a water-maneuver without even trying.  
  
Lifting up underneath him, he felt the water become quickly and gasped with some panic, swimming out of the hole before he was smashed under the hole and killed by the pressure. About to feel the metal in his boots, he remembered nothing was under there, that place was empty below, since the pool wasn't but a few feet deep enough for him to see into. A solid floor and no hidden switches were under there, from dunking his head under water and pulled it out with nothing inside of his speculation except to work on the blocks. Where was he to go, was what he wondered speculated into his mind when it popped up that he had seen that place from before, yes, there was a way out of here. Above there was a door about twenty feet up that couldn't have been scaled, he didn't know what was beyond there except maybe a key or something, he sensed no malice from above.  
  
Not even having to worry about climbing the extra feet up because it stopped right short of the old room, flooding up the room he had come out of. It was a small giggle of relief from the situation, he refreshed to see that the water level rose even above that and released where the new area was. There was nothing else that could of calmed him unless a certain someone was around, the feeling of the temple ending was in his way, it always felt like this when it was almost over. Yes, as his hands rested up, kicking to keep up because the thing was floating, he felt a little nervous with that around, just ignoring that maybe long-use to the tunic made it weaken. Relief was swimming over him when hands went up and rested on the floor, pushing himself out of the wet surface and taking a look down at his clothes, seeing that their affects weren't working anymore, or something.  
  
Getting on his knees, he stuck his head underwater, the submerged areas were beginning to burn, yea, the water was actually sinking down into his nose and up his eyes. Pulling up out of the water, it running down his eyes and sinking down the inside of the water, he realized that he was wet, the pack was actually soaked and probably most of the food inside of there was sinking down. Now, speaking of food, the stomach and energy spoiled were rumbling for something, he having no time to stop so reaching inside the wetted back pack, he yanked out a few pieces of bread. These only things that didn't felt sticky and dumped out the rest of the food, the thing was emptied of everything, dried out and then that was where he used his fire to warm it as he snacked down on the bread and gulped down a canteen of water.  
  
From the frank view of Link, he personally thought the water was spoiled, he had been saving it for some reason and keeping the fact of the matter of poison. Maybe the tunic protected him, maybe it didn't all he knew, as he munched on the last of the bread, was that it was over, so the tunic slid off and went inside of his back-pack and reloaded with the last canteen full of water, and two empty ones. The food was no longer there, but a bunch of weapons that didn't go inside his side pack were stored in there, none of them hurt by the sudden hurt of water. He didn't know when the stuff had started to weaken, now standing in the jumpsuit, and feeling the nakedness, he guessed that the Din's fire had weakened it to the point of not working. No longer needing it, the young boy just stared forward at the room before him, a swirling hole was standing there and also a golden chest.  
  
Gasping in some surprise, he jumped at the chest and threw itself open, the key coming out and the Boss key was the only one, a remaining key was left on the lone chain. Hooking that one to there along the silver one, the back was picked up and there he stepped down into the swirling mass, feeling it was the right thing to do in this situation. Still undressed in the white dress suit, he could feel everything seeps over him, yes, they were the feelings one felt when moving, the transportation spell or something. Feeling something return to him, not able to look around since his eyes were closed, the transportation was working, he was in some sort of portal that would bring him to another destination. It was a good feeling, when touching down on the ground, the room around was not a new one, but now on a level he hadn't expected himself to be on.  
  
With the water seeming to overflow the reason, he was in a place that had been secluded on the third level, never laying eyes on it because it was covered up. Now over here, there was a dragon with no crystals around, probably for decoration, and a door behind him that held a silver key, the key was glad to have been saved. This didn't look like a door to be dealt with, the water was overflowing because he hadn't put any effort when rising the water level, and they had already been on the third level. More raising sent it up even more, that was not a bad thing or anything, just a very different one, glancing about the places seemed to rise his awareness even more. The accuracy of his site was more when he stared down at the water at himself; surprise at what he saw; the tunic that had been ruined was not.  
  
His green-styled uniform had been molding when it threw it away, now back with the symbol of the Goron tribe and even now a new sign was on there, making him proud. In the right hand side seemed to press the one where the scale stood (faded over the years) this newly designed signature was pressed against his right breast. Pride was in him, that whirlwind had not only filled him up and probably made any lost energy appear to disappear, It had also restored his tunic back to normal, giving him the great feeling that one had when you were around. His hat was also tucked and very green (in the other tunics it had never changed, only the tunic had) and had become very wet inside of this temple. Hands reached back and gripped the hilt of the Master Sword tighter than ever as the anticipation of the door melting with the simple walk over, that key sticking in and seeing the door disappear before him.  
  
Not a bad-looking door, it wasn't the boss door, so he kicked it open and peered in the process, this new room was not like the rest, it was actually very bricked, and before he could step inside all the way, something slammed before him. Groaning with a look behind his shoulder, a hidden door had shut him inside here, it was not a trap because up at the top of the room was a door with a golden lock, the boss room was just past this last room. No patterns were painted on the bricks, only the stuff that made him look about, the same little drawings of the stupid sages of the ancients, maybe ancestors or something in that area. How he seemed to hate them after going through the traps, the closer he got to the exit of here, the closer it remained that the end of the place went on. Back to what a room it was, the place was centered with a majestic feeling of things, there was only a simple walk about ten feet forward and with that, a hill rose up with the same pattern of bricks.  
  
I shall avenge you! He whispered out under his breath, the sheen of the blades on the hill caused him to whimper, there was indeed three blades scrawling back and forth (ones from the Dodongo's Cavern) no sensors on these, just staring off and wanting him. As the approach was made, no fear was in his face, only a smile grinned upon his lips and with a nod, he began to descent forward on the plain.  
  
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A power source and what one it is! I've never felt a power--yes I have, and with such a gentle feeling in it, it can't be anyone else but Link! No other suitable presence was available in here, the others all around, big or small, had an evil one that made her shiver and break into gooseflesh, wishing that the larger one would conquer over the others, although there weren't that many left.  
  
The whimper of thinking that, having just awakened fifteen minutes ago and dealing with the pain, was enough to drive one person up the wall in an instant. She could deal with it, even felt like fighting if the going was good enough and she also felt a few more powers coming about, one a little bigger than hers was enough. That power seemed to be all right, something that the boy could deal with and she had a feeling it was the one called Dark Navi, or whatever her name was. Onii or Dark Link had another name, so why wouldn't she, maybe something along the lines of what his name meant the following: that name was demon in the Hylian language roughly translated. No, there was another that made her shiver, maybe rivaling to the Great Ganondorf's now, that they were no match for, probably abiding above and knocking the great King aside.  
  
Sort of surprised the feel the power, exceeding the moments of most imagination, she'd never felt Ganondorf's so there was no way to test the two of them together (by the time she could sense, they were long away from Hyrule.) At this point, no one planned on returning to that stupid place unless the time of Judgement was apparent, a temple may have been settled there, the Spirit since a lot of them were there. Whenever they got out of here, and she knew they both would survive, if the path took them down their path, then that's what they would accomplish together. Nevertheless, the thought of the two allies battling off did give her a sort of queasy feeling in her stomach, just feeling the part of her gut turn over and roll a little. None of the other energies, not even Link's, seemed to matter at this moment, the person with the 'O' in her name was heading for her, feeling a little discomforted for it.  
  
Before she could even conjure up enough power to speak, or break the binds, something appeared in the doorway, still veiled like the fairie had been, except a little different in his own way. Nothing was there, and at the same time something was coming after her, she could feel the dark aura from before was heightening itself even more, as if he got stronger the longer that he was existed in this world, a power source of something like that. Groaning at the feelings of the power getting closer, the one that related to her own wasn't the same one; it was just standing outside, scaling out her place with the intent of scaring her to death--that was just a probability of hers--the paranoia getting to her. A while away, actually, maybe a few hundred yards away, guarding someone, protecting an entrance, anything that she could think of, or maybe she was waiting to take care of Link. The fear was shining through her eyes, knowing it had to be the one named Onii, at the same time, feeling relief he was around, his aura was scary and beautiful at the same time.  
  
All of a sudden the door that concealed her--she hadn't seen it until it blew--slammed off of the hinges and fell towards her, the splinters heading alone with it. Crying out and shutting her eyes, a whisk of wind caused her to shiver and within a few seconds, she wasn't cut open, so looking up, she saw that the figure she imagined was there, concentrating. As he was in the deep state of conscious thought, the door before her had stopped only ten inches, held in the air along with the rest of the splinters. Dangling for enjoyment of the situation, the tears were streaming down her cheeks, almost passing out and as she began to feel the tears run down her cheeks, a certain material brushed across her cheeks. Eyes peered open and realized the aura was not only closer, so was he, the gloves brushing the tears away and whispering in a silent tone, she hearing his words of shushes and promptly did it.  
  
Hands went around her waist, she wanting to cry out for him to stop that she was not his--Link was the only one for her--at the same time forgetting whom everyone was. His embrace was so much stronger than her friend's was, it was a lot firmer and she liked it, oh Goddess she really enjoyed the roughness asserted towards her, a thing the hero would never do. Shivering in content, the face of his looked just the same, she knowing that this had to be a part of Link, maybe the vicious, sadistic area, but still a whole area from him. Either that or he was conjured up or something, the last thought stopped as those lips pushed against hers, the kiss causing her to stop every natural thought and sit there. It was a good thought that the darkness of her wasn't around, she conjured up before letting it kiss him, she would not return it--she would not--and within ten seconds she was giving back and puckering in.  
  
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Blades of back and forth were not much of a problem, he had realized with a bit of comfort, but the solution to getting to the top was not the best in the world. Sharper than even his blade, he tested it by throwing a loose rock from the ground and watched the thing slice in half faster than even anything his own energy could conjure up. Deciding that jumping on top of those monsters was not a solution, hitting it with his weapons proved useless, because bombs fuses were cut off, swords and all metals bounced off and magic was ineffective. Nothing could be accomplished by simply climbing up there, he would sink down and risk getting his feet lopped off by those stupid blades, something that wasn't going to happen. A bit of thought it was going to take to get this one down, there was no area to shoot his Longshot, so that was ruled out temporarily, unless it could go into something else?  
  
Go through something, he wondered with a bit of unconscious thought and looked about the top of the room to see if anything was hidden for his enjoyment. No, there was only the locked door, the launching blades on the hill and at the top was the safety at being at the top of the place, no loose bricks around. Also entailing for a switch or contraption to knock off the trap, he was left with the discussion that this was the best trap of the ancients, they really didn't want anyone facing the former boss, and he had just killed. Either that or its that man's work, trying to test my skills even more he whispered out and knew if it was, that he'd accomplish it in a short few seconds just to make himself look better all the more. Before a few seconds of giving up, he noticed the lock and peeked at the top of it, a smaller hole was there and dressed just like a hook, almost invisible from the look of things, glancing at his Longshot and knowing it was worth a shot.  
  
Clinking inside of the hole, before he released the trigger to zoom across, the key of bosses were pulled out of his pocket, readying both of them with a clear complexion faced forward, otherwise the plan would be in a ruin of such things. What he was planning wasn't even planned to him and when the button was let go, a whisper of prayer escaped through his head that this didn't work, because he had his doubts about this little 'trap' of the evil beings. The Longshot held in one hand and the Boss Key with the other, there was no doubt this was not going to be pretty, or if it was, then a pure ounce of luck was on his side. When the release was thrown away, the blow slid upon the air, dodging the blades that slunk below him and were actually displaying emotion--if soulless mechanical machines could do such a thing--a wrongful one. When he had sailed over all three of them, the incident of the machines rising up and dealing him a blow to the torso had passed, still holding the key and aligning it in the air, because touching the ground near the lock just seemed deadly as could be.  
  
When the door came for him, he snapped the Longshot in a holding position by holding the trigger button so the hook wouldn't return, feet planted on the front of the door. Taking the key from his sweating palm to the left, the thing slid inside the holder and within seconds, it was opening up for him, seeing the lock and even the door slide away. As he was sailing down on the door, a hand happened to grab the remainder of the lock and chunk it down on the solid floor, eyes just widening when a hidden blade slit out of no where and cut it to pieces. Thanking the lucky stars for that spark of inspiration, the thing was going faster, knowing he'd land on the entrance to the new room, where no traps (hopefully) were lying down. At the moment of time, he hit the ground, he fell on the door, not taking the chance of looking back and getting hit, just leaping off the door and following his pathway down into the darkness.  
  
As darkness had begun to fade at once, an immense light blinded his eyes, not a beam or anything; the entire place was lifted up in a bountiful bound. It was like he had come out of the temple and was now outside, out of the water, and most of all out of the fearful danger that threatened him in here. While thinking about it, this could have been another portal or something, which led to the place outside where the battle had been; of course the best possibility was the last. Maybe Morpha was the boss and that shadow was just as it claimed--an illusion--just trying to scare him into getting to the last place, to retrieve the sage that was un-awakened. Of course, the place he was heading was not empty, he sensed a sort of disturbance around and nodded that even if Morpha was the boss, whoever held Navi was in here--a light energy source was in here, not detected all at once.  
  
Navi, where could she be? "Navi!" He yelled out in a cried tone, nothing answering his call except a small blow of the wind, giving this new scenery a fresh look, a click sounding from behind him.  
  
Flashing around this place, he stared that this was not outside, unless the fog had decided to cover up the land (Ganondorf could probably do that), but there was no presence of the evil man, only the other mass. Where he was standing, a flash around gave way that there was nothing there, the door had sealed up or something, and growls of fury were inside of his mind. With the only door out of here sealed, he decided to take a whisk around, feet going off of the ground and feeling a little wetness on his feet, staring down and seeing that the land ahead was a small stream. Only about three inches thick, he could wade through it without the slightest hesitation hand gripping the Master Sword out of its hilt and taking shield with him. Now with the blade in the right hand and the protector in the left, he felt that anything could be paced and walked on through the water in shaky steps.  
  
Eighteen minutes of walking through the place made him decide that this place was indeed a mirage, or some sort of sacred Shinobi illusion, anything like that. When he was about to give up and turn back, a tree came into his view, appearing right infront of him, showing that it was like a small tropical island, the center of the room. Feeling he was halfway there and the battle was about to start, his feet placed on the forty foot island, the tree standing at the tropical tree and viewing around. From there he could see the entire layout, climb up and then scout anyone out for a fighting attack, now that he was pumped up, nothing could stop him. It was in the center, there was something looking at him, the thing was not able to see from his point of view, already knowing who and what was there.  
  
Sixteen feet from the tree, just on the edge of the sand, the hero was established to see the man slink from behind the tree, his clothes matching those of his own. Just like the dream from before, a key difference was that two things were strange about the face of his, the first being that it matched the boy's in every way. A shiver of feeling like looking into his reflection, or even deciding he had a twin was apparent, like when you meet you're long-lost brother of so long, except now a twin. In every way the man matched him, he was the same size, the clothes were black and even the weapons around his body were the same in the ways of his own. The second thing about the face that seemed eerie was even though it was matching his, the skin was a dark gray, like he had been working around coal so much that the chemicals and aftereffects had seeped into his flesh and changed.  
  
"My Dark self." Link whispered in a hushed tone, taking a few steps towards the man so now only ten feet separated him, he noticing that unlike the dream, the spark wasn't near him.  
  
"Dark self? Don't flatter yourself, you are dark enough. My name is Onii Liinku, but you can call me Onii. I know who you are and I know what you've come for." Smirking, he snapped his fingers and appearing above his side was a sparkled figure, the sparkle was seven inches tall and carrying Navi in her arms, landing right next to the man named Onii and placing his fairie into the man's hands.  
  
"Let her go, let her go you bitch!" Breaths began to moved harder and harder, through the gloves, the hands turned white as they gripped even harder on that blade for some sort of comfort from the situation, feeling the sick laughter spew from the new man's, Link's hate reaching a new limit.  
  
Screaming out, dropping the shield and leaping into the air, the sword held tight and then heading towards the boy, the sword in tide now. As he flew forward, not actually flying but moving at a fast speed, the concentration in him was all gone, only the reality of killing this monster for handling her. How dare he hold her, Link didn't care if the man like him died, they weren't linked so nothing could affect him, spilling the blood would be beautiful. He wondered if it was black, the thoughts were moving at a very strong rate--faster than he was moving--as if slow motion was in tie with it somehow. For what seemed years, the face came to him and he swung the Blade of Evil's bane, knowing the blade would crush this foe, everything going slower as all of a sudden the man wasn't there and he was flat on his face, the sword halfway across the desert floor.  
  
On a closer review of the situation, Onii had obviously seen the attack and had summoned his fairie to brisk the hostage away, she moving out of range and floating above the tree. The man's sword wasn't even drawn, or his sword and when Link came for him, instead of jumping out of the way, he simply disappeared out of his mind. If an after-image had left, the hero would have been surprised, but could have found an explanation; there simply was not even an image, a teleportation attack or something. A simple attack he had conjured up, knowing the kid could never figure it out, simple as that, it was the ingenious part to out-smart him, although he was strong enough to strike him down--toying was half the game, though. The kid was recovering from the attack, only ten feet away was the man, his fairie returning back to him and reliving at her side, he grasping the new acquired fairie back into those palms, stroking her from the unconsciousness.  
  
"I see you are finally getting back up, with that attitude, you are going to lose." With a grunt of pain, Link pulled himself up and stared around at where the boy was, first to the left, then the right and finally behind him granted him the senses to view over there, the boy was just standing there and speaking with the malice in his eyes.  
  
"S-shut up, I can take you on, Onii, I just misjudged you're power." Smirking, no wounds on him since he wasn't touched, a hand went up to his cheek and brushed the dirt from his cheeks, getting the cleanliness back on it.  
  
"I am giving you a handicap, you idiot. Shiia, give Navi back to him." He motioned towards the fairie, she made a small comment about not helping the enemy, and then a look over towards him made the young fairie do it. Flowing over towards the enemy of his, he watched as the fairie nervously placed the girl next to the idiot, he looking at her and causing more nervousness between them. It was funny how the two reacted, having loved each other maybe in a paradox universe, but enemies here, should be able to kill each other if the time was right, or if someone of their team was hurt. A sulk was in the boy's face as he received his girl back, the evil man actually displaying a mark of beauty, since with the girl back on his side, the kid wouldn't be so weak. Link had been holding back on him because the fear of losing the fairie was in his mind, seeing that the two of them was more alike then they thought.  
  
Link had turned his back away from the enemy, a stupid mistake in the crucial point of battle and could cause him his life, yet somehow when it involved this girl, he knew Onii wouldn't touch him. Taking and gently beginning to rub his fingers back across her back very much, he saw she was covered up more than usual before, she wasn't wearing her regular clothes. Her regular ones are on, it was just at over them was a sort of shawl about her body, he creeping it off and sticking it back behind his ears, like wearing a maiden's hankie in those old knight tales. Rubbing upon the young girl's body, it wasn't very long before he noticed a few marks on her, no he noticed a lot of marks, the anger boiling through his own mind in a furious rage. Spinning around, she still asleep, he hands were running across her body as he spoiled out in a screaming voice at what was wrong with this.  
  
"Wrong with what?" Slit eyes revealed that his pupils were red, a deep crimson, sort of like an albino person except the opposite of the skin reflecting in a sort of service, if he wasn't a clone of Link, then maybe he was an albino coal-worker who had fallen into a patch.  
  
"She had marks upon her, scratches, what the hell did you do to her!" A screech escaped from him, his voice feeling a transformation, at that point in time sounding like he had as a younger boy when he was crying, the tears splashed his cheeks as the thought of her being hurt.  
  
"Hurt? Shiia what did you do to her? I strictly told you." He didn't look at his black fairie, the only thing he did was snap his head around and looked into Link's open palms at what she had done to him, a bit of tsking in his voice, a hand looping over and looking at his fairie as he inspected her. "I told you not to hurt her, she has some marks on here, very small scratches that could never have been done with these hands of mine!"  
  
"I-I-I couldn't help it! You care about her more!" The girl's voice was one of a cute one, sounding like Navi whenever she was upset, they both sounded like each other when upset was in their voices, the anger was what it had to have been. It was so weird how they both sounded, Link concluded it as some sort of apparition that he had created, Ganondorf, the reason that he could disappear. This was his thoughts until he felt the cackle of energy rise up against the world, shivering that what he thought was Navi doing when she was ready to fight, this time his judgement was incorrect because his girl was passed out! That only meant that when the two fought that their spirits were almost the same, no malice had been in Onii's dodge, so nothing had been felt as the twin spirits, they only similarly alike now. Energy was making his hair rise even more; crying out in a sort of panic when the ball of black aura sprang off of 'Shiia's' body and slammed headed for Link's fairie.  
  
The reactions of the partners in evil were that girl grinning and the boy looking over at her in a bit of fascination, erotic feelings in there, or so the Hero of Time noticed. Not very long to persuade himself to go on, his fairie was pushed into his hat, as the energy was coming closer and closer, everything dying towards him. Since the original fairy's energy couldn't be homed in, it was headed towards the middle of his chest, going to slam a full wall into it; he caught in the middle of this deadly trap. The sword was all the way across the room, otherwise it might absorb the energy, he spinning around in a crying fear and with a spare glance around, the place he was standing was trapped, there were rocks forming all around him, staring forward. Onii had a grin on his face and was circling some rocks around him, basically preparing a dead bed in him, so all he could do was hold his hands together and hope it blocked (he had seen Shiek do that before.)  
  
A smoke hit, then Link screaming out and when the dust cleared, there was a sparking aura near him, this one blue with the enthusiasm in the way that it fluttered around, a black one also there. What he realized was that Navi had heard his call and had come to her rescue, just in time to catch view of the other fairie--the enemy, mind you--trying to save her prey. Nothing could realize how embarrassed her was, the two fairies staring at each other, actually each of them had saved him, the blast from Navi had stopped the power and the power absorbing back into the black girl had caused the results. In a way, he couldn't blame the two of them, and with that in mind, the boy looked at the two of them and their remarks for reach other, they were just staring each other down like bitter enemies. Sprawling away from the duo, back to the blade, it was gathered up in his hands, no way to fight now, just stare back at the action about to be ensued until Navi came to him or it died down.  
  
"So, you're awake, its about time." Taunted the companion of the evil man's, her arms crossing as she floated backwards towards Onii, closing beside him and smirking a little, the nervousness of the situation shown.  
  
He sensed a bit of silence echoed through her body, the anger sort of writhing up inside of her body, the small body seemed to be over- excruciating a large amount of pressure in that madness. There was no stopping the boiling out of what could be called jealously, or anger, or even a mixture of both of them in the mixture. Whose job was it to take danger away from him, it had to be only one person and when foiled, that was when the prissy state came forward. Link was the one watching this, he not able to see her emotions, guessing that saving him was the girl's job, not one of a stranger. A protective zone, he guessed, for when one was about to be infiltrated, certain precautions were taken to make sure that the thing was not done, he an object in this case.  
  
Oh, the kid didn't know how far the emotions were boiling through her, she guessed that his compensation would never be that great, the cackling of energies rumbling through her. Who would dare think of things, she knew if she touched the other girl's boy in such a way that the same punishment would be dealt, smelling the fear in the darker side of hers body. Yes, it wasn't the fact that he was touched, just that she tried to guard him and that fierce will was what pissed her off even more, the power was starting to surge through her now. Even though she knew the power was originally meant for her, the fact of the matter was not that she tried to attack Link--Navi knew that had never been tried. Guarding was the job of this fairie and those who interfered suffered a penalty that had such hefty consequences in the matter.  
  
"Nav' are you okay?" Link whispered in a shaky tone, knowing that Onii and he's battle was far from over, but the fairy's quarrel was about to begin, in quite a display from the smell of her aura crackling on fire.  
  
"Nuh-uh, step back, Link." She trailed off as she saw him push back a few steps, Onii following the steps and each of them a yard or two away from the two that stared down. Dark Link's fairie had began to charge up her own power, though not nearly as strong as the other one's, knowing throwing them against each other was stupid. If that happened, both of them knew that Navi's would overpower the lather ones, since so much emotion was flowing through it. Actually, the thing didn't even look blue anymore; it had taken on a white display of colors that were readying themselves to burst open more. When Navi let her power go, it didn't just spark off, a swooshing sound came out as it literally grew a few extra feet (measuring at a ten inch diameter) heading for the target.  
  
It was too big, too large for her to handle, so the only thing she could do was scream out in a flurry of terror, holding her hands over her ears. The deep chuckles from the other girl had sent Shiia in sort of a panic, wanting her best to escape; though escape was the least of her worries. Since they were complete opposites, each of their powers opposed each other and did extremely harsher damage than a regular attack would do. Plus the emotions were living inside of the ball, the girl who let it off looked a little drained, she knowing that when this technique was over, the fight with her would be over. An attack that drained all of you're energy, Navi may have not meant to do it, the anger from touching the boy caused an ever more suckle of the power, regretting ever touching the kid when the stuff overwhelmed her, covering her eyes in fear.  
  
Link covered his eyes in fear, as Navi just looked on with a bit of fatigue in her body, neither of them able to glance at what Onii was doing. Most likely, she would be covered up and struck down by the stuff, the girl would die within the hour, if not immediately from the attack. Who knew what sort of power this energy had on another fairie--if she even was truly one--the women with wings were not the most violent in the world. Maybe a little perversity and horny, and just a bit jealous in some situations, the girls had never been fought before, especially by the kid who liked to guide their powers from them. As the two of them looked on, a shing entered their hearing range, the energy seeming to be disappear in a flash, the smoke still not clear when eyes of red appeared.  
  
Indeed he seen it all, not knowing how much the damage would be until his girl screamed, he reacting in a second, a sad grin on his face if she was to die. As the black sword came out of his sheath and he flew infront of her, holding the blade tight, he knew he was a bit late and some bad scars would be settled when this was over. Already the power had started to overflow her body, the blade held out and he screaming in a bit of fury-- no pain, though--a red jewel on the sword activating and something that sounded like a sucking noise came out. The shing was when his sword hit the energy, a sword of power was what Navi's aura had transformed on, it trying to penetrate his girl's little heart, making sure that it wouldn't happen. At least if the scars were on her, the user of the magic would receive them also; they were bound by a curse after all, one that mad it all the sweeter.  
  
"You didn't have to do that, Navi, I mean--I didn't want her to die." The smoke was clouding his reading on her life-signs, also noticing that Onii's were gone, so he either was bound to her when he dies, so does she, or he'd traveled into the smoke to search.  
  
"I-I had too, there was no way to prevent it!" She cried out, not meaning to shout the last part, but something prevented her from whispering or even saying it calmly, it was an aching at her arm. An intense feeling that one couldn't explain, one that was not an accident, she felt that it was an intentional from anything coming at her. Shivering from the heated area around her, the cry came out, ripping the shirt where her arm was, seeing the aura with frustration. Flashing her aura off and staring down at her arm, the flesh was beginning to smoke across, drenching all the way down her from the top of her shoulder to where her fingers started. There was a mark of burnt, but the funny thing was the smell that came off--it was the exact same one that her energy smelt like when it burnt flesh.  
  
How could she explain this? There was no way, because this simply didn't happen, had the power been deflected back in some sort of superficial way that only Link could do? On occasions of some sort, it was apparent that Link could push certain powers back, like in the Forest Temple's case, maybe the same had been done with this certain evil fairie. Sure, Ki attacks could be deflected when you concentrated enough, were powerful enough take the blow, or had the determination to do it. However, hers couldn't of been since so much concentration had been put into it, she had been charging it in her sleep, unknown to her in this little perfect situation. Suddenly, a feeling of nausea swept over her body, she sinking down as her wings were flapping for a support harder and harder, giving in when those eyes slammed shut and darkness came over her.  
  
"Navi? N-Navi, what is that!" He screeched out, his voice cracking as he dropped the Master Sword, diving for the girl that was out, nothing able to save her but his hands.  
  
"I see she's out, so is mine, but then again--she did do this to herself." A sigh of sadness came out of the voice north of Link, he spinning around and seeing the smoke was gone and Onii was sitting there, holding his girl inside his arms, she passed out and having the matching burn on her arm.  
  
"What happened--what did you do to her!" A wave of fury came over him, taking Navi and tucking her under his hat, taking the cap off and pulling it inside of his backpack as it came off. Onii had done nothing, it was just the same with his, no way that he'd harm his girl just to get a bit of payback, maybe he had deflected the attack back, though. All was off except that beautiful green tunic, his fairie lying in the center of the backpack, so when she awoke, she could watch the fight and see how he fared. He knew that the extra weight was not going to be needed, sliding his side pack and putting it over the side, only the sword and shield were there. Retrieving the defender from where it was dropped, it was held in his left hand, blade of evil's bane smacked in the right, feeling of joy overdoing him, it was almost time/  
  
"You want me to tell you the truth? Goddess, you are going to get a kick out of this, but let me tell you it all, now brace you're short attention span, dumbass, you have to drain this all in." Chuckling, he slid off his backpack, side pack and had only the sword and shield in his hands, except blade in left and defender in the left. "I am you're shadow, we are connected and so are the other two of them. Navi stuck my Shiia at full force; I was only in time to guard it because my sword absorbs light energy, but why would it, you may ask? Okay, you're sword is the Blade of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword.mine is the Blade of Purity's Bane, the Mistress Sword. A very stupid sword, I know, and that means I absorbed her white energy and added it to my own, condensing it down to dark power."  
  
"But why did she get hurt?" Madness was away from him, he only sulking on to keeps from attacking Onii, now was the time to find out, and battle was soon in the making.  
  
"Hold you're horses, I am getting to that. We are Shadows of you, I think well because our relationship is more open than the two of you have. Where the two of you are shy in some areas, we have already done." Smirking a bit, he noticed the boy was blushing, so he was right and that gave him more courage to go on, making the kid nervous was a wonderful thing to do--especially since all he spoke of was true. "Back to the important matter, when one of us gets hurt, so does the other, so if I hit you, then I get hurt--or if you hit me, then you get hurt too. I know its confusing, it was designed by Ganondorf so if you managed to kill me, that you died too. Master Ganon does think of such good things, but he had a flaw by making me die if you die, that means when I kill you--I couldn't just do that, so I took action!"  
  
"That means if you kill me, then?" He whispered out in a bit of confusion as the man began to chuckle just a little bit, breaking out into a bust of hysterics, the annoyance rolling over his body in a tightening fist of a manner, he coming over to the tree what Onii was and speaking. "What do you mean, you took action?"  
  
"I am not a clone of you anymore, but you are still connected to me! Shiia and me went exploring during those seven years that you slumbered and we happened to stumble upon something enabled the Youth of Fountains. Touching it, since we heard legends of Eternal Life, we were granted it, but we can be killed, but the magic of Ganondorf broke off. Of course, the man doesn't know that, or he would kill me--if he could--I don't think he even knows how powerful I am alone and paired with my companion, we are unbeatable. I know it sounds corny, but when you are with the one you love, the power of the two of you is not just enough--its you're feelings that empower us even more." Nodding, those arms crossed around his chest, pulled back suddenly and as he leapt back, the blade came across the tree, causing it to fall down, clearing the path of death.  
  
Sensing the blade coming across, not intent for him, but just enough to cause the tree to fall was when Link leapt forward and saw the tree was coming right at him. Crying out and pushing his blade infront of him, he prayed that he would be spared, knowing that the only one left would be Navi, of his friends. Closer and closer the huge tree barreled forward from him, the time seeming to slow down the smaller the distance was between them. Onii was immortal, or so he claimed, so when Link died, that meant that he would not go with him, the other way around had to be evil. When he knew it was all over, a few seconds passed and those eyes stared up, seeing the tree was not infront of him, disappeared.  
  
"W-what happened?" He felt so helpless around the man; he knew the environment and could shape it like he would, use all of the tricks that were in the book.  
  
"You are so sad! This is a mirage room, Hero of Time, I can make it anyway I can, that means nothing in this room can kill you--except me, of course." Grinning, he pushed a step back and snapped his fingers, the room transforming from the desert island just to an entire room full of stars, the pitch-black was all around except those white dots that lit up enough room to see and battle.  
  
"So, we start this?" There was no need to say anything after that, he knew it and probably Onii knew it because teasing and talking was over, the fight was next. Brushing back a little, distancing full ten feet between them, the sword was not glowing because he was not going for any stupid energy attacks. Who cared if he hurt the man, if he fell, this was the only way to rid the world of this man--who was probably more powerful than Ganon was? Not as evil, he knew that Onii had some care and love in his heart for a special someone (unlike, to his knowledge, the King of Evil had never felt that way before.) Hat-less, like the gray-haired boy before him, each fairie resting down in there, the hair was thrown back in a blonde rush while running forward.  
  
"The Hero of Time meets the Villain of Time, an acclaimed event!" Hysterics echoed through his body, the fairies were down so there were no weaknesses, what he wanted from the beginning was the full power of Link. Fluttering forward in a grayish force that seemed beyond the wildest imagination of speed, he was moving at the same miles that had been the first time they fought. Smelling the purity of his aura made Onii sick, probably the kid thinking his was a nasty scent, of course being of opposites, the tastes were different when the spinning began. Feeling the anger arise in the boy as he spun circles around him, knowing this would keep up until Link could tap into some powers that were never felt before-- the dark ones. His speed was caught down when a simple flick was thrown at him, he spinning across the room and slamming into the ground, staring up at the bruise on his cheek.  
  
Crying out from the pain that he had caused to the man, Link had decided that slashing was not the answer, it was foolish and pretty risky, but smart. So as the guy slid across and from the ground, not even seeing what the boy was doing, the Hero of Time decided the best solution with the sword down. He knew that Onii would use his sword, there was no use in trying to use his blade, unless he wanted to be made into mincemeat of his own. Now resting into the scabbard, there was no reason to use that--no, there was, and that was when he pulled his sword out and threw it across the room, tucking the sheath into his belt--just in case. Switching the shield to the right hand, as he waited for the man to get up--no, that was not the way to do it, a grin sparking while the man just tried to get up, Link biting his lip and leaping through the air.  
  
Onii cried out in pain and screamed in fury when the shield came down onto his chest, causing even more pain to swell through his body. Never expecting to get this much in so early (or at all) in the battle, the surprise of underestimating you're opponent had always been his motto, this one washing off in an instant. Ever since he had met the kid, the expectations had either not been met or simply made the qualifying standards, never very great. It wasn't that Link was faster than him--but he quicker than he imagined--it was the surprise of the moves he was using, they seemed so primitive. Pushing himself up, he flew against the boy and prepared his fist, that was when the hand reached for the sword and cut forward, slashing down at the center of his body, a vertical slash.  
  
Not enough time to dodge, the hand was reacting with quick instincts, jumping back, knowing it wasn't enough and reaching for the only thing he could think of. It wasn't that anything was on his mind at this moment, the only thought was how disappointed Navi would be, how scared that it seemed without her. He knew in his thoughts that he'd would let that happen, she was with him again, scratched down and packing some scars, you had to take that into consideration when you played with the pull named Link, the sadness was just staying there. Scratching it away, shoving down from his belt, the grip caught and that was when the scabbard came forward, knowing that was as much he could do without causing something towards him. Chuckling, the sheath held in his palms, he hoped it would hold up for just one attack, if not, then hell would have to freeze over to suffice him down there--a Poe he'd become of death decided to knock today.  
  
"What the fuck!" Onii screamed out in a bellow of terror, he sitting in mid-air, staring down into the blue eyes of Link, the loss of no blood wasn't apparent, nothing was there to be cut and something had held up.  
  
"Huh? What happened?" He spoke to himself, unbelieving at where the sword had hit, right at the area where the gold was intact, not even a scratch was sitting on the metal, it holding up and actually a little stronger than he had imagined, it seemed nothing would break it.  
  
"Stupid sheath!" Leaping up into the air, his blade came across the blue part, the thing parting in two and heading for the boy, knowing it was too late because he rolled out of the way, hands digging across the ground.  
  
"I am not going to let you win, you prick. I am doing this for Navi, I don't care if I die with you, it won't matter to me, and you know why? Because I love her!" He felt a tingling in his body, the kind when you're entire body was asleep and all of a sudden it was hot on the inside of his body, the good feeling. A scream was ripping from across the room; it wasn't of pain, just of some fury when you felt when something happened, he having a good idea. It was the way he acted, the lie was in his eye and all of a sudden, the kid just knew in his heart that no longer would he die from killing another. Betting the man wanted to rip out his hair, nothing but a simple laugh was dancing on Link's lips, glad he realized it before it was too late. Yes, that was what happened, the story was false, the ring between them was connected with evil, so if the evil was lifted, the power between them faded.  
  
"You son of a bitch!" Growling louder than ever, Link knew in his mind that the easy streak had just been penetrated, and as a sort of factor, Onii slapped his hand, the boy just staring and watching him, no hurt was realized to him, even more the growl went on.  
  
"I broke it, didn't I?" Chuckling a little, the boy was just readying himself by taking the sheath and pushing it back behind his back, even though it was slit in two. Somehow, the thing would have to be prepared, he not even aware how that was going to happen and right now, not really caring when the power was surging through. He was afraid to use power- attacks because of what had happened to Navi, seeing the display the young man did and considering that was the love of it, the love had broken it. Onii didn't have to answer him, he knew the answer, the sword beginning to glow a light blue, then the light transformed from aquamarine to a deep ruby colour, screaming out that payback was indeed a bitch. Taking off in a fury, like the turn of a general who had been losing the war, he had no idea if Dark Link was stronger, faster, and had more vitality--at this moment, he neither knew nor cared.  
  
"Shut the fuck up and fight!" The foul language was a new one to Link, who didn't curse very much and when it happened, never such vile things entered out of his mouth, he saw this meant a new level of swordplay. Yes, Onii was desperate for a win, so as the man came for him, Link was conjuring how to score an easy win, his senses blanking out and nodding in character that he didn't. Cheating with an energy attack was low-down and dirty, usually it wouldn't be, but more was at stake than a simple win or loss, he needed to prove to Ganon that no one could mimic the Hero in the Legends, it was impossible. Maybe the dark version of him didn't accept it either; they seemed to nod to each other, the Hero of Time facing his rival with colours that couldn't be matched by any one other in this field. Equal in power, or stronger than him, neither did he know and at this moment it didn't matter for all the cares in the world were focused off of even Navi, settled on winning.  
  
Jumping in the clean air with Link close in tag, the man was beginning to float above the air, a talent that Link had neither discovered or knew could be done. Defying the laws of gravity and every physic that was ever written, the sword was held high as he stood about seven feet above the hero, smirking when the kid's swing met the cold win. Now, another attempt was going to be made, Onii sure of himself and hitting the ground with an intense pressure mark, the aura of his blowing all around. He neither saw if the wind affected the boy, nor did he see to the kid's plan, all that happened was the Mistress Sword of blackened beauty went forward for the region that could be considered Link's neck. Waiting for the blood-quenching squelch as the blade stained in crimson, nothing was forgiven to that ashen, elven ears, except the claim of steel against steel.  
  
The flight had been a little surprise; the terror of being done by some monster without wings had never entered his mind, knowing that it was obviously some illusion. When his blade went through the air, the mirage was gone and in the air the man was, he nodding when the blade down for him, smirking harder than he ever had. Dark Link had aimed right for his jugular, either wanting to rip that stuff out and suffer a medium death, or going to decapitate him for an over-kill move. It wasn't going to happen and when the steel came down, the crimson jewel brightening with the power that meant it was stronger than a normal sword, was when the yellow gold in his blade lit up, he pushing forward. A forward stance gave way, the man now on the ground and as Link felt the blades push against each other, he cried out, the yellow light brightening even farther than before.  
  
Space was dwelling out and all of a sudden, to both of theirs surprise, the scene transformed from the beautiful place of before to another dreadful one. Stars in the sky had melted away and there they were, in a room of gray, the center of the room where each of them was standing, swords almost a marker to indicate the split between the sides. On Link's side, it was only a pure light room where the golden Triforce awaited, behind each symbol was a small girl, one having red, green and blue hair, cheering him on. Following the opposite side was Onii's and inside the Triforce piece (there was only one) stood a male kid with short red hair, he wearing over-protective armour and crying out for the dark side to win. Between the center of the swords was a solid gray area, the packs of theirs was sitting down there, a blue and black girl's, the fairies, were sitting down and watching, eyes shut like the unconsciousness had told them to get up from sleep and watch.  
  
"You bastard!" Onii screeched out in a maddened fury, the jewel on his steel brightened up even further and pushed Link down towards his knees, only the sword for support.  
  
"No need to curse, Dark-self, I am only doing what comes natural." The push down had made him feel a little dizzy, stopping the speaking and crying back, the sword beginning to glow brighter and sprung back against Onii, putting them both to a level where each was the same power as before.  
  
"It seems we are evenly matched, young hero, I guess I'll have to change that!" Smirking, his hands formed together as he began to chant, a dark energy ball fulfilling the hand that was just not placing on the sword. Evenly matched was not the right word, because Link couldn't do what Onii did, all his power was placed in holding the Master Sword, maybe the guy not aware that. Even more bizarre was both hands had to keep the blade from tipping over, it was like his own spirit was inside there, now fully charged just to keep everything from blowing in his face. No one neither knew what was coming out of the man's hands, looking like a darker version of a Ki ball, except this was not white, it was black as the night could be. Shivering from the feelings, there was nothing the kid could do, he awaited as the ball launched off of its griddle of Dark Link's hands and showered closer to him.  
  
-------------------  
  
Crying out when the ball slammed into his chest, Link felt that he was falling, nothing could save him and everything would be killed in a matter of seconds. As the grip on the sword became looser and looser, the darkness from within could be felt rising itself up, this not the part of Dark Link, it was another. A force that couldn't reckoned with, the King of Evil wasn't even able to present it because he had it in himself, no way you could control a power inside of your own. Sure, he was a shadow of him, but there was no way a person could duplicate the real darkness, the sort of kind that makes you vicious, if that had happened than he'd be the purest of heart there ever was. The room where Onii was seemed to be gone, and at the same time it wasn't, a spectacular feeling was going through his body, he felt like the dead had risen and taken himself back to their little cavern, there he was made king.  
  
A feeling of pain was washing over him, the room where the dead ones had been was gone, he knows in a completely black room and back with Onii. Only this time, he was not there, it was his spirit, but the same room from before, only the light side had lost and the Triforce was now combine with the black piece. Yes, and the kid from before was grown up, revealing the armour that fit seemed to connect and be of Ganondorf, his adult-form chuckling louder and louder inside of the boy's ear-drums. Not able to see the three girls from before, knowing they were dead, the gray side had also disappeared so Link was presumed that Navi and Shiia had perished much to Dark Link's surprise. Even though it was a sad time, the Hero of Time felt like laughing at him, telling his dark side that his idiocy had gotten their loves killed and that everything was ruined.  
  
Death felt ready him and he did the same for the Grim Reaper, whenever she came knocking at his door, with his girl gone, there was nothing left living for. The room was shrouded in complete blackness, Ganondorf and the presence of the other one was gone, now only the black Triforce remained, shimmering in the dark. Its shininess was the only thing he could view, looking down to his hand and seeing the piece was gone, over beside the piece, the Wisdom had been recovered from before. He neither knew, nor cared about saving the Land of Hyrule; all that mattered was being with death, so that Navi would be with him, hoping his side wanted the same. Sure, the weakness had been a problem and in the end, had not been enough for him, not enough for the dark waters to claim the most two valuable treasures from him, Navi and his life, his thoughts broke.  
  
A giggle entered his hearing, whipping his head to the opposite view of the dark force from before, seeing that a little light had opened up and claimed itself for him. Hm, a thin beam about only less than an inch thick, the thing was his only hope for survival, if he was ever to want to get through this alive. Almost seeing the thing disappear the closer he got, his presumptions were met wrong when the beam just remained the same size, getting brighter and brighter as the closer he got. With it remaining infront of him, there was nothing to do but pray that it worked, whatever it was, that Death had left and the Angel of God had shined upon those beautiful wings to guide him. That girlish laugh was now gone, but when the light came right infront of him, a peer inside revealed the best wonders that could ever begotten his imagination. Groaning with passion, his eyes brightening even more, the picture of the three girls had returned, a third one was with them in the child form, her hair a short blue.  
  
Who are they? He pondered in a bit of confusion, trying to get the realization of them, the first three had clear, cute faces he could never remember meeting.  
  
Each of the girls around them were giggling as the white light spread out farther and farther as long as the laughter was spreading forward. Feeling nothing at his hands, realizing the Master Sword was not there, hands went back and felt it in the sheath, tugging on it and met with some sort. Both hands went to it and yanked forward, he growling as it didn't budge, seemed some sort of force was locking it down there, not that attacking was on his mind--it happened to protect the girls if Onii returned. When he took a few steps forward, he realized he was no longer standing on the black ground, but a matching white that aligned his eyes, a smile spraying across his lips. It was a sight beyond wonders, all of the girls were sitting on each of the pieces, the short blue-haired one floating above the force on a pair of white wings, and something he felt an urge to rub.  
  
"Are you here to play?" Whispered the green-haired one, each of them was only about three feet tall, maybe no more than five or so, looking as adorable as they could be.  
  
"No, I am here to beat Onii!" He didn't mean to yell and flushed a little when she sniffed some, bending down at the knees as he walked towards the green-haired one that sat on the left corner of the force, a hand going up and stroking her tresses back and forth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, little one."  
  
"Its okies!" She giggled and hopped up on top of him, holding against his chest as her legs wrapped around her waist, keeping him in sort of a hug of desperation. Giggling sweetly, the young boy about to fall on his back, now just deciding to sit on his knees, not even leaning anymore, just standing down on knees. When he thought it was over, he felt a few tickles at his waist, and snapped his head around, the red-haired one had her legs around his waist and just holding him with arms bound around his neck, nuzzling her head there. The one with the long tresses of blue, she walked over and leaned against his side, wrapping her legs around his sides and resting the head of hers on his shoulder, nibbling at it softly. The trio of girls were just kissing and nibbling at his body, wanting so bad to fall on his back, afraid he'd crush the fiery red-head, so he just sighed and let them do what they pleased.  
  
I wonder why they are doing this? His cheeks were flushing from the attention, never since the fairies had anyone ever paid this much attention, even if they were young girls.  
  
"Stop!" A voice of passion stopped all the girls, each of them looking at each in confusion of who said it, finally staring behind the boy and huffing in a bit of a fit. Now each of them was just staring there, stopping the kissing as the only girl left was walking towards them, the boy could hear the cackles of energy flowing through. Gulping, he didn't know what punishment awaited the little girls and himself for acting so bad, not aware of whom this girl was, she looked different. Reason he couldn't tell was she wore a mask on her face, a white veil, kind of like the Gerudos, except it wasn't a violet colour or anything. Nothing was there as he realized that they had disappeared with a poof, gone from the scene altogether; not even a good-bye was given to them, gone as soon as they were here.  
  
"Where did they go?" He now plopped on his lap, until he felt a pressure on his chest and hit the ground, soon a weight was on his stomach, staring over to see that she was sitting there, no longer angry. "You gonna punish me?"  
  
Blinking in confusion, the girl's cheeks flushed over, a hand (which he noticed was not gloved, but bare and still missing the Triforce piece) came up and started to rub them back and forth. From what he noticed, the girl looked the most familiar of the rest, knowing good well that the other girls didn't represent Navi, Malon or Saria in anyway, this one did look a little bit of a face he'd seen before. Not able to place it, she was also five years old, a little bit taller than the girls so she was about three feet and five inches tall, not much, still a good bit for her. As his hands washed over those crimson cheeks, he heard the giggles and felt those hands placed on his chest, for the weight of the situation, also a small little healing was over his body. He wasn't able to place it anywhere at all; it seemed that the light-headedness from when he was a child, maybe those mysterious lights that powered him up? Then again, it could just be his mind decaying.  
  
"You aren't dying.not at all." She answered, the boy feeling like his mind was read, gasping a little, until she put a finger to his lips and nodded a bit at him in her own gentle tone. "I have read you're mind, but don't worry, I know you enough to protrude in those areas and I must say, it does make me feel good to hear such things."  
  
"We know each other? You do seem familiar, but I can't place you." Digressing a little bit, he chuckled and sat up, letting her slide down into his lap, staring down at her with those matching blue eyes, hers just a tad darker than his, but soon he spoke out in trouble. "I don't have time for this, I need to go defeat Onii."  
  
"I am getting to that, silly. Okay, my name is Navi--and at the same time I am not--and those people back there were the Goddesses, they are in forms you have never seen before. Before you saw them in dreams, I know this because I am Navi, or better yet her spirit, in a sense." Smiling sweetly towards him, she was surprised when her form was picked up and he pressed his chest against hers, holding her in his arms and kissing those lips softly.  
  
An energy transfer, he thought in a weird way, and soon the light- headedness was flowing through his body when their lips were locked, the beautiful feeling was bad. Loving how it felt around him, his tongue dropped onto her small mouth and slashed inside hers, gathering against the small tongue (although not as small as before) and curling them together. When they slashed together in the fury, nothing mattered, beating the man no longer did and neither did her small form, and only this larger one was the best. It was beautiful and sick at the same time, knowing his mind was saying to stop and that she was a kid, but the energy flowing through him was helping, plus the fact it felt wonderful. Soon, it was over and that was the worst of it all, it ended right when the power had stopped flowing, he sensing her spirit was becoming less and less of one, though not she was dead or anything.  
  
"It is done, now you must go." Smiling, she pushed him back before he could claw at her, knowing how much he wanted to be there, yet knowing the deed of Onii's death was not yet done.  
  
He was yanked back into the darkness, disappearing into the small paten of darkness that remained a thin beam, except this time it did not spread. As he was pulled through it, the feelings were strange, the farther he got from the girl, the closer he felt to her, it was the way she was Navi and at the same time was not. There were no worries about it anymore, all he decided was this place was where he was heading, and with some new energy, maybe Onii's defeat would be accomplished. It sort of changed into a portal that he could go through, feeling him being sucked into it and the place mending back into one of the original scenarios. Flashing back into the scene that had amazed him the most, everything was transformed back to normal as the stars were sitting around him, the blackened sky the only place around, and Onii's back turned to him.  
  
With his back turned, this was the perfect opportunity for revenge and Link too it, he pushed forward and cried out, the jewel on the blade was resonating harder and harder, pulsing. Almost feeling that it was alive, he pushed it forward until a crack of skin appeared and something black started to fall down from the blade, his arm around Onii's neck tighter than ever. Hearing the cry of him even since the blade went in, a little bit of remorse for his partner was in there, at the same time, wanting to make the death as slow as possible, for effect. Not cracking his neck, wanting the boy to suffer, a head went on his shoulder and stared over at his face, the grin going ever harder as the perfect scenario was met. Nothing could make this thing even sweeter, glad that Navi was passed out, a glance over there and he saw her in the corner, curled in the hat, knowing that seeing this would be too much for her.  
  
"You bastard--how!" He was sobbing, the tears falling down his face were black as the blood of matching colours was all over his body, it was obvious he'd be dead in less than thirty minutes, Link had penetrated his guts.  
  
"You may have Ganondorf on you're side, but I have four people--the Goddesses and Navi! When our hearts are met, there is nothing that can stop us from penetrating the evil in you! I am sorry I did it, and I feel sorry for Shiia, but you deserve everything that you get, I hope you die slowly and rot in Hell!" He smirked, not laughing like the man had because that would have been too sad, but indeed he had the power of it all, nothing at all, that was until Onii held him.  
  
"I know I am dying, but I shall take you with me, self-destruction!" The boy launched a hold of him and held him in a tight bear hug so Link could not escape even if he gained all the power in the world, this was a desperation grip.  
  
He giggled loudly, but before he could say any more, a beam penetrated his head and it sort of imploded, Link staring down at the carcass in amazement. Somewhere that thing came out of, feeling the energy of Navi drive out of his body, returning to his own full power, as the blade was held to himself, looking around the room. Onii was dead before he slumped against Link, the boy pulling the corpse out and throwing it across the room, seeing it blew up in just a few seconds. Not much of a blast, it still could have taken him out if he had been close enough, but with that launch, he had thrown the carcass only twenty feet across. Such a lucky break, he couldn't believe it, the sword was up in the scabbard and he cleaning his face when the warmth was surrounding his body in a bright intensity.  
  
"Navi!" He giggled and as the room transformed back to a regular room, the pure white room, and no mirage since the master had been broken, he saw the seven-inch girl and hugged her tighter.  
  
"Link, are you hurt?" Was he hurt? He was flushing and crying as the tears poured down his cheeks, snuggling against her arm, the one that had burnt, it wasn't permanent burns, since energy healed within a few weeks.  
  
"I'm fine, sweetheart, but you are burnt up." Whispering softly, he did have some marks with the energy ball and had been slashed with the sword, though didn't feel it, must have been when the Ki slammed into him, he guessed.  
  
"Only my arm, I am fine--" She was cut off when something began to rumble around, she looking over towards the ground and seeing it was starting to rumble, also tiles upon the ceiling were cracking and starting to fall down on the ground, pushing around in a strange manner.  
  
Link noticed too and guessed the reason for this was the room was about too- -no the temple was going to collapse--in only a few minutes to go, a way out didn't seem clear. Of course, as he grabbed up Navi and ran across the room, he was met with the power that something was missing, crying out and dodging back to the room. He didn't know as he ran, feeling the enlightenment on his body and then he stared for his weapons and realized his sword was there, but that was all, everything else disappeared. That was where his stuff was, he quickly slipped on the side pack, the backpack, cape and even the shield that had been lost during the battle, slipping his cap on. When it was fastened, he was about to take off again when again he stopped dead in his tracks, spun around and went for the fairie that was wrapped in the black cap; she was just now awakening.  
  
"Shiia, you are awake!" He sighed deeply as he came to a rest before her, opening his arms for her, seeing she wasn't going to get in, then reaching forward and having his finger zapped back, not in an attacking manner, just something that hurt, an annoying blast.  
  
"Where is Onii!" She screeched out, fluttering up to Link's face, but feeling something near him and stopping, there was Navi, sitting on his shoulder with a smirk placing across her lips, it made her fears ring true. "H-he's dead? That must mean you two admitted love for each other, then that means when he died, you weren't affected, is that it!? Have you done something to him?"  
  
"He's dead, Shiia, I am sorry." Navi kept her quiet while Link talked, afraid she say something to be bad, the fact seemed that she did feel bad for this girl, her love had been lost while hers was spared, then the fact about being said that she was loved, the fairy's cheeks brightening.  
  
"Love? You said you loved me, Link? I love you too!" She flushed deeply and stared across as the feeling of warmth washed over her, like the boy had felt, and his cheeks lightened and nodded, the curse was completely broken of the darkness, nothing left to do but live on.  
  
"I'll go! I hope when I hope you hold onto him, Navi, you never know when he'll be gone and that's it. Please take care of him, he's so precious that you can't help but want to die when he does.Link, I do love you, not because you are part of Onii. Just the fact that you are the goodness of him, something he tried to be, even though he was created for evil. I love you both and goodbye the beautiful world of Hyrule! Please go forward, a portal out is there!" She didn't wait for them to say anything when she left, and as she fluttered while they hugged and cuddled, she hoped in her next life she was like that. Onii had been affectionate and she did love him, he just was aggressive and they never cuddled like that, though they had done some worse stuff than kiss. Mm, it was wonderful, it was just she wished, as she self-destructed, that the next life would be better and Onii would be more like Link. Each of them had their pros and cons, the best of the Hero of Time had to be his goodness, Ganondorf had created them for evil, but the two ended up rebelling and swirling in-between the two. Mix the two of them together and you have the best man in the world, one that could honor you for life and still keep you going back for more, he had that potential.  
  
She's gone; she really did it for him. I can't could never believe was that strong--she is an idol to me, and one day I hope she can be avenged.it doesn't matter how you were made on the outside, what matters is the true person you are on the inside. The tears began to pour down Navi's cheeks as she was gathered up by the startled Link, she neither knowing where they were going nor caring, the portal opening up as they both stepped into it, transporting them away from the rotting temple.  
  
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In a flash of over-blinding light, the scene transformed from that ugly room that was falling apart, to another room where the scene was beautiful. It was a simple room; the Chamber of Sages just appearing before them and making each of them looks around in the wonderment of the situation. A little tired from the battle, and bruised up, neither of them wanted to do this, but knew the rewards were worth the torture, since the treasures later were the best of all, knowing sleep awaited the duo. Where they were standing was on the same center mark, facing away from the other medallions and keeping his face positioned at the Medallion of Water. The flutter of a person descending the air entered each of theirs vision, feeling the brush of wings as the figure came to a rest before it, the beautiful Zorian eyes staring down at the two of them, she speaking softly.  
  
"You've grown even more cooler over the years, I can't believe how sly and cunning you are." Ruto giggled sweetly, placing her hands over her cheeks for a few seconds before taking them off, not letting the boy get a word in, her speech going on in the simple tone. "I have a reward for you, my friend.yes, since I am the Sage of Water--during this time of war, we can't be together, but maybe one day. Anyway, my gift for you is the legendary Water Medallion, and a few more things just for you."  
  
Spreading her hands together and grunting, the spiritual energy began to flow through her hands and rub in the size of the usual medallion, it flashing forward in her hands. There was a bit of something in the way she moved, the way that she was floating around on that platform that made anyone want to accept the gift. Panting when it was all over, she seemed a bit fatigued by the condensation, the girl just pushing it out for him, so that he is able to examine her true powers. It was a beautiful one, the same size as the others and bearing the symbol of the water on it, along with other things appearing on it. While there was nothing else special about it, powers were put on there that no one could discover unless in the place of a situation, something that didn't happen too often.  
  
Link accepted the powers with his own hands placing on the thing, reaching through the barrier that opened momentarily, only enough to get through. Rauru must have been pestering his jurisdiction because when she jumped forward to grab him, the only thing that hugged her was the invisible wall, Link just grinning sheepishly. Those hands, that now wore gloves and held back to the normal position, were put in order when he pushed it forward and slipped the jewel down inside of his pack. Yanking his gloves up a little, the right one held the Triforce of Courage, it resting back and easing his worries of not acquiring the powers back--if it had ever been gone from him. Resting against the fire and light, that forest one still hung around his neck, not even ready to put it down there, even though the blue one was given by a girl, the fact still remained.  
  
"My other two gifts are you're tunic restoration and something that Daruina had presented to you, a weapon. From the girl from the Forest you received you're instrument back, her own, and from the Fire King you got that chain mail, so something else awaits the battle from me." With that much information on the side, there was nothing he could do but blush a little; presents were the most wonderful thing that he loved to receive! Smiling, she just pushed forward and watched as his tunic slipped off of his little body and slid over his head, the blue one from the pack was arising. Watching the two of them mix together, her hands grunting and sweat pouring from there, the thing appeared at the same time it had last time, the green colour shining through. A big difference was on the right side of the breast area there was the symbol for the Gorons, the left side bearing even the insignia that the scale had gotten so long ago. Placing the thing before him, it slipped out through the barrier and was floating for him, sliding back around his body and tying itself back.  
  
"T-thank you." He smiled a little towards her, glancing at his fairie that was just looking at him with arms crossed, a little jealous because of the her generosity, but not enough to cause some damage to the Zora.  
  
"You're welcome and now for you're mysterious gift. We can make anything we want and I have been thinking of it, I had decided on nothing until you were down in the fight with Dark Link, then I decided." Pushing her hands together for what would be the last time, small little grunts appeared, the sweat dripping even more as the power began to form something. Much to Link's dismay (he thinking this might kill her) there was no protest and within a few seconds, only a scabbard was placed before him, this one a little different than the other. Encased in a light blue sheath, the thing was not cloth or any sort of plastic, the look of it had to be a pure metal, or some material that the Zoras had access too. The rinks around the scabbard were made of dark blue, while the design on the sword-holder was light blue, a small white fire dispersing around the area, making it seem like the thing was ablaze. There was a bit more to it, he couldn't describe it, the thing felt like it would never break, as he flowed back and took over his other sheath, absorbing it so that a Triforce symbol was in the center of the holder, the Hylian script stating his hero title.  
  
"Wow, another one, but won't it break if someone else tries to slice it in half." He smiled over towards her with a bit of a grin pacing over his lips, feeling the thing attach to his back and the chest-strap was light blue, the buckle made of dark blue, and the sword push inside and feel like a new home.  
  
"You have to go, go see the lake." Giggling, she was gone in a flash, Link taking one look around and seeing the sages weren't present, not even the old man named Rauru. Not knowing how to get out of here, all of a sudden the ground disappeared around him and instead of falling; he was sinking away from here. Slightly floating down towards whatever awaited him, there was nothing to do but wait until it came, then accept everything for what it is. She had mentioned that to watch the lake, that part of him still wondering what she meant, not sure if it was a good or bad thing. Nevertheless, when the ground was found and he saw that he stood on the gray platform where you were in Lake Hylia, the room around him hadn't changed yet, the sound of water running had caused him to stare down.  
  
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The lake did come back to normal, it was quite a beautiful site for them to view, that finally everything was coming back to normal, the three best areas finished. As the water overflowed to the top, not flooding or anything, there was nothing to do but wonder about the other places and just what his little quests had done. First of all, the forest was back to normal, it was a beautiful one and a now lush with the children to now venture onward and live their own lives. Better than that was the village of Kakariko had been spared from the fiery volcanoes from before, and the evil ring and ash around Death Mountain had been cleared off, the water now back to normal. Only bad thing was that sacrifices were mad to do this and they included some of the Kokiiri, Goron, Zoras and that innocent little girl, it was never worth it.  
  
Over the next week and a half, they spent down at the cabin near the end of the place, it used to be a fishing arena, but maybe the old man had been dead. Taking the first weak to recover from the injuries, Link and Navi were back to normal in a few days, the energy burns had not even left any scars--they were unlike fire. Sleep was used most of the seven days, spending a total of eleven there, so during the first week was when nothing went on except eating, sleeping and bathing. Never had anything seemed so boring, the equipment cleaned by them since an early journey to the Zora's Domain revealed that the sad king was alone, not baring to break the news of his daughter being sent away, deciding to leave him be. It was a beautiful time that was spent with talks and being together, there was nothing to do but accept the fact of their love together.  
  
Pushing it off and leaving it alone had never worked in their lives, so it was back to the fact that they loved each other, question was what to do to explore it. There was a certain way that love could be made--Link not feeling he was ready since he still wasn't at his mature period--plus when this was all over they'd return back. Of course if they left the forest after the venture (which they agreed to do) then the two of them would mature into the adults of their forms. The act of doing the sex was not on their minds, they were just fine kissing, since Navi may have been a little more mature than him, still not at the period where sexual things were not a physical need. Good for the two of them, Navi had explained how they would do it, when the time was, resulting in the blushed face of the boy, nodding and saying one day was when that time dawned on them, she accepting it.  
  
Over the period of four days they did speak of other things, like a way to go back and where to go when their little vacation was over. Surely, the girl had meant to spend more than eleven days away, the truth remained that after the rest, she felt like going back and fighting, plus her powers had gotten stronger since the medallion had added its powers to hers. She had no idea how the boy felt, she even ready to take on the Great Ganondorf, there was nothing to do but wait until he prepared to go, and knowing it would be soon. Restless he was getting, sure they had fun together, but the best was whenever they were fighting together, defending and showing their powers off. A race to impress each other, it was quite a good sport to do against each other; the only thing that pondered their minds was where was this Medallion that was located somewhere in the dead.  
  
After much talk and negotiations, the two of them concluded that the best solution had to be the best--no matter how hard it was to bare-- Kakariko had to be returned. Both had vowed to never step back, the need too had accompanied them since the temple could not be where the Redead were in Hyrule, that place used to be happy. Plus the fact remained that the temple of Light was also known as the Temple of Time, or so Navi had pondered out during their many talks. A graveyard was there, the only proof of where the dead were lain, never hearing of a Hylian graveyard, since it must have been closed off when Impa opened Kakariko to the people of Hylian descent. The village where the terror had happened, the same one where the Cucco girl was, there was a place where the dead rested, plus it was the town Shiek had been raised.  
  
It was decided that Kakariko was the readying spot and on the eleventh day after the evil Onii and his beautiful Shiia had been defeated, the two of them called for Epona on the ocarina and set off. When the night was coming over the horizon, the challenge of facing himself had been met, the only thoughts of what was to come next, what else was awaiting them in those walls. In a diminished place, the designated Water Temple, it had been the scariest ordeal that had ever been faced, knowing that keeping a love was a problem in some people's case. He knew that it couldn't be helped, there was nothing to thank but himself, the only ordeal in his mind was taking care of the real power that dwelt within him. Looking over at Navi, the only thoughts that came out was the simple phrase of his, a thing he wouldn't remember as he passed out on the horse, just slumbering down.  
  
She is my true power, the only one that provides for me and shall keep me accustomed, a similar phrase rang through the girl's head, except in the place of where she was, his name fluttered back and forth in beautiful alignments. 


	8. Chapter VII: Ceremony of the Dead

Chapter VII: Ceremony of the Dead  
  
Copyright: I do not own Zelda, Nintendo does. Story by Habuki productions.  
  
"How in the world are we supposed to go back?" He whispered in that tiny tone of curiosity and fear, his eyes were widening a little more than usual, the symbol of yellow was beaming down in his eyes. For the past week and a half they had been treating down at that weird fishing hole, just taking a rest and it was on the tenth day that they both knew they were ready to go on. Packing up and ready to go, the only problem with the boy's intuition was that over the past few days, he vaguely remembered some of their conversations (he remembered the romantic ones!) Navi had refreshed his memory and Epona was used to travel the distances, still a wonder as how fast it would be with no warp songs, he had so gotten used to them over time. Where, had been the point and that little village where Impa claimed to be from was the place where they needed to go, besides being near Impa could be useful?  
  
The Great Shiekah was one of the strongest in the world, probably able to take down Shiek, since she had to have a good fifty years over him (he not sure how they aged, but she did look good for her age.) Besides that, he could be useful in the village, learn about the whereabouts of the Princess and even might be able to track down the Triforce of Courage. What a delight to have another person on his side, Navi was good and everything, just someone with a sword would be nice, he always worried that this fighting would eventually get the better of his fairie. With an ally that he didn't care for, there were no worries if the person got killed, just to claim the force before it got away, either in his fairie or himself. If the bearer was on his side, of the piece itself, then that would be a lot more power along with some cool moves to use against the enemies, especially the slime that waited a top the old castle.  
  
Not to mention that she was an excellent fighter and maybe able to teach them quite a few moves, there was another ulterior motive in the boy. Finding up some information about the land would cause him to be more knowledgeable about this place of a country he so worried about. Everything was so weird around him (some of it the girl knew the answer too, and others she didn't) that is what made him the most angry, that they were clueless. It was such a weak feeling--this stupidity--and with this new intelligence with the Shiekah Queen, or whatever she was, then he would be much stronger than before. Along with all those fighting powers that he was enabled in his sleep, that old man could have at least put some intelligence inside of his mind--not that he was a dumb blonde or anything.  
  
Link was by no means an idiot, he just knew that his education was excelled in the arts by the girl named Saria, that he knew the basic stuff, just nothing about Hyrule. Utterly stumped was what he was in this situation, there was no better way to describe it and with those arms crossed around his chest, the breath came out. Sure, he knew the Kokiirish legends and even the parts that talked about the 'tall people' that were meant to take the children and eat them up. How ironic that he was now one of the monsters, had ventured in, and not even stolen one of the kids, disproving the myth to this Kokiiri. As he was standing there, the voice of his own love spoke up and enabled him to hear her voice of confidence, even if she wasn't right, it was good to have encouragement.  
  
"I don't know, just stick it in the slot." The seven inches whispered from behind him, staring down at the hole, that was where they had come out of and now going back seemed the stupidest idea ever.  
  
Give me strength, Faeroe, Din, and Naryu. But most of all give me the power to do this, for her. Maybe his faith had been enabled in the Goddesses, he was by no mean a religious nut, just he realized that for the first time they were out there, watching him and actually wanting to succeed.  
  
Nodding, he was about to when the memory of what happened before was calming through his mind, it seemed like a long time ago, even if it had just been a few days. When a person dwells on something long enough, hidden meanings were relished in the text, or that's what the old Shinobi legends claimed. If it was true, he'd give it a simple try, there was no harm in performing the art, even if it was hopeless, he could place what had happened earlier, now it was time to look in-between what she had said. Remembering what had come about might refresh his memory and enable him to see what would happen when this was all over, that would be for the best. Best to start at the beginning, before all this came about and then realize that he had to go back--back to the time when the times were peaceful and claim some sort of anomaly in the past.  
  
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"A remembrance of the past." For the past five days they had ventured back towards the village of the past, that one that held such harmful memories, no one wanted to venture in. No one would classify the hero and guardian, since it was populated with Faeroe-only-knew how many people, each one in the happiness of this place. Sure, to them this place was a refuge where you could go from shelter when the rest of the land turned you away--the last stronghold of Hyrule. For some reason (only the two would tell you, and as the fairie spoke the words it was apparent of the fear) this habitat just brought back bad memories. It was apparent the newest way would be through the old village of the Shiekah, it was just that neither of them were ready to go inside of there.  
  
An everlasting night had been relinquished for the past few days, it intriguing them at how the sun was not willing to rise over these conditions anymore. Would it last forever? That seemed a funny thought, that the land would remain like the night sky where crops would start forming, the herbivores would die, then the carnivores and finally all the races of the land would rot away. Or was it just the magic that the evil King was pushing on the world, not dying until Death came knocking at his door and was let in with the clean stroke of this Hero. Another possibility held that the land was tired of fighting, sickened of waiting for the Hero of Time to claim the land from its darkness and eventually gave in. No one was even attempting to guess that the last possibility, because there wasn't another, there was no way that natural events would turn the time on this, for it never said in legends.  
  
Rot away, like all of us will become eventually; immortality isn't forever, not at all. Hushed in a tone, the boy was only about ten feet away from the stair-way that led up to the dreadfully beautiful village, only he and his fairie in tow. Having sent Epona away when they passed the land of Lon Lon, they did not want anything coming after her at night, the Poes would eventually cause her a heart attack. Not even giving a visit to the beautiful Malon, all he did was put the horse into one of the stalls, tie it shut and leave the broken-hearted mare alone (he knew she wanted to go, it was just no one else needed to see him cry.) Sobbing was not something that pusses did, nor was it for a person with no masculinity, the truth was that a person that could cry was very strong, he just only wanting one person to see his watery liquids. Almost feeling the courage of sending his fairie away, he knew the possibility of that were zero to none, there was no way he'd let her go--not after what had happened almost two weeks ago.  
  
"Are we going in?" She muttered in a hushed tone, it was neither known what time it was, but from the look ahead with their great distance, the lights were off and the gates were shut for the night (or forever, depended on what the people were thinking.) Keeping that beautiful voice in such a charming manner, she was alerted and gasped a little, spinning around when the sob broke out from his direction.  
  
He couldn't handle it, the pain was just too great, the sign had triggered it and sent bellows faltering in his stomach, feeling like he was dying. Grabbing his gut for support, those eyes dreaded away from the banner and sunk to the ground, hearing the voice of Navi, although it was far away, everything felt like it was running away. Tears had come before those sobs, streaming down his cheeks and flashing out like a flood when his baby cries were sent out in what could only be called a tantrum. The only thing he could do was go up in the defensive position, not of a fighter, but of a wimp, so falling down to his knees was the best solution. Best solution to the situation would have been to suck it up and tighten up, to act more like a hero, although no one knew the definition of the term heroism, he was the last one left.  
  
All she could do was stare forward in pity; no way to do anything, since the last few minutes of screaming had sent her voice into hoarseness. She had overdone it, knowing before the energy ran out that he couldn't understand a sort of dream-like stage had taken over his body, almost like he was possessed. This evil spirit was not going to kill him (at least not yet) a simple death would be too good, it wanted to make him suffer for the crimes that were unknown to both she and him. Yes, there was no way to talk now, the girl staring up towards the picture and feeling the same twinge of pain, though not as great as the hero's. A banner was placed above the town gates, hanging and protruding the dreadful words that neither of them wanted to bear the same text on the gravestone that she had seen him forward and it said this.  
  
To Kaci Bosiou. R.I.P.  
  
Born September 18th, 500 B.G.- Died September 21st, 7 A.G.  
  
To the beloved angel in the window; Whose life was wrested away as a bird flies.  
  
No one can blame the shallowness sinful; Of how the evil took over and goodness dies.  
  
Also displayed for the torture of them both was the apology of her death, but the worst of all had to be what was inscribed below in the other section? It was clearly seen and most people would have been able to make it out with their pathetic Hylian eyes, the enhanced one of Link's was good enough. Even without seeing it, she knew he had glanced at it and realized in the fear of what had came to pass, this was just too cruel for even those people to muster up. How they got the names was beyond Navi, for inscribed below was the text of 'murders' that was not even the worst part of the situation, the worrisome had to be the names there. Navi breathed out a sigh of breath, holding back the tears, but eventually they came too, she hugging the boy for support and showing that she was hear, those words burned onto the banner were burnt into both of their minds, it tested this.  
  
Murders of the Royal Family Research Heritage Kaci: The Hero of Time and his Guardian, by the power invested in Ganondorf, a warrant has been issued for their arrest, a reward of $500,000 rubies has been issued for the arrest and/or capture of the two. Wanted Dead of Alive for crimes of murder, theft, assault, and the despoliation of stolen property, a picture below is of the duo. Boy is described as medium height, long blonde hair, dressed in a green tunic with a white under suit, and dressed in boots. Also carries around a shield, sword and a lot of other armour hidden in his pack. Partner is resulted as a forest fairie that is larger than normal, able to wield energy attacks. Considered armed and dangerous, the two use the powers of Ki energy, and not to mention can fight in the martial arts, magical, and swordplay. Extreme caution must be issued when trying to take over the Hero of Time, a liar of deceit, he is trying to overthrow the Hylian Nation and claim it for his own, dealing with him should be strike to kill.  
  
There was no one around him anymore, the picture of her had done it and that was all there was too it, how could those simple idiots be so cruel! He never saw it coming, never dreamed that they would do something like this, but how could they when they didn't know the relationship between the three of them. That was a very good decision and when he felt that she was not there, he felt like he was back in the space before, shivering at the thoughts of it and disappearing was what he felt. Being dead was bad, but being forgotten was even worse, you existed and at the same time you didn't, feeling everything would come crashing down until that hand rested on his shoulder. Warmth was beginning to enlighten around his body, feeling the darkness of space was disappearing out of sight, it was leaving.  
  
Drifting with some worry that it would return, a few minutes and the power that had been given to him was coming back, he sighing and loving the warmth--it was familiar. So, that settled it and when five of those sixty seconds had passed, he knew in his mind the evil (or whatever it was) had left for the time being. Maybe not forever or it could just disappear for the rest of his life, he didn't know and right now it wasn't a problem, the only solution was to figure out the source. Eyes had been shut for the remaining time through the ordeal; probably a test to see what would happen and those evil girls choosing him, it was to see how he handled the powers. Dealt with a passing, those lids slid open and the world returned in a flash, the one holding him was not holding, but had her lips against his own, kissing.  
  
Her eyes had been focused and while he had been crying was when their lips had met for the most part, each of them were staring into eyes of passion. Everything was coming in the way and at the same time, nothing was going to interfere, if they did, then the penalty had to be the condescended death. There was no point in moving--why would they go around or do anything like that, the world had stopped and it felt like time was in their hands. Nothing could end this beautiful moment, the world could end and still the moment would last on, but alas, it could not continue because they needed to get on. Arms were wrapped around each other in a tighter manner, knowing the point had to stop in one manner or another, this just had to be sooner than the later, as much as it hurt.  
  
"We have too." She whispered, she broke it a few seconds sooner than him, he just looking down and nodding, they had done this a lot on their vacation, well maybe three of four times.  
  
"I know, I was about too. So, how're we supposed to go into the town if we are wanted criminals?" The last part was said with a bit of haste, he despising the fact that a helpless death was blamed on him, he had killed but it had been in the war, so you weren't charged.  
  
"Well, I think we can sneak in if we trail over the gate, and maybe we can find refuge at Impa's house. I know she'll believe us, plus that thing was made by those stupid people who worship Ganondorf, who in their right mind would believe something like that." Yea, she knew in the back of her mind that the people didn't care, all they wanted was the reward of more than enough for a person to live off of.  
  
"Stupid morons wouldn't hesitate to get their fat hands on the five- thousand rubies." He groaned and leaned against the side of the post, walking up as they had kissed had placed the two past the stairs and was now nearing the top. When they were at the top, now just a paces away from the gate, he saw that no guards were near here, probably asleep or hiding from the darkness. He had not placed tabs on anyone since the plague had begun, but had a fact that his warrant didn't matter, especially since the tag looked a month old or so. It was a bad thing to consider how honest people could do such horrific things, but in the back of his mind was the truth of the matter, it remained. When money was there, nothing could stop the people from doing and staring at the darkened gate (the lamps off) there seemed to be a sense of disturbance around here.  
  
"Its five-hundred thousand, love." She whispered, not trying to make the situation worse, just warning him that a lot more money meant more about him, it was bad about the photo. "And somehow they have a Pictograph of both me and you, someone must be spying on us."  
  
"Half a million, he must really want my head on a spike. Unfortunately, that isn't going to be because I have the power to stop well over a hundred men if I wanted too, none of these humans are a match for me, I am worried that maybe he will send monsters after me or something." Smiling over at the girl, he just shrugged a shoulder and began to walk forward for the place, knowing full well there was a way to get over, he just hadn't figured it out yet-- the gate was higher than his Longshot so that was out. "I am suspecting a spy or something, but who could be so sly to carry one around, the picture, where was the scenery at?"  
  
"It looked like the inside of a temple, the background was completely white and there was nothing there--I am guessing the Temple of Time, someone was waiting back there for us or that sort of thing." When the thought flashed through her head, she groaned and shook it, there was no way that he could of done it, there was possibly wasn't a chance in all of Hyrule.  
  
"The Light Cavern? There was Shiek there with us back then--" He paused in a freezing motion and stared over at her, seeing the light spark in her mind and he shook his head, mostly at himself than anyone else, trying to keep that accusation out of the open. How could that man have done something like that, he was their master and the only trusted advisor that could beat Link, not to mention anyone else in the entire land. So powerful and with the nature of a gentleperson, since he decided to train the boy on such short notice, how could a man of that caliber be so evil as to do that? Could such a person, who seemed evil on the inside, but really wasn't, could that really prevent a spy that gave information on him and the girl. No, he didn't believe it because elements about his personality weren't explained, that was just something a spy would love to exploit and that Navi was a weakness, another factor.  
  
"I don't think he could do it, do you Link?" She whispered out a few minutes later, the two of them were basically leaning against the wall and waiting for the next plan of action.  
  
"Not at all, I think he is true to his word, we just have to be more careful around him." Crossing those arms across his chest, the boy decided with full pleasure that nothing bad would happen because of this bit of information released. Who knows, a small monster that was flying through the air could of kept a close distance above them--though away as to not get shot--and spy at night. Stealthy and in the darkness, the best time to do anything bad, usually when the two of them talked the most, during the days it was only full of mindless thoughts. That would have been the best spot to go from, since otherwise Navi would of caught a wind of its energy, or Link could sniff it our or hear it if that thing was traveling by foot. Speaking of energy, it could have been so weak that their sensors wouldn't notice it, a weak enemy that was fast always seemed a bad disposition with the rest of him.  
  
With the matter of being betrayed pushed aside, though not disappearing all together in their minds, the hero's was off of the claim and back to the initial problem. How in the world was he to get over that fence without alerting those stupid guards, and then foremost, where was this temple located? Thinking for a few seconds, he remembered they had talked about that graveyard--the shadow temple most likely dealt with death so that meant in the house of the Dead. Shiek had mentioned one was in the home of Death, it was quite a while back, but who could blame for thinking up the best details, it was a spur of the moment thing. Growling louder, he his hand went forward and slammed into a part of the gate, spinning around and pressing his back against it--okay so the secret wall was not going to work.  
  
"Could you possibly carry me over there?" A smile grimaced his lips and he shrugged a shoulder, taking a glance at the wall and seeing no climbing footholds, this gate had been here the last time they were there, well it was added onto. If he had to guess, it was probably for the lava and the front gate was added on, as the back had been done incase the volcano ever decided to spew out again.  
  
Navi glanced over at him and shook her head that face breaking out a little bit looking down at the ground and then she couldn't hold it back anymore. The giggles were turning into an out-loud laugh, fluttering down to the side of him and leaning her head against his shoulder, pushing her face into his neck to hold back the laughs. It was just too funny! Her face was just knowing that this couldn't happen, no way in her existence could she ever accomplish anything else at this matter, and he knew it! The fact that she could carry his large body, for every inch she had grown, he had become about ten times the size of that, stretching even more. Beating against him, her arms were wrapped around her neck and pulling forward, trying to calm the tears streaming down her cheeks.  
  
A small groan escaped his lips and he just nodded running hands across the gates and disappearing to the sides, out of the light. He had to admit a few giggles escaped from him, but his sense of humour had not returned all the way as hers had, the sadness still streamed down inside of his aching heart. He knew she was just trying to change the subject, it was a sweet matter, just would take a little longer for the newly unearthed pain to come away. As the girl began to calm down after a few minutes, he took no notice as his form glided back into the light and to the other side of blackness, determined to hit something. There just had to be a passageway over here and if anyone to find it (like during an emergency) the Hero of Time would unveil it in a little bit, and when he came near, the symbol was before his eyes.  
  
"Look at that, what do you think it is?" It was pitch-black, so he had to pull his glove out and let the triangle-light beam through, showing itself out for what it truly was, a symbol of the Shinobi.  
  
"Shiekah! This must be an old hidden passage of the Shiekah." It was true, that could have been since they were out of the recently developed land and back to another places, the area of rotten wood. With a hand to brush against it, some of the wood gave in to the rain that had poured down over the years, the symbol old and rotting. Indeed, it had been a while since reinforcements had come out and painted this, hidden behind the trees so that the newly inhabited Hylians could not access it. Navi's excitement was swelling past relief, to be able to see some of the artifacts of the Shiekah were a land that someone dared not cross. Cross it they would because nothing could keep them from there, the enemies may have been fast or some friendly allies, who knew what waited.  
  
Link's hand was the one that touched it, as Navi just stared in awe and some pressure was applied there, getting nothing but the forcefulness. That couldn't just do and as he prepared himself in an attacking stance, there was no holding back, everything was going to be put into this little punch. Groaning while the Ki began to flow around his body, amazed at how much power was flowing in his body, there was no doubt that the power was dormant and even more awaited him. Smiling towards his fairie, the love of his internal life, the power was going harder and harder, because from the feel of the door, a barrier had been set to keep those that wandered close away. Pushing the fist straight into the symbol of the door and beginning to whisper for the power, the dull symbol began to glow bright red when the balled up hand stretched inside.  
  
If it could be explained, the door was beginning to cry out, maybe the blood of the Shiekah was going to be even more intense with this power. Hm, there was nothing that could happen that began to flow through him, he felt the great feeling to throw his hands away and be done with it. At the same time, he didn't because, that would mean no way to explore the old ruins to the Shiekah, or wherever this rotten doorway led, into the evil or the brightness and beyond. Feeling a sort of drained feeling on his own body, there was nothing he could do when the fist was into the cracking door, yes it was beginning to go away. The suckling on his hand was also beginning to disappear, but what it meant was the door was breaking up--not shattering--more like going away from existence.  
  
"Is it leaving?" He whispered towards his little partner while he was looking down at the ground, hands held in his pockets, yes it had let him out right before and now it seemed to be disappearing more.  
  
"Yea, I get the feeling it is." Even as she spoke, her eyes had looking up there and she was not looking at him, he was the least bit interesting for him, as you could see. Mm, the door had now left the hinges and in the place was a room, except they could see inside without the worry of wandering into danger blind. No way that anything would be bad here, there was just the energy that flowed out showed that none of the old Shiekah were bad, the loyal people of Hyrule--the dark protectors--had left quite a gift. A beautifully black room, a single dot was in the room, except it was more than a dot, they both knew that because the way that the thing was beginning to extend and shine brightly. A gift was mentioned, but what in the world was it, the dot was letting out that transportation was there, something bright.  
  
No words were parted between them because everything was silent; the crickets had even shut their traps to watch the two of them together. Even the wind had shut its trap; the night--if not held by the spell--would have looked on with the beautiful sun just streaming out, it missing out on the events of the century. There was a small spark from the two of them as the steps began to come towards the light; the beam was growing larger and larger as they came closer. Everything was interested, and if the people had been around, there would have been no gangs or hunts for the reward, the harmony of the beauty would have been done in. At long last, the two of them were standing on top of that large spot and now the whiteness had surrounded them, everything around was going back to normal when the warp went in.  
  
Now when they were safely tucked inside, there was nothing to do except wait that was what to come, the light was still there, but now they seemed to be moving, sounds coming out. At first they were small and silent, then the things started getting violent, as the white light was disappearing and fast, disappearing down into it. Now, when they left the light, only the dark was left and still they were engulfed in that, the sounds louder and louder, this warp point maybe one of the most vicious ever. As much as they wanted to cry out, there was no fun in that since the loud rumbling that begun when they were inside the warp, it was only heard to them. Clocking shut, a new door was assigned to the symbol, closing off and then the symbol died down, a disguise for the people who went searching, this was meant for the special.  
  
Trapped inside of the darkness, there was nothing to do but cover you're ears and hope for the best, Link's own eyes narrowing down and seeing what he knew was, the girl of his. A beautiful sight, it calmed him down, he knew that panicking would just get you killed in these places, this had to be some sort of formality of the Shiekah for visitors. She was just sitting there, eyes over her ears and staring back at him, nodding that it was time to calm down, this was some sort of test. Of course a quiz was in manner, it was a simple matter and as soon as the two of them were calm was when the voices stopped, probably beginning for worries. Yes, it could be just an illusion that you're mind created, nodding and that was when the light began to form back in, coming from the direction they traveled.  
  
I love you. His mouth whispered out, the voice still too loud and when he spoke it was when the light appeared all the way, noises brewing around, knowing it had to be spoken from his mind. Who knew what was on in this place, it looked like a paradox of another world, or the heaven that the Goddesses resided inside of.  
  
And I love you too. Her mind spurted out, knowing that neither of their mouths had spoken since they both knew each other well, not that they were psychic, but maybe in here the energy was intense. Such auras from all over had been coming in all directions; maybe this was the land of the dead, a Farplane or something of that nature. She head read of such things in the books, and since these were the people of the dead, or in the shadows, who knew what they were beyond the closed doors. Maybe Shaman were in their lineage and as the thoughts disappeared down inside of her, she looked back into those blue eyes, knowing that was all that mattered. Anything could happen and as the two stared at each other, the voices and noises were gone, only the silence seemed inside of him.  
  
Again the silence disappeared from out of their body and all the land disappeared, a sudden awareness was in the room, it was the warp-point that they'd come out of. A zipping sound came in, the warp closing and a hand moving back revealed that there was nothing in his hand way, just the empty air as if it had never existed. Yes, this place was very knew, he not able to see anything since there was a pitch-black feeling, still he felt it was a room, that was something you always recognized. He knew when he was in a room and when he was in the blackness, it had been a lot of times down in there, excluding this part and the ones with Onii. In his dreams was when the darkness came for him, always the evil ones and never good, knowing that it didn't matter now, this room was open for him and with a stare forward he noticed no one had appeared as of yet.  
  
"Where are we?" A whispered came out of his lips and there was when he displayed a bit of fear, they were not in a tomb, this place smelt like it had recently been inhabited just for now. A place that they could be at home, except he did not feel at home here, the smell of blood and weapons was all around, not even knowing if he was in Ganon's house.  
  
"No idea, Link, but be on you're guard, there are Shiekah." Each was still flushing from before; each was shown as if they had just come out from under the covers in such a displaying manner. This was a fun thing to consider the love was growing even more and more for them, and the two of them knew nothing could stop the love. How much powerful would each of them get with the energy, not a power trip, maybe just when it came in was the decision. Everything was disappearing from him, the backside of the blush and she saw it, noticing how he was handling it and almost losing her balance of getting back to being on her guard. Back on the defensive side, her aura wrapped around her body and lit most of the room, seeing that there was nothing of manner, the blood had been a fake since the room was spotless, or recently made and just cleaned up.  
  
"Sure, I'll try to do my best." The way that the voice streamed out showed how much confidence he was showing and just as he said it, he was ready for anything that came on. His guard was placed on, as he walked even forward for the place, realizing that anything coming for him would not be considered down without harm. Pulling forward and unsheathing the blade, her aura was bright, but he decided for more and raised his ungloved hand, concentrating to fill the entire room. He could do that, for sure, his Triforce powers had never been trained, but he knew how to bright a room and as the harmless light came out, he knew it was powerful. Yes, the room was engulfed in the light and his fairie just turned off her light, hers was a flashlight compared to the beautiful power of the triangle.  
  
With the entire room brightened, a glance around revealed what was possible; this was some sort of weapon shed located in a vast place. No idea where they were, since the blood covered the ground of the place, the scent made it seem just new, even though a trace was no where to be seen. As it was dismissed to by the foregrounds, there was nothing to do but shamble around the shelves and shelves of swords, scrounging for maybe some new replacements. That could always be a good idea, maybe a new suit or something, a stronger shield, there was magic power in here, but the shield was not magic-based. It was just used by the Goddesses in such a ways that protected Link, it did not show signs of dread, but eventually the thing would snap in two.  
  
This was not what he expected; the hands were scrimmaging all through the place for something of a use that could be used in combat. His hands began to glide over shelves, through the cabinets and even kicking the wall to acquire hidden holes, finding about two that were stored with nothing but rotten food. With only weapons and armour here, there was no food or supplies, so only fighting-tools could be acquired from the place, in the end it was all a sham. So stupid, the place had not been told on in such a long time, some of the weapons were rusted and everything else seemed to be older than the plains of Hyrule. With a glance of knocking over the last cabinet, the destroyed room displayed before him as he walked forward towards the door, a distant one just a few feet away.  
  
"I don't think there is anything of use here. All this is full of stuff back from the Middle Ages." A stretch was given as the boy leaned against the wall and that was when he spoke out towards the girl, not whispering and disturbing the silence and whispering. "Nav', what do we do?"  
  
To be honest she didn't know she was completely lost and while he traveled through the places, she scrimmaged through other areas. Cluttering through the parts of armour for maybe secret jewels and blasting open some of the swords, for a hidden jewel or anything, she turned up empty-handed. A long growl of inconstant had revealed a little bit of rotten food, some symbols worth or no money at all, it was just the way it went, the feeling of being an archeologist was lost. It was a fictitious ordeal, there was something about the way that he acted in this way that made her wanted to go the same way, to get out and finally find a hidden jewel of content in the way. At last she looked over at him and could no answer, her face was blank and the confusion of it all remained, had she even heard that question?  
  
"What did you say?" She whispered out, the cheeks turning a bright crimson from not remembering anything, that was the way things went when you were acting out of turn.  
  
"I said what do you think we should do?" He whispered back, even though there was no need to do it since the throwing of weapons around had sent such a clutter around the place. With a small little smile towards the girl, he intrigued his shoulders, the sword held down in the right and nodded, there was only one place to go.  
  
"Hm? Well, we could try opening the door, I am sure wherever we are is near the Shiekah." She never got the chance to say anything else because footsteps were beginning to pummel towards them; they were that of a very tall person, probably a man of giant height of over a normal person.  
  
As the steps realized closer and closer, he was frowning with content, just keeping his sword held up in the air and preparing it for the height of it all. This thing was either a very tall man or a monster, it could have been a mixture of both at the way he was heading, and this place didn't smell good at all. It smelt of dead things, people who had been killed long ago and even recently, maybe some sort of execution room or something around that area. The closer and closer it got was when he took action, getting behind the door and lowering the sword so when it swung open, he'd be right where he could see them and they not him. Good plan, the stealth could save his life, whimpering and covering his glove as the barren fairie stared forward when the squeak of the door came open, darkness in them all.  
  
Complete silence appeared as the two of them stared into the darkness, only able to make out a huge shadow, it definitely wasn't a woman or anything. This brute began to sniff around--he heard the snorts--and when it rumbled through, to the comical relief of them both, it began to slip around. Slipping on the armour and swords, several squeals of pain were coming out when they stared out at what was happening, it was not very good at night- vision. Such a very good scene made the duo's nervousness go down to a minimum barrier, looking back at the thing as it prepared to carry itself, Link gripping the hilt of its sword. After a few minutes of cursing and grunting in a language he could not hear of, the hands went forward and shoved the door out of the way.  
  
"Greeeah! Hylian!" It squealed out, the Hylian language coming into mind as the scent of mammal had come into its nose, the hands going up and raising in for an attack.  
  
"Link, watch yourself!" She screamed out, backing away from them and fluttering over towards the side, so she was out of his vision, the monster's scent was not strong enough to pick her up so she was safe.  
  
Link was ready, his sword was pulling forward, but he knew it was too late because the thing's sword had been pulled out for a search while his laid at his side. Grunting and holding the blade up for a defensive position, the thing did connect with him and slammed the blade up against his own. Slamming up against it with a harder motion, the blade was not going to budge much, because of the weight behind it, this thing had to outgrown him by several tones or so. Not to mention it was a much larger sword than his, it wasn't about to break the sword and if he did keep his ground, he could do it and beat this stupid monster, either in death or just a wounding blow. This was the thing had not begun to put all its power, it let out a squeal and was about to push down when the familiar blast appeared from his side and with a sigh of relief, the head of the thing exploded.  
  
"T-thanks, you worried me for a second there." Grinning a little, he had ducked as soon as the blast came, and spun around to avoid the brain mass as it poured from the man's head, not worrying to discover it. His girl was huffing a little and resting down on his shoulder, nodding with her arms crossed, the door sitting a jar widely for them.  
  
"No problem, you think I wouldn't want to do it?" She giggled, but soon her eyes widened as something snapped up behind him and slammed a hand on his neck, not very far to kill. Link slumped down into a pile and was soon just a simple body with the soul resting inside, unconsciousness had taken over the body of him, and she knowing if she didn't react that she'd be next. Knowing her medical terms, she knew that the boy could not be dead, he had simply been knocked out when this person (he had a Hylian form) could have just as much snapped his neck. Even so, she was worried that someone had come up and stared at them, faster than the two of them and dared to push against them so that he was asleep. Preparing herself, she was about to blast a simple blast when the person began to flash around and around her, confusing her direction and causing confusion in fighting.  
  
Growling and shooting out a blast at the young person, or that's the appearance that it took on, there was no way to hit it in this condition. A bit of the blast did scrape something; she not sure if it was the wall or the person, each of them did make a sound if either was hit. It was hard to do this, each time knowing that the person was playing with her, why else would they do such a tease before the kill was given in, and would it be gruesome. Her body would probably be eaten or mangled whichever one suited the monster of such a particular speed that it affected everything in the path. Feeling a bit of pressure down at the side of her neck, there was nothing to do but accept it with those arms open wide for the emotions.  
  
Fingers, or claws, slammed into an area that was so secure with tenseness that just rubbing it would cause everything to go black for a few seconds. It was futile to resist and even doing it would just cause the sleepiness to come even faster, struggling never helped when you were there. Maybe it was just like quicksand in the old legends, the more you pushed and shoved, the faster the wet dirt pushed you down into its intensifying hole. No, the monster's digits didn't just rub; they intensified and pushed down into there with more than a cause than a few-second blackout. The power was futile, everything gave in and as those lids shut down, she saw in the light that the person had stopped a blonde-haired man with crimson eyes glared at her with anger.  
  
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How stupid could they both be, was there no sense of intelligence within the two's brains, he knew they were still immature, but not retarded. There was nothing to compensate their actions; death would have awaited them if not for this particular boy, whose speed outranked any of the approaching monsters. Thank Goddess that there were no fast ones, because the time he spent with the girl could have made one get there and see that he was not killing them. Two corpses would arouse more trouble, since there was only one guard on display, and as he zipped through there was no indication he had ever been there or come back. Uproar would be displayed and the Hero of Time would be caught or killed, glad that only one was slaughtered, it was easy to explain the hero went back through the portal to his old place.  
  
The people were soon gone from his vision; the castle altogether and only the smell of blood remained on his body as he traveled to and fro the place of comfort. No talk would be done, that was good and as the blackened plains turned to green, the sigh of relief was over his body, thanking the lucky stars for this. They were stupid, of course, to travel through a place without any indication of the consequences, how could they not know of the legendary Shiekah? He couldn't blame them, how could they know when the blood of there was not in there, still the story remained in his head, there had to have been some old forest tales of it. The stuff looked old, could they have seen through the disguise (even though the thing was at least seven years old) it had not been used since the ancient times.  
  
We protected them at least the decency that have is to know about our past! Fury was bowling through his body, almost feeling the power to throw the kid down here and now and send him into the armed forces. How good it would feel to get that done, knowing at the same time that he could never do that, it wasn't in his own nature to do it, probably the weakest of them all. Power was not what weakened him, the other part that made his life live was what he hated to sometimes admit, and that soft heart had to be the biggest disadvantage.  
  
It was fine, someday he would conquer over that and that was the day when Ganondorf would fall down to his knees begging for mercy. The hero was great, but if something were to ever happen to him, then he'd take the Hero's nemesis out, because it was his own. Even though no Shiekah was dead during the war (the last one was where he was headed) the destruction to the land was too much. Having come from a family that made the land care for itself, loved the land and even took care of it, this simply was an unforgivable sin. Besides the fact that he loved every race and it was every piece of diversity, except his own dead one, that was suffering, another part of the puzzle that was stupid.  
  
There was nothing to take care of but the travel, the village where they headed was where he would go too and look for her, it had been such a long time. Kakariko was a beautiful little place, but ever since the Hylians had crammed in (he didn't mean before Ganon's rule, that was peaceful) but now it was just ridiculous. Hundreds and hundreds of Hylians were all over the place, the transformation from opening a town to the race had turned it just into that, even though two of the Shiekah race remained. It was the fact of the matter that this place was built as a hide-away from them, the Royal Family and with the family dead, all its loyal citizens came traveling with their tails between their legs to the old hidden race. The population of Kakariko used to be about three-hundred, now it was close to a thousand, rivaling that of the old Hylian Marketplace, and they could handle it!  
  
Now that the fields were disappearing the stairs coming into view, the smile of relief was on his face--the place may have been full of another race--but it was his home. A place of where he was raised, even though no memory of it remained in his mind, he just knew that was where his parents lived before their demise. There weren't many places he could call home, usually thrown out for being a 'weirdo' or a 'freak' because he liked to dress like the ancient ones of the race did. Honoring his heritage got discrimination to settle in, the racism was enough to make you sick, everyone thinking their own race was superior to another. There was no way to think of his race was better, since there weren't enough left, just a male and a female remained around here, the age difference too vast for a relationship to be stared, besides she was his master--it was just too weird.  
  
Impa was whom he was going to see, the one of superior skills that he surpassed, knowing for a fact that the boy had received a lesson or two from her. A few lessons taught you the basics of the Martial Arts--wiped out by Rauru for sword skills--it was not enough to qualify as the Hero of Time, maybe a strong kid back then. It had developed over the years into a harsh world, the monsters getting harder and the lessons were not very good, and it was now that you needed more power to win, it was the strong survive. Even more, the Shinobi was not there for a week or two, but over three years, mastering all the factors of being a full-grown Shiekah. It was enjoyable to learn about his past, and a bit harsh because it was a new person, he was not new to people that were nice to him at all.  
  
They could have just climbed. How foolish people seem sometimes. With the training he gave them, those two could of scaled a fence twice the size of this without breaking a sweat, he was disappointed in his students.  
  
His pupils would be escaped to be the best of the best, the cream of the crop, and anything that could be taken care of, was very much done. Exercise was another important matter; the kid probably wasn't following all of the parts that he had given, plus the fact that he'd been out for a while. Mm, his training had been done in order, he just presented all of his tactics into a condensed version than what his master had done to him. It was easier, but he had not learned everything, the more difficult stuff would come when his true power was awakened, that would not be for a few more weeks, or months, depended on the travel. All he knew was that the stronger Link became, the better it seemed to be against all of them, the odds were braved in a faster way.  
  
Shiek had not examined the Water Temple, because he had been out of commission, he had rescued the girl, but that was it, everything else tired him out. The sleep he returned was really hard to explain to everyone, just saying he was getting ready to whenever he was to face the Hero, wanting him at his full powers. Another reason that he had not been convicted was that he said he wanted the hero powerful, not an easy target, that was accepted by the King of Evil. Who wouldn't want to do that? He knew that if the true intentions had been murder, the man would have wanted the boy at full power, otherwise it wasn't a challenge. While everything was back to him, feet locked down in the footholds that appeared as he kicked the gate, a secret switch--even though he could scale the gate without them.  
  
As he climbed, his memories swept back to when he was an orphan, about a year older than Link when his father was killed, never remembering his mother. Now that he felt back, he was sure that his father was one of the last-surviving Shiekah that was killed by Ganondorf, or by one of his followers. Revenge was all he could think of, too young to do a thing about it and that was where the woman Impa picked him up, she required him to train with her, so he did if it got him stronger. Everything from meeting Impa and on was clear, it made sense as if she was his mother or something, which his feelings towards were very nurture-based. Everything else wasn't very clear, maybe he had his head knocked around that pushed the memory away, even today a distant past or anything doesn't appear, like they showed in the stories.  
  
Falling down over the side in a matter of seconds, his smile beamed on as he raced forward through the night, having noticed the Wanted Ad and just sighing deeply. Something had been following him, obviously Ganondorf was losing trust in him, and maybe he had expected Shiek to over-react and kill the Hero of Time, even though his orders were not too. If he killed him, he wouldn't be punished, probably rewarded, but that is what you expected when such a sick mind was in charge, the circumstances were different. Nothing but disrespect and disgust was held, the boy was loyal and he wouldn't leave Ganondorf until he was asked to face the boy in combat, then being on the bad side was bad, he'd have to desert and look for other refuge. Other people disobeyed orders and they were smitten on the spot, nothing held back, not even the stroke over the guillotine as it rolled down.  
  
Oh, will everything come together, you need a tool and even I can't get too it. I can't believe how powerful you will get, eventually surpassing me. As much as he didn't want too, he knew in his heart the boy was meant to pass him, otherwise, he would have taken Ganondorf out long ago. Speaking of which, the hero might need his help, the plan was to aid him to the castle, whenever the time came, and just take care of it. Now as he stared down towards the dark, a house he wanted to travel too was in view, he knew they'd need all the help in the world to survive.  
  
He'd never be like that, he knew it, and as he was down on the other side and speeding through the dark, there was one house that he'd head over too, there was no other way. Indeed, the house was on the hill, opposite of the well--speaking of which, that was the new objective for when the hero awoke- -but a different kind. How it would be was hard to say Link had never done it, but he knew because he had close contact with the old master, she had spoken of it even before he was ordered to go see the heroes awakening. Indeed, the house getting closer and closer with a single light on, he knew that Link would have a few questions about the new content of this place, what was going on. Oh, would he be surprised at the powers that the blade held, not just able to do the skills of a swordsman, but also able to control the powers of time itself.  
  
At long last, the house was right infront of his eyes, except he was not going to be knocking on the door, the house was Impa's, but wasn't. You see, there was an easy way to explain this, Impa's headquarters did resign here, and it was just a secret, so someone else lived there. Innocent civilians, whom had purchased the place, she did not have the heart to kick them out in the street, so away she would whisk into another room. They had no idea of her existence in here, most thought she had died seven long years ago, this originally her house, being auctioned off when her death was heard of. If she ever sprung back up, an assassin by Ganondorf would be sent out to capture her, because she had the valuable information of where Princess Zelda was, or so everyone thought.  
  
Slipping upon the roof in one jump, it took a good five seconds to summon up the power, usually taking only a second or two, but he was carrying extra weight. Mmhm, his body was sat soundly on the roof, slipping over towards the entrance and remembering what she had said about Zelda, that was the day she met him. At first he could not even conjure up who the hell Zelda was, nor this land, the amnesia had taken affect and left him stranded in this place, not a single memory remained. She refreshed his memory and he learned that she had lost contact with Zelda over a few months ago, she was probably dead, kidnapped by the people of the land. Either that or she gave up her royal title and decided to live another life, or that's what Zelda said, and as he thought this, his foot tapped the bottom of the ground, as if knocking on a specific spot.  
  
When the knock came, a hole dropped in the ground; a familiar-looking warp point was there, like the one that the Hero of Time had warped out of. A small little jump inside with the boy caused the warp to open up and the zipping noises to come through, the scene was entirely black with the same that happened before. It was a test of the Shiekah, to keep them from going insane and he was surprised the boy passed so quickly, he wasn't even supposed to go through it, noticing he was reacting now. Watching, not able to detect his mind, he was harder to do than anyone else, maybe only the one named his master could do it, because his specification did not amount in that little area. In a cold sweat he was in, the fairie (when he checked) were reacting the same way, but nothing to worry, since it soon disappeared when the room opened back up.  
  
"Jiura De Fuji." He whispered out, the room opening up to a simple place where there was only a wooden door infront of him, the rest of the room was also made of wood. When the words were spoke out, the Shiekah eye on the center of it creaked a deep red, beginning to grow harder and harder with each pulse. As it finished, a voice rang out in the ancient language for him to place his claim and leave whatever place he was going, Shiek having no intention of staying. Whenever a Shiekah was considered to be 'master' he never saw his master because a quarrel would have to be done, that he did not want to do--it was an ancient custom. Smiling, he laid the hero against the door, watching was he was materialized through, knowing where he was going would help him, leaving a little note in his hat.  
  
Long last the thing was gone, the boy and his fairie disappeared and even the door de-materialized before his eyes, it knowing he was no longer welcome to visit. If Impa was there, he couldn't be, and that just suited him fine, Shiek may have been raised by the beautiful woman, one who was a Giantess if anything, but it didn't matter. Being the smallest of the Shiekah, he was often looked away as puny and never having the skills to match anyone, boy were they wrong when his training completed. Nodding towards the door, or where there was a simple wall with the eye still implanted on it, he was going to hang around Kakariko for a while, and something was amiss. The Temple of Shadows was not opened up, the Spirit having already been there, a thing had strayed away, and this one would find it out.  
  
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"...up." The swirls of eyes peered open upon the confrontation of a voice, a cloth covering his ear so that not all of it released out of there. The last part he could remember was attacking a monster, then something came up and made him go away into dream-land, his world blowing apart. At some parts he could feel someone strong holding him, like a father would and at that moment, he wished one were near him, a father figure or something. Being raised by girls was a little harsh for the Hero of Time, and with not even a boy as a friend, it was a wonder he didn't turn out to be some sorts of gay. This moment did not seem to matter, answering the voice was the most important, a groan heard from him, and those eyes fluttered open all the way, to hear the shout. "Get up!"  
  
"Huh?" He recognized the voice, his fairie was floating above him with her arms crossed around her chest, she looked a little mussed up herself, not even wanting to see how he looked. "What is it, Nav'?"  
  
"You are so lazy! Hee, you remind me of when we just met, seven years have passed and we may have grown up, but I don't think you're little sleeping attitude has." Giggling a little, she leaned down with a flutter of her wings and placed her palms on his face, massaging his cheeks, he had gotten a little dirty, she still not able to comprehend where they were. As far as she knew they were lying on a bed, well he was, and there was a dry smell around, that of a prison.  
  
"Did we get thrown into jail? Oh, Goddess, we are probably in Ganondorf's jail!" Link squealed out, feeling back behind him and to his surprise, there was his Master Sword and the Hylian Protector connected to his back. Mm, along with that, his own belt was around his waist and in the corner of the room, he realized with eyes focusing in the dark, was his satchel and supplies. That conclusion smacked him in a strange way, maybe this wasn't jail at all, just an old room, from the feel of the bed, that was no cot, nor was it a very beautiful one at that. Almost reminding him of his own at bed, just sized up to fit him (well almost, his feet hung over the edge of laying down all the way) from top to bottom. Mm, the comfortable-ness was at a max, knowing if he used this sleeping device for over a thousand years, it would not once give him a bad backache, it was like magic.  
  
"I think maybe we got rescued." Navi nodded to her comment in success, fluttering down and sitting on Link's stomach, as he laid on the bed, looking up and seeing those light blue orbs were glowing in the dark, staring down at her.  
  
"How do you figure?" He whispered out, they were not really speaking loudly, the fear that someone heard them, Link had yelled once, so if they had a guard on post, then they were alerted. This was nice and all, but Ganondorf could of put them in a nice room, and just left his weapons because he wanted to face the boy in combat later on, that did sound like the evil King.  
  
"For one, when you fell out, the thing came after me. I shot and shot with all my might, but nothing happened to him, and as he struck me I saw him. He was a blonde-haired man with red eyes." It was simple to conclude who it was.  
  
"Shiek! That means he must have been rescuing us, but this place looks like a prison." How bad did it seem that he may have been teamed up with Ganon, Link had no doubt in his mind that they were at the old Hyrule Castle.  
  
"I can't explain about Shiek's appearance at Ganon's castle, but I just have a feeling this is not Ganondorf's place, go check out the supplies, will you?" When she spoke that, he complied by going over there and searching through the supplies, his surprise met when he realized the nature of it. Up until a few days ago, they were running out of food since most of it got ruined in the Temple of Water, having been eating a few of Epona's carrots. Now the satchel had a separate compartment built in and when he flipped it open, there was tons of food that could last a good while, also it was cold. Somehow, the people who 'captured' them had installed a compartment that was lightweight and also let him carry meats without them spoiling. Chilled water and other drinks could be kept in there for use of when he was thirsty, or just wanted to cool down, it was a great appliance.  
  
"You are right, how did you sense that?" Looking over at her with a bit of curiosity, she was about to answer when a noise startled the both of them, it was the noise of a key.  
  
Sure he had heard it a lot of times, since he had been visiting the past temples and his own house had a key-lock all those years ago, back then it was a delight. Now mixed feelings of emotions and different other ones racked out of fear and also curiosity of this person, seeing that it was a very tall height. Short hair made it seem like a man, the shadow gave off some huge muscles, clad in a tight little uniform, or he thought since there was nothing hanging off. A sword was strapped to the back, when it turned and that was where he saw himself die, knowing it would be true, and only the clicking noise of a match. A match? Mmhm, then the thing fell down and a curse in another language (feminine) came out and it lit another, walking forward and touching the match against something.  
  
Brightness filled his eyes, clawing at it since exposure to total darkness for a while made one prone to hate the light, he had no idea how long he'd been under, but it seemed a while. As he was looking through, adjusting to the light that came about, a glance at Navi made him see her eyes had never hurt, a disadvantage that the Hylians had. Fairies could take a much more higher experience of light, he able to take more than normal Hylians, since he could see here, just not able to view directly into the light. She was looking ahead with a bit of spark in her step, not able to realize what she was looking at, he wanting to experience the same thing, so he stared ahead. When he looked down, he saw a giant candle was in the center of the room--source of light--and those long muscular legs came into view, he skipping the body and staring ahead into the beautiful eyes of the Shiekah woman.  
  
"It's been a while, Link. Or should I say, Hero of Time." Smiling, the woman of over six feet--Impa--was dressed the same way she had been seven years ago, her clothes updated with armour around her body, but basically the same suit as before. The hair was still the same boyish, spiky white with the licks of a cow shown all around, giving off a mix of masculinity and femininity. Now the sword was a new addition, along with that was a pair of small nunchukus at her side, along with some other tools he had never seen before. Maybe new artillery had been found when he was asleep, that was a possibility, he knew if this was Impa then she was just a part of some resistance against the evil Ganondorf. Mmhm, she just had to be the leader, and all he knew was that it spelled a good part, if he was with her, then the bad stuff would go away--she was his master.  
  
"Impa!" He squealed out, like the little boy he was on the inside, and jumped up out of the bed, leaping from the bed and down into her arms, held in response. If there was ever-another mother figure, aside Saria, this was it and she was more than a figure in the past, now she was definitely one. It mattered since the woman toppled over him, looked a lot stronger, and could deal out more physical abuse than he could, great qualities that made him feel protected. Giggling, he was laying on her tall body, head on her shoulder and just nuzzling his head into her shoulder, loving the feel of such a big body, not worried about Navi's jealously. Besides that, she was a mother figure in this time period, while to him, Saria was a mature child, she was way older than him and Impa, this was just the physical characteristics.  
  
"Ha ha ha! I am glad to see you too, hero. And Navi?" She looked over to the other one, who was shying away, not even a bit jealous about the two of them hugging, a surprise to the huge Shiekah. Mm, she had grown up, was all she could conclude and soon the girl came over to join them in a huge hug, the two of them being held by their former master, the one whom could beat them. A special bond had been established between them, even though the three were together for a week or so, it was what happened that made it so special. Not even the forces of Ganon could break the bond that they shared, she just holding the two and then the moment passed, the deadline had come. Sitting them both down on the ground, she leaned against a huge wall, the entire room consisted of stone and was actually an old prison, the only room they could sit them into, she breathing a sigh.  
  
"What's wrong, Impa-sensei?" Navi whispered out, the boy was sitting back on the bed and he had his palms open, she sitting in the center of them and in an Indian-style position, staring up at her.  
  
"Our reunion is in vane, because we can't be together very long, I have business and so do you. As you know, or I can tell you have found out where the next temple is, right?" The room to the door was open, revealing a long hallway, but nothing else could be seen since it was so dark down there, the two of them nodding in response. Kakariko somewhere in there was where the next temple was at, that was as much as they knew, but where possibly could such a place of old legend be reformed, she would know.  
  
"We know its here, but not the exact location." Link muttered out, looking down at his fairie and just stroking her hair as he listened, it wasn't boring, just kept him attentive in these situations.  
  
"It is located above the Graveyard, the back where the two of you found the old song of the composers, right above where we--" She cut herself off and cursed to herself, the two of them were barely listening so the last par they didn't pick up, nodding. They were acting like teenagers--just hearing the Graveyard part--and totally ignoring the rest, seeing that they were maturing into their forms quite nicely.  
  
"So, that is where it is. Okay, why is our time crucial, do we have to get up there quickly?" Navi almost suspected the thing would close in a few days, they left on a specific time-quest, and something she did not want to do, but would take on if the need were taken on.  
  
"Well, no there is nothing to be done in an amount of time, the Shadow Temple of full of spirits and all sorts of things that you can't imagine. There was no way to navigate it back in the old days, so when the temple was built, the ancients made something called the Truth of Lens. Later adapted to the Lens of Truth, this glass enables you to see pas the mirages and all sorts of traps that lie deep inside of the dungeon."  
  
"So what's the problem?" Link looked up, his attention off of the girl, still stroking her though, he just was more interested in the story than anything, but he was stroking her softly like a kitten.  
  
"The lens has disappeared, it went missing about eight years ago, maybe the conflict with Ganon caused some thieves to get some courage up and dive down and get it. Funny thing is that we need you to go back in time and find it." Smiling a little nervously, she did not want to hear the mixed reactions that were going to come out in both directions, she knows it seemed weird to take on.  
  
"Time? How're we suppose to do that!" Navi splurged up and Link looked over at her, the two of them saying it at the same time, looking at each other for a moment, then smiling and staring back. A little jinx between the two, they simply ignored the old superstition and looked over at their master, had she gone crazy or something? Even if they were raised in the forest, their knowledge knew that no being had ever went back into the past and changed it, it was impossible. Wow, there was no way that this could go back in time, there isn't a song or a spell they learned that could produce that sort of effects. Time travel was against the laws of Physics and unless someone invented a machine (they knew technology was great, but not that great), then the possible simply wasn't.  
  
"Yes, you shall go back in time, I know it sounds weird, but we have a method, or a theory. It has never been done and if it can't we can always go back to the alternative of making another lens." Nodding, she neglected to mention that would take another ten years and that the one whom suggested the idea of going back in time was none other than Shiek, she had heard it from another member. Everyone was skeptical at first, but the way that the boy said it was enough to convince them, Impa knowing the boy's intentions were good, so she let it pass through.  
  
"How do we pass through?" The skeptical one Navi answered, Link was a bit skeptical but he knew in his heart that what Impa spoke was true, still a bit confused at how it could happen.  
  
"You shall return what was once laid at rest." It was all she could say, another hint from Shiek was to not reveal the situation of it, or otherwise it would brand the Hero of Time's spiritual perception.  
  
"W-what do you mean 'return to what was once laid at rest'? I don't understand what you are talking about!" Navi screamed out because the woman was backing away, the door shut by itself and disappeared, the three of them standing in the room and looking deeply at each other, Link quite while she was furious.  
  
"Yes, Impa-sensei? I don't understand." It wasn't that he was dense, Link was no good at riddles, especially ones designed just for him, having him smack dab in the middle of it.  
  
"I can't say anymore, it shall ruin you're test. Hero, I want you to think hard about you're weapon of choice, only when it is laid at rest will you're past come back to you." Smiling, she backed the last few feet and stared at them with one last glance, knowing this would probably be one of the lasts few times she saw them. It was hard to lose people, she knew it, because when they were gone, the sorrow came and went away, never truly disappearing. All of it remained hard in you're heart, always in the way and never really accomplishing anything without the battle ensuing inside of you're heart. Certain things calmed it down, while others sparked it up, she knowing that they would all live, just not be able to rejoice together, another reunion like that would never come. Before she threw down the smoke to leave, she pressed forward and threw herself up towards the hero, leaving him one last goodbye present.  
  
Just like they had left the first time with a kiss, this time they were left with one--it wasn't that she loved him like that--he was more like a son, this was just a memory. Now that didn't mean the kiss was dirty or anything, she just simply lifted him up to her height and pressed her feminine face against his, their bodies smashed together in fury. Mm, she had wrapped his legs around her chest, because the waist was too low and stroked his blonde hair back and forth in such a nice little action. Compared to her body, his was very much girly, as those beautiful breasts braced against his chest, not at all hard, the softness of them remained and poked against his tunic. Of course it was felt--she knew that much and had her arms around his waist, pushing those hard lips against his and holding it in passion.  
  
At the least, he was surprise when he was pulled, looking over to the left and see Navi had a mixed feeling upon her, she was jealous and accepting it. He did want to break the kiss and stop it, want her to explain, but he felt the knowledge flowing in through the kiss, as she broke the barrier and used her tongue. When the warmness came to him, there was nothing to do but accept it in the fact that soon it would go away, she wasn't a bad kisser, he remembered that. Navi wasn't acting like the last time she did, the previous time she had been madder than a hornet, this time coming up by his shoulder and holding him. It was so strange and mysterious at the same time, almost dreading it when the tongue pushed back and the saliva-swap ended in such a bad nature.  
  
"Goodbye, Hero of Time. Look into the Light Temple for the answers." She threw him against the bed, he landing and that was when a warp entered and sucked him through, seeing that he threw down the place just in time. The smoke entered up and this time the warp was not that long, soon he had been zapped through the entire town and was not just outside, but out on the plains. As far as the eye could see from Kakariko Village, he knew in his mind there was only one place to go, still not certain how to transcend the barriers of time and space. One thing that he knew was that it would be a fun one, that was for sure, they were in for some even better adventures than imagined when this quest was started. Yes, his horse was there (somehow) and there was nothing to do but get on her and ride, on through the plains towards the Temple of Light.  
  
The talk of the kiss was not brought up again in their travels, it was not that it hurt either of them, they just never spoke of it in the meanwhile. Epona had been traveled to them by the magical powers of the Shiekah, the two of them convinced that he was working for Impa, and was on the good side. There were sides in this world, not many were on his, while a few on the side of evil and the majority remained in the neutral position. Whoever had been a traitor to them, or a spy, was now watching and so the two of them stopped speaking of important matters in the daytime. It was the beautiful atmosphere that made this way, smiling towards the way that everything happened and thanking the Goddesses his friends were with him, otherwise the world would end.  
  
Now as they rode through the moonlight, heading for the place that held the Master Sword's home, there was nothing to do but wonder it would be to be small and/or seventeen in the past. First was the possibility of being back in his old body, that would be different, then there was being the more important one of being seventeen and in the past. Seeing other people that were kids then might be some fun, plus he could see Saria when his mission there was done, that seemed another important fact. How much fun it would be and as the moonlight descended on him, the present of the night was disappearing his tiredness appearing, setting course for the old castle- grounds. Hooves were racing forward when he looked at his own fairie, stroking her softly and knowing what true love simply was, his head going down on the mane of his pony and falling asleep.  
  
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"Are you sure it just goes in?" He couldn't remember pulling the sword out, it had been a memory that was long-since forgotten, and why wouldn't it want to be blocked out? His own childhood had been lost in the land, it was sad and at the same time, he knew that it was going to happen back then, there was no preventing it. A small chuckle was flowing through his own body as the hands were holding upon the sword, they were just about to slam it down inside of there. How else could that happen when you were pulling out a sword that was almost as tall as you, something a little boy couldn't afford to enable. Humming, awaiting an answer, he didn't want to do something without her permission, he wasn't a lapdog or anything, her approval just meant that much to him.  
  
"Yes, it slips inside, just go ahead." She smiled over towards him and watched as he lowered it all the way, only an inch remained before the click was preformed. How they could have such technology even amazed her; the ancients had more secrets up their robes than it was presumed in the history books. Presuming that it was all-mechanical, the thing took a hold of the sword and pushed it down all the way, it was unlike what was going on anywhere else. Such things like that were going to come when the time was settled, she still a little nervous about the effects of what time would have on each other. Hoping not to end up old and gray, but the same size that they were now, which could become the outcome of here, she still a little skeptical it would work at all, he true to the look in his eyes.  
  
Seven years back, here we come! Those thoughts were the last ones he heard as he pulled the sword up all the way and decided not to go for the slow and easy method. Yelling out in a bit of fury, he slammed the sword down and hit the slit on the top--which couldn't miss, the thing was at least three inches thick. Now while it went down, he looked about and a trip down memory lane just opened up in his mind, the crease reminding him he could be put to sleep, the fear locking on. No matter how hard he tried, his hands were glued onto the place, the sword hilt was made of super-glue and he had been the unfortunate idiot to click it onto there. A blue aura was surrounding the sword, swirling out and filling the entire platform up, even some of the old spaces where the medallions were, taunting him.  
  
A burning sensation interrupted his thoughts, feeling it pierce down into his skin and burn itself all over his body, the thing like a eruption of blue fire. Swirling back and forth, like it was in a spiral, the pain would go and subside, then come back in doses that were worst than the last, every single time. Except this was not summoned up, he had a sneaking suspicion that it was for the fact of the sword, yes, the barrier surrounding him was singing him. There was a violent nature about this, like the power did not want him to return, it wanted him to stay like this and never go back home, that would be a sin too it. He would fight it, he just knew it, and that was when his eyes slammed shut, screaming out with all his might, realizing that his voice could not echo in this dimension.  
  
Where was he? He had no idea and at that moment, it wasn't the most precious little memory in his mind, if there was anything left, the thing felt gone. Gone was a worse turn, the thing was slowly disappearing and soon would not be there at all, only a former shadow of its old self, thrown away like the garbage. Indeed, his mind was deteriorating as the clock spun backwards (wherever there was one) and eventually he would be back at the mind of ten. He wasn't going to be stupid or anything, just back to the innocent state he was whenever his fury was a minimum and everything was small, but how would he remember his mission? No one had ever said that, he did not want to go be back to being innocent, if he was like that than everything was ruined, but there was nothing to do, it was out of his hands.  
  
While Link was struggling with it, there was something that looped around his hand, a small hand that he recognized as that of the seven-inch fairie. It gave him comfort and strength, knowing she was probably facing the same ordeal as him, you did that whenever you broke the law of Physics. Nothing like this was supposed to happen, but in all that he realized his title was the Hero of Time, the master of even Time itself. That is what Shiek had said on what seemed over a thousand years ago, that must have been what he meant, a prophecy in the making, like the dreams he had had so long ago. As this happened, the lips of his were met with another small pair, the hand leaving his and now arms were around his neck, holding him and kissing him.  
  
I can do it; I can make it through with him! She had endured the same hardships as him, the burning was going through her mind, but she was unable to see what they looked like and if scars would remain, afraid to let go. If she let go, then she might go flying out in the seven year period, stranded in another era where there was no Master Sword nor a way to return back to him. Such a despicable remark, there was no way that she would ever do anything like that, holding onto him for the dear life that was just as much for her than anyone else. There was nothing to do but accept throw what she had at him, hoping he would accept, that was when she puckered up and made the journey to his lips pushing them forward. She had climbed up the inside of his shirt and trailed up, since the fluttering of her wings was just too desperate to attempt, swirled up through the eras.  
  
Who is this? Of course I know who it is.... its Navi. Indeed, when he was first kissed, the boy had no idea that it was, just that the feel of it was intense and much more familiar everything into the place of it. Now that the kiss was pushing on, there was nothing to do but accept it, the love of it was moving onward so that everything was turning to the former place. Although they were different in size, no one would of cared because the display of passion that each of them showed, blowing out the beautiful breaths during the amount of it. They were still in space, sure, but now that it was going even further and further, the darkness of the place was getting smaller and smaller, the expansion from before was just unreal. Now the condensation of time had caused everything to go back, it was like the trip was almost through and the brain of theirs was not disappearing, Navi's had been doing the same thing.  
  
Speech was incapable in this time and place, so as the two of them were looking into their, eyes the ferocity of the situation would send shivers down anyone's spine. There was only a way to stand each other without clawing at each other in a way that would cause mothers to cover their children's eyes, using some sort of direct link into their hormones and knocked out the compassion away. The space was getting and smaller, the smaller it got, the fiercer their eyes got and the more lustful each of them were becoming, the kiss holding up as their tongues pushed against each other. Size was not even a matter anymore, neither could care if one was twenty feet tall and the other twenty inches, all that mattered was the two of them were together. Yes, if it had been someone else than the power would not of been great enough for them, but at this time, it was all in the matter of explaining the two soul-mates together.  
  
Mm, the screen was flashing forward and all of sudden, the scene changed, the space was gone and they were left down inside of the room from before. Inside of the Temple of Time, the aura had appeared and passed through them, disappearing as he looked down and saw that the blade rested down inside of there, clicking in the Pedestal of Time. It was different because, as their lips met, they knew each other and about the other temples from before, it was the tongues that were so plausible. Succulent saliva had been pressed together and the tongues had gotten immediately smaller than the rest of them, the former were much larger than before and he almost knew that he was licking at her face. As it happened, there was nothing that he could do but stare over towards her, seeing the smaller face and saw from the look in her eyes that his own were tiny. It had worked, they were smaller than before and that could mean what happened next, the travel to the well to search for a tiny lens that revealed the truth.  
  
"I am tiny again?" He gasped when his voice rang out, noticing that the familiar masculine was breached with the distant feminine voice, the one he had acquired as a boy. There were no reflection glasses or mirrors around here, so all he could do was look over to his fairie, having broken the kiss and seeing her at her original two and a half inches.  
  
"Yup, as am I. Mm, it seems our memories have remained the same, but our...hormones have gone down." She giggled, and looked off to the side, he doing the same when they realized at how passionate they had been, never had the two of them acted that way.  
  
That was just the way the ball bounced, it was at the moment and probably would not happen until after the journey, then they would have plenty more time to deal with it. Otherwise, the time happened upon them, then the passion could ensue, now was just not the time or place, the secret remained they were both nervous. It was a natural thing in this situation, everything else just seemed to be the fact of the matter, and the love was a hard thing sometimes. Virgins the two of them were, so it was without a doubt they would be testy about doing anything, even if they both weren't, the interspecies thing were surely different. Who wouldn't be, when this was probably the first time in history that a Hylian had fallen in love with a fairie, the feeling just as mutual in that area.  
  
Kokiiri had sometimes fallen in love with their own guardians, but it was usually because they were protected, and that the things were beautiful. The Forest Children did know about love and of course did stuff like that, they were all the same, usually a crush or two was among them. It was stupid to rely on this sort of stuff, the way they were raised caused everything to push itself away and then for the formatter to come back. Nothing had happened about the couples mating or having children, or married--stuff like that never happened, if it was then the stuff that was under wraps. If it did happen, he'd never heard about it, but his relationship would never be undone, all of it would be accomplished with the simple matter of them being in love.  
  
History would go down that the Hero of Time had a damsel, except she was not in distress, she was the only one that ventured into the bowels of Hell with him. Other just cheered form the sidelines and wanted love, admiring his skill, while the one whom he loved was what he admired, a boy who loved to see the girl fight. It would be nice up until about the center of the documentary, where it mentioned that this lover was none other than a girl of the Fairie race, a small girl. This was the girl that he loved and always would, but the book would state that something was seriously wrong because the Hylian was in love with a fairie, one that was only seven inches tall in height. It would display all sort of weird content at how he had mental problems, didn't think he was a real hero and sometimes gave up, only to be witted by his young accomplice that this was the write thing to do.  
  
Whether he was dead or not, the boy would not care about the place, nor would he be discouraged to stop his power of love with her. That stupid discouragement were just rumors, they were as stupid as they come and still nothing would keep him from renewing his love to her. He honestly loved her, he knew that, knew she felt the same way and the feelings were mutual between the two of them, wanting the entire world to know. He'd just forget about whatever the jealous ones said and would accomplish his goal, that was to keep his love with her and always stay in the ring with her, the love was eternal. Everything was piling down and as the two of them took the steps away from the pedestal, there was an eerie feeling of where exactly they were. What exactly had happened, was it the time before they received the Ocarina of Time, or was it before that, might he meet his former self, or was he that.  
  
"So, our memories remained?" They had stood silence for quite a long time, not sure of what to say, the thoughts of them both just rambled out in an jugular movement, Link speaking this out as he stared forward, they pushing out of the Door of Time, glad it didn't shut up.  
  
"Mmhm, now we are to head to that well, but you know a way we could drain it?" There was no way that she was going to pick up a bucket and start sloshing out the water back and forth, that wasn't her style and not able to do it. Still, there had to be something that was dressed out, a spell or incantation that showed itself upon and revealed the power of listening intact. Those tunics didn't fit him anymore, nor the iron boots, so the two of them could not even attempt to sink down there or drowning was a definite possibility. "Our equipment is useless."  
  
"Speaking of which, where is all my old stuff?" He gasped and realized that on his body was only the Hylian Shield, his backpack was replaced with a smaller version of it, the side pack holding his Slingshot, Bombs, Boomerang, and all the other things from the past. Pushing the pack off of him and checking inside, the black cape, and all his adult equipment was gone, along with the old tunics and when he thought the boots. Mmhm, someone had stolen his stuff as he went through time, either that or it disappeared down the vortex because it was holding him back through the new time. That was the explanation that he had come up with, hands crossed across his chest and staring forward, looking maybe that a new compartment was held there. Nothing was there, the weapons were really gone into space and probably three years in the future, so he'd find them when he came back, all rusted and ugly.  
  
"I noticed it is gone, but I think that Rauru is holding it." It was true that the vortex could of sucked it up and left it down to dry, but who knew when you had just been sat back seven years in time. Those pieces of equipment were probably held there because the boy could not support the new weight, he had the power, just not the force in this body to use it. Using his old power would not work as much as it did because it hurt to do it, she just knew it would kill him if he did something like that. The fifteen-year old selves were now trapped inside the body of ten-year olds, or the maturity was inside a younger body for the little fairie. Either way, they were now in the old forms and it was just a strange thing to be in such a way, either way would make them spoil or not, they could not do anything about this because the change would probably happen when it was all over.  
  
"Speaking back of draining the well, maybe there maybe the old Song of Storms." Link nodded to his suggestion, that song was still written down on the old pieces of paper that had been replaced in the Water Temple. Indeed, that was where the storms conjured up from the clouds and spread water across land, the boy always wondering how such a thing was possible. Rain didn't just appear out of anywhere, the stuff was condensed from the lakes, turning into water vapor and then raising up into the white clouds, where it let out whenever the time was right. This song may have been not very 'magical' it was just a rainmaking machine condensed inside of a melody, a more productive way or seizing the water. He concluded that when you were near a water source, or any near the liquid anywhere, that the magical song sucked it up and fed it down into the ground.  
  
What this meant was if they got near the well, or anywhere in Kakariko for that matter, the water from the only source would be dried up and allow them access in there. Of course, a bit of pity would be felt for the townspeople, since they would have to import water from the Zoras in Hylia and get a higher price for it. It didn't mean they would have a drought, the well wasn't that big--or so he remembered--it could be filled up in a few days, long after he was gone. Mmhm, that was where he would retrieve the lens and make his way out of there, getting back to the time when he felt more like himself, then now. As they were making their way out of the place, that was where the idea suggested up, the old land would be left at rest, the Temple of Time would be fine for now.  
  
"Mm, good idea, Link, we'll just drain it with that song." Smiling, the fluttered over and sat upon his shoulder, looking down at him and awaiting, with the small body back, she could hang around other areas now.  
  
"Alright, let's go!" He smiled and when he had stepped just a foot outside of the place, the smell made him feel weird, it was strange to be back in the past. The good, clean air felt so stale inside his nostrils that he had to place his shirt over his face, lifting the small tunic some to keep from gagging it back. Glancing over at his fairie for a similar response, those lids of his revealed that the feelings were mutual in that area and place.  
  
Her eyes sparkled past through the sunlight as the road down from the Temple of Light was bright and shining, not a cloud in the sky and no demons anywhere. Humans had replaced the Redeads, and where those bloodthirsty monsters lay, there were little dogs running and barking through the bristling streets of Hyrule Castle Marker. She ignored it, because it was just a mirage to her, the future was the real present now, and so they zipped through the town in less than fifteen minutes, ignoring all. Indeed, there was nothing there; the time had changed from the dark morning, down into the noon sun, so that getting out of the castle was a breeze, the drawbridge held open to pass. Out of the place they went, the fields of Hyrule felt more real than that place, it was evil to be there, the sinful past made the future look stupid in comparison to any other.  
  
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Epona was no longer an accessory of his, since she was still a pony back in this time-period, so the two didn't even bother to go visit Malon because all they'd get was chores. Not bothering to go and visit anyone from the past, it was the mission that was in hand, the time for lovesick trials could wait until after the Lens of Truth was recovered. Pleasure would not be wasted on this place, where the people they didn't know seemed like illusions, hoping their past friends didn't look the same way. What happened was over the next three days, the two kids ventured closer and closer back towards the village of Kakariko, one in the past? It was one of the longest journeys that felt on his feet, maybe the riding of the horse had been such a comfort that actually using his own dogs was a different agenda.  
  
Also, the body was a hassle to handle since he was used to walking at above five feet, now he was closer to below the four-foot range. Angling the body was so stupid, a few nights trying to perfect it the best he could, it was not as easy as it seemed to shrink back to size. No power could be used since the Kokiirish Sword would probably burst on the amount of energy he was used to excruciating such an amount. Basically, if he had to choose, the body of his older self would be a better choice, it was just so much better when compared to the child-form, everything seemed better when he was older. He never saw that if she had the problem, of course her smaller wings became a problem at first, but by the first night they were all right, she never used her feet anyway.  
  
There was nothing to do the following nights but talk, the talk consisted of different things about how the changes affected one another. She had explained that about her wings and different things like how their lips were vastly different from one another, a thing each of them noticed with embarrassment. He explained all his problems, plus the swordplay with his sword had gotten worse and worse, probably since he never used his little Kokiiri Dagger. The stupid thing just didn't seem to handle in his palms, always screwing it up or accidentally holding the hilt wrong since his last hilt was almost the size of the dagger. That was another thing he would work on when he got back (in case they were going to have to travel back for the last medallion) or for any other reason.  
  
It was quite a fun time over the travel, as quick to each temple as they had gone, none of them ever noticed how quick it came and went. MM, it was enjoyable just to lay down and enjoy the stars instead of sleeping on the horse, she wasn't hard or anything, just a little on the tender side on his back. He loved how everything went about in the slow-matter, thinking that when they got back that they may walk down to Kakariko instead of run. After the fire or walking was taken off, the rest of the trip was a breeze; the memories were flowing down inside his mind in and out of there. This felt just like the old days when the dungeons were easier, the bosses probably being done in with one Master Sword slash and their troubles not as great.  
  
At long last, the trip took the matter of days and they did reach the old town of Kakariko, it wasn't as bustling as it was seven years in the past. Another joy was that the places everywhere weren't as crowded anymore, they just had a normal amount of people, and it wasn't that there were more people in the future. A population could only have so many children and with that, they'd only be around seven or so, not enough time to cope with ruining the masses of people. With the Marketplace running with Redeads and Ganon's castle near there, nothing was able to suit the living space for there--besides, who would wanna live near the King of Evil? This place was just more suitable in the future, they almost wishing that they'd of made another village for everyone, device it into two so that the crowds weren't so great.  
  
Mm, as the two stepped into the village, the pleasantness of it caused a great mark to be bared on the two of them, they were looking forward to this place. As much as they wanted, there was no time to stop and see Anjou, even though it would have been a nice time to see her, how long after they had been gone.  
  
On their talks, Navi had guessed that how long they had been around in the future was the same amount of time that had passed in the past. It was confusing (Link was looking at her strangely) until she explained in a manner that didn't use so many words that sounded alike just to confuse you. With homonyms aside, her terms were that as long as they had been awake in the future, that was how long had passed in the present. Basically, they had been doing these quests for the medallions for about three months, that compiled that Ganondorf's chase after Zelda and Impa had been three months ago. Neither of them had read a history book, so they didn't know how long it the Gerudo's to attack, and their theory could be wrong, it could be just a few days afterwards.  
  
It was decided that it was probably just a few days, since the other would be stupid, Ganondorf probably wasted no time to attack them with his forces. Another realization was that Rauru had told them something like that, he remembered that he had said the times, or maybe he didn't--it was a blur from back then. The point was that it couldn't of happened back then, the time was not slower, it was just how he was warped forward, the people probably not remember him whenever he saw them. Not that he was very important to them, back then there was no Hero of Time, just a kid from the forest that only needed to prove himself to the other races. Townspeople would just stare at him as a weird kid who wanted to be from the forest, a weirdo that needed some good discipline.  
  
Now as they stared upon the boundaries of the town, ready to pierce it, there nothing to say, heading to the well would be the only fashionable thing to do. Fatigue had been reached because they had just had breakfast before entering the town, everything was closing down, and the final boundaries of the journey were over. More than halfway, he was still determined that it would get easier and easier as they went on, the toughness would be cruel, but not as bad as it had been before. Tiredness was not on either of them, the morning sun was just above the horizon so there was no fear of collapsing, and he was ready to face any intruders. Taking the last few steps forward, a smirk was piercing his lips, there was nothing to hold him back, only a faire to rely on, and with those words up, he ran out.  
  
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"I'm kind of nervous about trying that song, what if we end up flooding the village or something?" This was Link speaking out, as they stood in the center of the town, right infront where the Windmill was located held the beautiful well. Made of a pure stone, the thing was blocked and carved like no other had ever been, well, it may have been the same since this was the first and only well he had seen. Perched above the well (sticking into the ground) was a post that swirled above and shown off, where a bucket hung there and gave itself off. Or that's usually how it would be, the rope was not there, nor was the bucket, because the well was filled up to the very top, no need for it now. No such things remained in the forest because the water was in a stream and always that way, while Kakariko held it off and had to buy it from either the Hyrule Castle Market or from the Zoras.  
  
"Yes, but it doesn't hurt to try it." Navi whispered out, but the truth was that she was afraid of the amount of water might drain the well and take the hell out of it on the town. When the stuff would drain, she was afraid that it would all come up into one cloud and rain down on them, because they had only used the thing one time in their life. It had been when they first acquired it--not able to remember if a catalyst was used-- there was no worry since nothing bad happened then. Just a slight rain had sprinkled down, so maybe it was controlled to an amount that just sprayed you--not something that could destroy an entire town, it wasn't an evil- sounding song. Everything was depending on this moment, hoping that the Lens they spoke of was really encased down here; otherwise; they would have to go into the temple blindly.  
  
How horrible that would be to go in there without the knowledge of the mirages true ability, Impa had stated that they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. There was no telling what a place that was run by Ganondorf's generals would do; they could do as much damage as possible with the two of them. Plus the instability of them was intense; the mentality of that place could drive them insane in a matter of minutes, which was not a good thing for the duo. A lens would reveal that all, as Impa said, and the two of them believed her tail that seemed weirder than the world had in the last seven years. Of course, with magic and all sorts of legends around that seemed real, the two of them did not doubt any of the mystical stuff that was around.  
  
"So, the catalysis is the well, eh?" He smiled and climbed up the short little three feet, standing on top of the stone well, his feet across the side so that he wouldn't fall in or anything.  
  
"Well, the water inside of there." She giggled a little and watched him blush a little; of course he knew it, that was just the way he was acting about it, a strange little fun attitude.  
  
"So, would this conclude as a dungeon or a temple?" To tell the honest truth, the kid was stalling, he was nervous about this and only whenever the time was right would he cast the ancient spell through the flute-like machine. Pulling out the instrument from its holster, the thing was held inside of his right hand as he looked upon the girl, nodding with a bit of healthy maneuver in his step. He knew the song already, had memorized it the night before, since it would probably be one of the last times that he used it, or maybe whenever there was a drought. Then he would be in sort of jam, because the incantation needed a source to sprinkle out, he sort of glad that no one but him and Navi knew of it. And that evil little wind- mill keeper they had gotten it from back then, he wondered if the crazy loon was still wondering around here with his little organ-grinder.  
  
Maybe a little monkey was at his side, while the skulls and other things resembling Death lay at his side; the maddening grin was across his lips. That was the man that scared him even more than Ganondorf, the obsession with the windmill and how it was not supposed to be interfered was a bad thing. Of course now that it was drained, he didn't even want to know the maddening part of the man, knowing that in the future his head must be maddening at how ugly the part was. About to break his heart again, there was no remorse in the actions he was about to sprinkle, if even the stupid well did drain, the spell was not even tested. No one had the song except the man and he had not a magical instrument, just that a boy in green had drained it when he was a boy--some sort of expert in time.  
  
A fabric in time had created some sort of vortex where he drained the well as a man, well a teenager of seventeen or so--no, that was wrong. The man had said a little boy (he remembered, it was when he achieved the Hookshot and Navi was still recovering at the ranch) had drained the well. No other Kokiiri had ventured out of the forest, so his conclusion was when he traveled into the future, that a rip into another dimension was sealed in with him. It was a very confusing comment, some that most people wouldn't understand, but when you were asleep for seven years in a dusty, old chamber, there were things like this you should expect. But he was just wasting his time, letting his thoughts wonder on where they weren't needed, otherwise the water would already be gone and he halfway down the ladder.  
  
"I don't think so, Link. I think if it was very dangerous down here that Impa would have warned us, but if our normal bodies can take it at this sort of power, I think it'll be a walk in the park. But seriously, don't get cocky or anything, because that is when you lose you're head and you're performance goes down." Her tone had been a little flat, but she finished it off with a sweet smile, showing she wasn't being mean or anything, just informative in her own way.  
  
:"So, just an in-and-out operation?" He smiled towards her, she knew so much that it made him feel confident, but about a place hidden under a well- -it seemed farfetched she'd know a thing about it.  
  
"If my corrections are right, then yes. Now go on and ready yourself to call the spell." No impatience was in here face, just a bit of worry why he wasn't attempting to call down the waters from below, it was like he was scared that maybe the spell would do more harm then good.  
  
Nodding, there was no other talk to speak about, because she would know that he was stalling, and that was something he did not want her to know. He was the legendary Hero of Time (the name taken to more meanings than one, as of now) so that meant his display of courage had to be beyond some others. Sometimes the piece of Triforce didn't work because he felt not an ounce of its powers, though at other times it was the exact opposite of their and his empowerment was incredible. If she saw that he was scared, Link would be so embarrassed of those weird feelings that flowed out, he wouldn't know how to comply with it. Nodding that the fear would not show, the ocarina was pushed over where his lips were, staring down and remembering the notes as those lips wetted, puckered and pushed against the little stem that stuck off of there.  
  
The tune that blew out was a sad one, but it had such significance to a high note at the middle and end of the song, you couldn't help but smile. It really was a song of the storms, for when you saw a storm, you're attitude was a little angered that the sun was leaving you, but at the same time a refreshing shower was coming. Almost in comparison to the somber Song of Time, this one had a low note, then a bass, and finally a high note, a repetition repeated the exact possibility. Those notes came out in such a way that the master of the instrument was shown, he was getting better and better, sometimes practicing every week or so. At first the practices had to go on every single night, now up to the point where it was going to be a smooth sailing, his thoughts were interrupted when the water swished.  
  
"It's happening, Link." His fairie whispered, and the swish had come unexpected since that day not a single wind had blown, nor was there any pasting the back of his back. What the water's moving was exactly what it seemed--the water was moving--his eyes faltering down towards it and amazed at how the motions were going through. He knew that his faire was the same way, because she gasped and he could feel her scent pick up, like she was pointing at it, too amazed to even reach forward and touch it. The thing wasn't just going gently too and fro, it was violently splashing over and over, going faster and faster, picking up speed as it moved like in the ocean. Waves are what they reminded him of, when the tide was moving along the coast as a gentle breeze began to pick up, but then it changed.  
  
There was no longer waves, they transformed into a tsunami or the caliber that made the townspeople run and hide, disappear into their huts and hope it didn't wash them away. Not enough to make them run and hide out of town, just enough to realize that their homes might not make it when the aftereffects were completed. That was the way the change was when the water began to spurt up towards Link, it was not moving at a high pressure like the ones had been inside the temple of water. Waters so harsh that he could stand on them without fear of sinking through, but still gentle enough not to hurt the bottoms of his boots. Oh, no, that would of killed him if it hit with contact, all this did was cause the boy to get his footing up and ready to dive out of range to avoid contact.  
  
Not wanting to get wet was the only reason that the boy nimbly jumped out of the way, seeing his farie float aside and watch his movements. Barely even leaping, his feet pushed onto one side of the platform, holding his feet so that nothing could push him off in the most dangerous movements. Now that the tide had cleared, a tsunami was there and shooting straight up, now was the time that it was just similar to those inside the Water Temple. It was when the entire well burst and threw itself open did he shoot off, if not then the stuff may have drug him down with it into the air-locked confronts. There wasn't no way he was going to be there, so he jumped down and landed on his feet upon the wet ground below, seeing that everything was readying itself to be engulfed in water.  
  
Before either of them could cry out and gather all the townspeople and shout that the well was exploding, the clouds that weren't there appeared. Indeed, the sunny sky was now full of five or six clouds that surrounded just the well; over in the other parts of the village, it would be clear as could be. No one would of believed it, of course, it was one of those things that you had to be there to experience the fullness of it--to get a better depth of it. Villagers would probably speak of how the boy conjured up here (some had seen a crazy boy standing on the well with an instrument) others would proclaim it was a rainmaker, either way was the right example. Anyway, the guzzle of rain shot up into the air, splitting into five different links and each one appearing right in the center of each cloud, the white masses of cloth expanding with the extra weight.  
  
"Link! Before it rains, let's get down inside the well, incase it decides to over-fill it!" She was yelling because just like the name gave, a storm was beginning to brew, and the slight whistling of the extinct wind now appearing. It was enough to cock her attention, so she decided it was enough to get underground, granted the water didn't splash down when they were halfway down and kill them. Those thoughts weren't even on her mind; she was somewhere else, where they were inside of the place and accepting the gift of the lens. Maybe there would be one of the old 'blue-lights' from the past and maybe it was just a dungeon that had no boss, they had not been warned of an enemy protecting the ancient treasure, a guardian or something like of the sort. That was another thing, the sun was visible in the past, showing that was a good thing, there was nothing bad about this place, where the land was still pure and innocent.  
  
Nodding along, he couldn't even speak since the wind had intensified since she had given the command, probably one of the last things that people could hear. Away he dove up the well, scaling the three feet and finding where the metal ladder was, something had had not noticed up until now, his troubles easing down. While he slid down the first few feet of the slippery ladder (having to reach out and take out the old gloves from his adulthood and slip them on so he didn't lose his grip) his trouble had eased. What he thought was maybe there would be nothing to get him down how many ever feet this thing was, it had to be more than three, he knew that much. Not much about wells was known for him, but from the stories he had read they usually were a lot longer than they seemed and sometimes would extend so deep that the underwater stream close-by overpasses them underground.  
  
With the baring on his hands and the wind still brewing harder and harder, the five feet from the entrance of the well-transformed into ten feet, then down to twenty feet and even thirty. It was a wonder it was this long, he sometimes had to stop and brush his gloves on his tunic, getting it dirty from the mud and filth down here. No one had been down here in ages; it was a wonder that the ladder just didn't snap and he fall down with his rusted receiver broken. That was a thought he didn't want, it easily pushing out of his mind and continuing down the rail that had once held spiders, probably the small, underwater kind that were easily pushed away. The rain was not coming (before he got too far away, he had heard it thunder and start pouring outside) sort of sad that they had spent the last moments running with their tail between their legs. One hundred feet was the mark that he decided there was time for speech, well able to speak after fifty, the ladder had just seemed rustier from then on so he wanted to be careful, it now was better-looking.  
  
"Y-you okay, N-Nav'?" He had been hurrying down the ladder, too fast for his own body, so tiring himself out was only natural, he'd been doing that a lot since trapped inside of this body.  
  
"Mmhm, I am just fine, Link. A lot better than I've been for a long time, or at least that's what I think when I examine myself." Of course she wasn't tired, she had been fluttering her wings while he hurried and when a slower pace was taken, gently rested on his shoulder for the time being. There was nothing wrong in taking a break, he didn't mind, the weight was even smaller than when she was an adult, so no problems of being too heavy. Smiling, she whispered out the next phrase as gently as she could, for the fear of screaming may of made him scream and lose his balance, they were speaking quite hushed. "You did good."  
  
"I did?" He had no idea what she was talking about, but what the hell, he could take a compliment every now and then, they were very few from other people.  
  
"Mmhm, you handled yourself well, plus you put the gloves on after testing the ladder, that showed me some real maturity, you're soul really it catching up to you're adult form, isn't it?"  
  
"I guess so, I mean I've never really thought of that before." That was great and everything, but what was going to happen when this was all over, he did expect to remain a child, but with a seventeen year old spirit?  
  
"Yea, I didn't think you had, I don't think about it much either, this body just seems so little, doesn't it?" She noticed he began to climb again, not ignoring the question, just taking an even slower pace so that it was like when you normally climbed a ladder, his voice back with his body, more in synch.  
  
"I know, I easily over-exert myself than I could in the other body, I don't have as much stamina, vitality, nor am I strong enough to do most of my techniques." It was very weird to be here, like you were trapped inside the body of an adult, instead of that of a kid, very mysterious in the worst ways. When he had first been transported into the future, the body was exciting, new and most of all fun to be in a form he thought he'd never be introduced too. A little bit scared of growing up, he had been, wishing he was in his old body and how ironic was it that now he was in his old body, he imagined being in the other body that was in the grown-up form! Now that he knew his true race (he'd always become this age, and even older) the satisfaction of growing to a beyond-reach age was not that exciting anymore. The only thing that he lived for were his fairie and saving the world, not even sure what he was going to do when this was all over, a familiar question that rambled through his mind?  
  
There was no denying that the Kokiiri would take him back up until he turned thirteen, then they would be a little scared of his astounding height and brand him an outsider. If the Deku Tree even allowed him back in there (or the sprout, since the spirits from the temple of the leaf was gone, there was nothing holding the sprout back) willingly. When that was to come--and he knew that an adult would never be permitted to live there-- his relationship with the only girl he ever loved, aside Navi, was virtually over. Sure a relationship could form of it, but the sickness would drive everyone in the forest crazy, not to mention if they did start some sort of sexual contact, it would probably bruise and embarrass Saria. Something else that scared him was maybe the Goddesses--their work down for him--decided he did not need to remember this and clearly erased his memory?  
  
Who said it was their place to determine who and where to discipline a person, or drain their memory, if they even had that sort of power in them. It was a strange thing to consider, no matter which way you looked at it, that was simply a thing he did not want to happen to him, to regain the child-like innocence. If he were drained of his memory, then all of what happened before he heard of the Deku Tree's sickness would cause such a catastrophe in the back of his mind. That was somewhere that you couldn't get at, no matter how much you brainwashed a person, the subconscious was strong enough to survive and show you glimpses in the only time it was the most powerful--you're dreams. All the battles he fought, friends he made, and everything else would disappear in a flash, he just a boy who wished he could fight monster--but already had. The worst thought was losing any thoughts of Navi, especially the adult memories, where their love for each other was proved to work, even if everyone knew.  
  
Navi would be with him always, there was no way that he would let them try to drain his brain, he would resist and probably be death for it, but so what? His only love, and then he would eventually grow up without her and be too old for Saria, what would happen to the one who had no emotions? Or so the prophecies proclaimed that he did, but the fact was that the Hero of Time had feelings, he was hurt when you pricked him and even afraid of the monsters he battled. It was stupid when the ancients predicted such a stupid prophecy, and not only did it come true but everything about it was a complete lie. They did it wrong, and as the ladder came to an end fifteen minutes later, he realized that he had been moving about three hundred feet down, maybe even more.  
  
"We're here..." Navi spoke in surprise, the place opened up so abruptly that you didn't expect to get here very fast, but the two of them had done it in no time flat.  
  
"Indeed, but this looks a little plain." He had expected a very lit candle and maybe some evil spirits surrounding his way, this was the place right before the Spirit Temple, the prelude to it. Now this didn't seem like a prologue to anything, more of what it was the bottom of the well, but they could tell it was different, the scent of it was different and there was a door right infront of their field of vision. All they were greeted with was a plain room that sort of had a gloomy surrounding, nothing to back up the sudden spirits around this place. It was not a well-rested area, a stupid one was a better word for it, the shadows on the wall only because it was so dark, and a candle in the far-left corner of the room was the only brightness. Otherwise the two would be surrounded in the darkness, and since in this time period, he couldn't call upon the Triforce (or so he thought) and she couldn't brighten her aura very well, it was would have been hard to navigate the place.  
  
"Might as well be, we are only here for one piece of treasure." He chuckled and looked around for any different spaces, this place may have been full of illusions like the temple, and this could all be a trap for the undetected. "Plain is an excellent defense, Navi."  
  
"Yes, you're right." She watched as he pushed through the door, she hanging about on his shoulder since she didn't figure their would be much for a Ki blast in this place, the area really opening up for them when the door was through. Indeed, the door was just a stronghold for the real place (not a very good stronghold, but one, nonetheless) this entire place did amaze them in the wonderment of it all. Stretching infront of them was a long path made of stone, each one showing itself off and then it extended down into a path of water, she imagined it circled all around. Well, not circled, but moved in a block-format as to show that it was going all around in the direction that you wanted, not very easy getting lost here, that's what it meant. At the end of the path was a corner, to turn, showing the place was square-shaped, and to their far-left was another corner, revealing the entire place could just be a giant block.  
  
A few cautious steps forward were given by the young boy, he testing each step incase there were some illusions in the ground, glad that wasn't to be for now. At last he was at the end of the corner and a peer around shown that his imagination was on the good side, because the block-room stretched all the way forward, there were two breaks in it. Those 'breaks' meant that a room was to the far-left and at the corner of the left, the right side of the path met with a narrow wall, it was very center. What he concluded was that this entire place was a thin path; the center was patted with a huge block that held the place, the structure format, in a way. Mm, that was good because with the water-path all around, there was hardly anywhere to go, which meant the treasure would be easier to find when he expected.  
  
"Should we watch out for the floors?" He whispered, for the fear of a monster was coming in his mind, but so far he had not seen any Skillets from the trees above, or heard a clatter of feet.  
  
"Yes, the only safe place should be the water." To be sure, she fluttered down and touched the water with her fingers, it was real all right and that meant they could easily step on this, the water could not stay on an illusion. "We are the safest when in water, but if we must venture into rooms, gather up some rocks you can throw to test the blocks."  
  
Blocks? What blocks? Link wondered in a bit of confusion until he stared down, right before stepping into the water and saw exactly what she spoke of, he had seen it before. Along the floor were several blocks, they were in a manner that showed it knew what it was doing, in a matter of speaking that was doing the right thing. Well, each tile on the floor was exactly four feet across and four feet wide, just enough so if it was an illusion that he could fall through and down towards his doom. That was not on his agenda, so avoiding falling at all costs was the only the plan, he did not plan on dying today for the worth of a stupid lens. Not wanting to face that, the boy knelt in the water and felt for a few pebbles, taking them and stuffing them down inside the pocket of his side pack an old one that was empty.  
  
This would protect him from there, he would simply cast one down and then check to see if it went through or not, that was how the test was preformed. If the rock went through the floor, that meant that his rock had proved to be true with the illusion being real and he could throw another infront of it. Say that this one didn't miss, it didn't go through, that meant he could hop on the other block, claim his rock and continue onward for his destination. Recovering the rocks gave him the chance of never running out of ammo and with such great aim, he'd never lose his mark and accidentally lose all the rocks (of course more were in the watery path.) Now that the test would of proved true, he could finally stop worrying about the ground, but now he wasn't focused on that, the wading of the water was there, exploring this entire place before going in a single room.  
  
His travels took him around the first corner, checking all the spots with rocks, revealed that none of the spots were solid in here, they were all illusions. Indeed, he had lost all the rocks, not something he counted on, so simply stuck hit feet into each side of there, revealed that all the spots were done. It was stupid, because now he couldn't get to any of the hidden rooms, that it mattered, they were all tattered with locks, something he didn't want to deal with. No point in carrying keys unless the treasure chest was locked that had the lens in it, just hoping that wasn't the case in time, then the backtracking would begin. At long last, he passed the corner of the side with no monsters intact, knowing none were there and that's where he met the center area, seeing with open eyes a Triforce.  
  
"A symbol?" Navi gushed out, she going over and surrounding it with her light; there was a symbol of the royal family down here, which was a very strange thing. There was such a gold to it, that the faded part seemed distant in the past, maybe the people had been visiting this place for some time (of course the Triforce in the Water Temple looked new, maybe the gold was permanent and holy?) If this place was so abandoned and made by the ancients, then why did the symbol look just as brand-new, well if did throughout the water. Indeed, the symbol had almost been stepped upon, she was the one who spoke of it, while he had had his head lowered, looking for more rocks, when he stumbled on it. Just standing there, the platform spread out and it seemed to glow through the liquid as the closer and closer he got towards it, warning that someone with a piece of its was near.  
  
"Indeed, should I play the tune?" It was apparent that he should, because the place before had nothing else of content for them, maybe an abandoned room and a few jewels.  
  
How he knew this was because before they had come to the center of here, Link suggested that they turn around and venture over on the other side. She agreed, since there was no harm in it and before they reached the center block, they went the other way and started to throw stones and pebbles, getting the same affect. A locked gate had revealed to them, chained with a key, and just another room that looked and smelt like a tomb, the Redead were probably down here, a monster he had no time for. Well, he had no patience for any monsters until the Spirit Temple came in his view, so it was revealed all the other areas were off-limits for this Hero of Time. Unless he was granted the power to fly or getting the special Lens of Truth, the place around her just seemed a bit of a mystery for him.  
  
"Yes, go ahead and play it." There was no point in not playing it, if he didn't then they would just have to turn back, besides, Navi thought she saw something under there. Below the Triforce was a spot where you could just see with you're eyes, only bit enough for her and him to squeeze through, maybe an entrance down. What was beyond there was anybody's guess, she couldn't breathe underwater anymore (she'd tried diving earlier and ended up with her nose full of water) plus there was so much pressure under there. All they would do was go on and whatever the Triforce did, and maybe it did what it did in the last temple, then the adventure for the lens could continue on. If not, they were left would him diving under there and hoping the pressure do not crush his insides up, or going back and finding a child-size tunic?  
  
"What do you think will happen?" The nervousness of the water rising and crushing him in this twenty-foot ceiling was arising to his mind, it was a bit of an impulse on his part but what did you expect from the boy that had almost been killed by the strong currents of that opposite song.  
  
"I'm sure it's nothing, now stop stalling, sweetheart, just go ahead and play the song." Smiling, she was just masking her own fear of him being killed, it was all you could do to make up for the fury of the situation, the songs that they relied on were a nuisance sometimes.  
  
Nodding, he remembered the first tune of him, so that fluttered out of his lips in a magical way that none other could, the best one of them all. Yes, the tune was a favorite of his, because it could put one to sleep, as the name had been suggested of sleeping the ancient Zelda asleep, either dead or living, he wasn't sure at this time. Either way, she wasn't with Impa in the future, because Impa would have introduced them, but why hadn't he been sent to Impa by the one of the name of Shiek. Mysteries were boiling through his mind, but these were not the time for that, it was time to blow on the ocarina and hope that a spell was summoned. This time, however, it wasn't one that rose the water, glad the Song of Storms had no symbol, and just blowing forward and being amazed like in the Water Temple.  
  
Opposite of the song that started the storms, this song that sunk the water went into affect just as it had in the place where he had faced the dreaded Shadow Link. Mm, just as the water had begun to sink down then, it did the same thing here, and revealed to them a place that was way beyond imagination of the normal beings around here. It was sinking down all the way until it was gone, the ground was drier and a foot deeper than the rest of the place, but that wasn't the entire tune had done. As it sunk away from him and showed the solid ground he wasn't afraid to touch, the place where Navi had seen showed her vision just a few moments ago, leaving her silent from him. While he took a step forward, sheathing the ocarina, the pull of his Kokiiri blade was immediate, he felt a rush that the prize was down here and since there were no monsters around, it just had to be gathered.  
  
There was a path revealed for him, sure as he could see, down there was a ladder that had just been uncovered, this one made of a sort of dry wood. Crawling down the way, as his blade was held between his teeth like that of a pirate in an adventure (he sort of felt like one on this particular quest) there was an eerie silence from before. How he hated that about most of the way around here, the place down the ladder was getting thinner and thinner, a little scared about the ladder. Mmhm, it was made of wood, and it wasn't wet (which was weird) his speculation was that the thing was going to snap any minute and send him falling down to his doom. The most frightening thing to Link that scared him the most about this place wasn't that this place was creepy, it was the silence that sprung about in here and showed itself off.  
  
Indeed, silence was a very frightening thing to encounter, at least when you heard screams and blood curdling yells, you didn't know you're position in the world. Holy or deviant, good or evil, the questions always tinkered through you're mind, and as he scaled down the last bit of the ladder, his own was shining around there, among other things. Either alive or dead, it was uncertain because everything boiled down to the world of sound; the deaf had the unique bliss of it, so were they dead? The placement was scary, when the sounds were gone, no one could signal that you were there or not, on the side of whom you are where you're place remained in the world. Now as he dropped the last ten feet, coming in a roll and catching himself before a bruise was caused down there, the light had returned to his imagination, everything boiling back towards its normal position.  
  
A door remained between the two of them and probably the treasure, the place just felt like it held something special inside of it, or maybe it was the way it looked. Dankness was spread around the room, looking more mildewed than wet, allowing the room forward with a show that everything was being messed with. Mold and every other disease had spread across the room, dubbing the name of the area down here as the 'Temple of Illnesses'; it didn't look safe enough to be around. Plus the fact that as he stared around, he knew that if he hadn't seen the place underwater, he'd never have believed a single person claiming it was. Indeed, this place didn't look like it had been submerged under the water for Farore only knows how long where usually neither wooden ladders, nor entrances would be locked simply.  
  
"Ooh, I have got a chill about this place!" Navi whispered out loudly in a hushed tone, fear of awakening anything on the other side of the door, yet hugging her arms across her chest and holding herself for warmth.  
  
Flicking his head over towards her, the thick blonde locks flowing over at the direction she was, he saw how she was acting and just smiled a little, a hand (the gloves taken off and back inside of his backpack) rubbed her hair softly. This seemed to calm her down, because she fluttered over on his shoulder and sat down there while his own body was making the motion for the door, dagger out of teeth. Mm, it had been hard to get down there with the sword in there, but the blade just remained in the right hand of his, not needing a shield because his own power could not manage it for one, plus also he doubted a very hard monster would be here. Nothing would be in his way that a little bit of iron steel--or magic--couldn't take care of in a few simple seconds, this place wasn't supposed to be very difficult. With that satisfaction reassured, that's when the door came and a hand placed on it, rubbing against the texture with even more confusion upon his face.  
  
Okay, so maybe a door could look like it hadn't been penetrated with water, they had paint and special artifacts for that, but when it felt like it? That was when something was wrong, the door didn't even have any of the ancient symbols to indicate a certain spell, nothing on a scroll was up in the corner either. Basically, it was a normal door that was probably had the spell broken when he played the ancient spell, which was the only indication that he could come up within his interrogative mind. When his hands grazed across the brass doorknob, he tightening even more and pushing forward when the turn was all the way, glad there was no click of the indication it was locked. With the darkness was even closer, all of a sudden seeing that a lone candle-light was there, that was when he nodded and plunged into the semi-darkened room, ready for what came about.  
  
A graveyard! Well, mostly except there were no graves, but the intake of this place definitely felt like the pit where the dead resided during their pastimes. Smoggy, wet soil was upon his feet, seeing that maybe some of the water had leaked through and matted the place down, not even thinking about the door, this place was strange. No markers or the other things that shown a person was dead, there was no reason for a person to think it was a graveyard, that was just how he presumed it. Mmhm, he knew she felt the same way and wanted to get out of this place as soon as they could, the small room didn't look like much. A small room was what awaited their presence; the place just smelt like the dead.  
  
Of course that wasn't the worst of the troubles, locating the box would have to be done sooner or later, since the rest of the rooms had been pronounced un-exploitable. He had already proven to himself they could not be foiled on without some sort of magical powers that the Hero of Time did not expand on his list. Not that it'd be forever, maybe the ability of flight would come to him, he was granted the best powers in the world, so it was a possibility. The room that they were now walking forward in (there was nothing better to do, nothing hidden from this viewpoint) had to be exactly fifty feet wide and matching height. Mmhm, it was a very short room with not many features, not resembling a place where you usually receive a great treasure, maybe a place where you meet a trap like that.  
  
Traps had not been much of a problem for the boy, especially in rooms like these; he could usually sniff out when something like this was coming for him. Of course those specific rooms were hard, he wasn't saying that, the part of detecting them had not been much of a problem, the difficulty varied where you are. Everything was hard when you didn't know the answer to the thing, it increased with however much thought needed to be taken to solve that, of course Navi was a good help whenever his own intuition didn't work. There were peculiar things about trap-rooms, they always tried so hard to be so familiar and end up screwing that up and just making the room seem so out of place. Now if this one had been a room of traps, it would of even fooled him, being extra careful incase he was mistaken about the stealthy Shiekah and taken more than they were given for.  
  
"Do you sense anything about this place?" It never helped to have a second opinion, Link had been wrong about a thing or two--actually a lot of things his interception had foiled him on. With the guidance and wisdom of his little fairy, there was nothing to go on about this room except the good old combat he sensed coming up.  
  
"Nuh-uh, I can feel this is just a normal room, but they're maybe an enemy presence about. Funny thing here is that I can sense an enemy, but I can't at the same, it's like it isn't here." Shaking her head, she thought that maybe she was losing her touch, getting too old for her and knocking back the age had been a problem. It was harder to do this as a little girl than it would have been in her teenage-form, because her powers were so underdeveloped at that time. She had just realized it for the first time in Goddess knows how long, it was the just the fact of being young had messed up her mental capacity for the time being.  
  
"I see, that's a little strange." Smiling over for all the support he could give, he knew what she felt when the power structure had been discharged, everything slowing down. What he felt was like he was a battery plugged in and someone had drained three-fourth's of his power, keeping him down to his twenty-five percent capability. Bad thing was he couldn't do a damned thing about it, it was just he felt so weak in this body that if any of the monsters from before could see them, they'd have a laughing stock. It sucked, he knew that much, wanting to be juiced up, but that wasn't going to happen until his hands were on the lens, the mention of that must have been psychic. Whenever the thoughts had finished, something appeared infront of him--the back of the room--and just before the very end was a small brown chest that usually the silver keys lie inside.  
  
"The chest, oh thank Goddess!" Navi screamed out in a giggled voice, she staying on his shoulder and awaiting him to go for it, which was his cue whenever the hard work was done. He was to claim everything about here, otherwise his own discipline and community for here would have not been in total and complete vain.  
  
Eyes had swell up with the tears of returning back, not knowing whether this was a key or an item, and not caring, all he wanted to do was escape from this empty shell. How much he detested this place and time, that was just as he felt, those hands were coming faster and faster on the chest, hearing his fairie behind him chant him on. Diving forward so that his knees were soiled with the mud that rose up as he hit those hands dove forward and scooped at the unlocked chest, knowing this was it. While his hands went forward and knocked the chest up, a gold aura began to surround the ugly box, it was the same thing that happened whenever a special item was received. Mm, it was the best time he felt and whenever his eyes saw the purple gleam of the lens was when the chest slammed shut, his hands just barely reacting with instinct, saving him from having them smashed.  
  
Spinning around, he heard his fairie scream her sensors were going off, knowing that the thing had been here all the time (in a subconscious way he did) and ready for it. Lying on top of the chest was a pale, slimy hand with fingernails that had grown so long that it resembled claws, but they were definitely human. As they scratched across the box, the thing moving away and down into a corner--its treasure--he knew that he had messed with the bull and now the horns (or claws) were headed straight for him. Indeed, this thing was either dead, possessed, or had at one time acquired some human attributes and did a horrible job at hiding them from other people. It was a sad excuse, but he still knew that that wasn't the end of it, now that the treasure chest was aside, he saw that the claw was connected to a hand protruding out of the spongy ground.  
  
"Link, watch out!" She screamed, he spinning around just in time to see that another one of those fingernails of hands was coming towards him, the thing already too close for him to dodge. So just wrapping his hands around his neck, a potential duck, he knew that if this thing missed, the one on the box would come after him, probably even more of them were about. Who knew how many arms there were, if they were even strong, and how much pressure that stupid pale flesh could take, a hundred zombies were probably after them! Before he had time to panic, a screech of pain sounded out of the ground, before that had been a sizzle of when Navi shot out a blast, not even feeling the wrap around his body. Ooh, it was a terrible scream that if it had been out of the soil, would of probably caused his ears to ring, the boy looking around for the source of the scream whenever the taker rose from the ground.  
  
Taking this time to leap out of the way, he rolled forward about ten feet, seeing that a total of eight arms had risen out of the ground, forming a circle for their master. There had to be only one, because he could sense a larger power source and then eight others, he didn't know who they were, just that they were around. More of a covering from above (he could still be hit, just not in a way that would consider being blocked by them) like at a wedding how the gallery was shaped. Eight hands was probably harder to dodge than two, which meant that even the faster he had to be, speed was something he had as a kid, sensing he could probably move more than when older. Now as he spun around, his fairie floating higher above the others reach, he noticed with a fact that the thing had rose and none of those appendages connected to its form at all.  
  
Speaking of that monster, it had been submerged for a few minutes, and waiting so when he spun around he was able to get a look at it--by Goddess was it atrocious. Standing only over five feet tall, it could have been seven because there was a severe hump in its back, the monster did look a little like that grave keeper whom he had received the Hookshot from. Forgetting his name, the thing was naked, thankfully sexless, and had a flabbier skin around it than the other man had, he actually looking pretty in compassion. Blotches and different skin diseases surrounded the zombie- man in a way that it was moving, and from its sounds, the thing was not even semi-intelligent. Groans and moans of the Redeads had escaped its mind, just like they did before feeding, it was quite a gross site to keep in behold.  
  
"My Goddess, it's uglier than Ganondorf!" She burst out of there, the boy looking at her for a few seconds, then bursting into giggles, maybe the monster understood this, because it began to growl, the arms swinging heavier.  
  
Navi chimed out by his shoulder, already powering up a small shot and shooting it out towards the monster, well that was where it initially was meant. The monster was more intelligent than it gave credit for, the moaning and groaning were probably a distraction to lure its opponents into an easy win. Of course, deception was the best tool to use; she never had the full chance because most of their enemies were too stupid to even understand their lesson. She had fall for it and giving a quick shot was not going to be enough, she'd leave this up for the Hero of Time's problems to lend in that direction. Meanwhile, she was not going to let him get ganged up on, so each the ball was setting a new course, for one of the hands that swung in the air.  
  
When the thing spun around and dodged the attack--close encounters were the way to go, then--the ball was not going to be wasted and split down into eight separate parts. Yes, this was a different technique she had not planned on, the part of that was slicing down into four parts, then condensing even further into four more. It was weird, and even she was surprise by it, hearing a gasp from her boy and knowing she had done a little better at this, the small body was sure worth something by itself. There was another nod while the pieces were gaining some homing devices, centering in the very middle of each hand and going for the palms to blow it up. The smack was met within a few seconds, she raising her hands and crying out in joy, but blowing the arms off was not her entire plan, she wanted to take the thing off entirely, because if she just blew the hand off, it'd regenerate.  
  
Please work! She prayed silently, a glance for her boy revealed he had stopped moving, and even the monster was watching the scene with the bubbly yellow cat-eyes of evil.  
  
The splat of blood appeared in all directions, it disintegrated in a flash of an instant and that was when the spark began, her grin widening and the others staring in amazement. For each hand that blew up--none of them missed-- the spark began and everything was beginning to burn, like a long stem of dynamite had been struck. Mmhm, and the fuse was going down even deeper than ever, the closer and closer it would get to the edge, the worse and worse the impact would be. The cooking of burnt flesh came out of the room, she groaning and floating over towards where the boy was; knowing this would be the final moment. No need to take care of the monster, he was right in the center, she exerting a force on the boy that knocked him back about ten feet, she coming near him and hiding.  
  
Oh, Farore let this work! Please, if you have amount of self-pity for me, let me gain back my justice for being weak in this form. She would prove to them that she was just not a normal fairie, she could do her own things with or without help, and that's how her attitude would stay.  
  
"What the--?" He was shoved back against the current, something coming at him at a lightning speed that he wasn't even to know and before he could counter, he was airborne. Actually, it wouldn't have been a counterattack, more of a block and as he was sailing through the air, the thought of a hand coming for him was apparent. Feeling no pain or anything, just the muddy ground that he slid in, his little body stared down and the eyes met those of Navi's, she was fearful and grabbed his head, pushing it down while she zipped under his hat. He just stared blankly at the ground, pushing his face against the ground, because whatever she was trying to hide from, he didn't want to be apart of either. There was no time to ask her if she had gone insane, the thing would get them if they acted like this, but his ears felt like they exploded when the scream of terror came up, just before the explosion.  
  
If only someone could of seen the face of the monster, it was left in such a confusion as the two of them ran away, the fat little feet under the blob began to try to chase after it. It was so slow on those two legs, that were hidden under the blubber, that it could have never outran a running Link, the reason those little hands were there. Now that the hands were out of commission there was nothing to do but accept the fact that the attack would get to it, and underground would be the worst place of all. Too late, the hands stems had ended and there was when the screech sounded, the explosion was right before as the ground began to shake and rattle in two different directions. Well, the earthquake ceased after a while and that's when the ground began to open up to its full potential, but the thing was not done there, there was simply too much at stake for it to end there.  
  
Now as the ground was cracking down into three places, the ground opened itself up even more and under there was a deep ball of her energy. It had expended even more and that's where his doom would have been consumed, the thing only five feet deep, so they could only hear the cries and not face any. As the torture of trying to scuttle away went on, there was nothing to do except face the consequences, no way that the hands were coming back, they were trapped inside of there. Arms were disintegrated and whenever they were going to regenerate was when the fire would pick them up and lit it even more, refraining from generation. There was nothing for the creature to do but scream and as the ground closed down all the way, the air and even soil now dry, the scream came out when the crackled energy swallowed its mass up, closing all spaces of escape.  
  
Each was still covering their eyes when the loud explosion of the energy disappearing occurred, each of them staring up when the chest broke. The splintering crack was what sounded each of them to look up, and there the chest had been propelled into the middle of the air just for them. Mm, the thing was readying itself to blow up and they just knew that if the lens was on the ground that it would shatter, or worse, had already broken. The uplift could have broken it; all hope of getting through the Light Temple and traveling in the past had been a bit lies, just so stupid to in- conceive. Now as the thing was tumbling to and fro from the air, Link pushed up from the ground and just like a quarterback for a football team, he was readying his arms to catch the 'pass.'  
  
Navi couldn't of done anything because she was too small to even attempt to catch the thing, from this view it had to be big enough to fit in Link's hands. Even if she could grab onto it, her hands would just end up dropping the heavy object, maybe giving him a few extra seconds to grip it, though she might end up knocking herself off--he'd rescue her more than a magnifying glass. Shooting it with a shot would of convinced the thing to blow up, they didn't attempt it because no one knew exactly how strong its Ki level was. There was a certain degree to how much an object could take of spiritual energy, then it would shatter and/or die within a few seconds of that. Well, the level was undetected by the girl, so she couldn't tell and wasn't attempting it, her eyes caught up with the boy as he ran through the dry ground. It was a good thing that the ground was dry, otherwise he might end up slipping and missing the object by just a few inches, a bad situation.  
  
"Link, leap for it, I don't think running will do it!" It was true, if there was some sort of pressure inside of his body, then the jump would be no problem at his speed and power, even in a little body.  
  
Leap? How the hell does she expect me to do that! Well, he wasn't going to go for it, at least now, the running was his best bit, the grip on the Lens of Truth didn't seem that hard to get a hold of.  
  
Meanwhile, he had began to run back even more, sure that there was nothing behind him and as he did that the run turned from forwards too backwards. Surely as it was explained the boy was running backwards, moving at an incredible speed farther than he usually could, those arms held open widely. Wider than ever, he decided the thing was not going to happen while he was landing, so the only part he could do was to leap into the air. Nodding, he saw the thing sailing down towards him, seeing that it was a little slippery as the water was beginning spread across it, the box had been wet for some reason. As it was coming down even further, his speed gave in and a throw upward was shown, he pushing himself through the air and those hands gripping for the lens.  
  
His jump was a pure success, for as soon as he was only two feet into the air, his hands were locked upon that lens and he rolled back forward on the ground. To protect the lens from the shattering, it was pushed down inside of his hat, the hat was tucked even more forward and there the thing went. With the beautiful cap so long, it was able to support the lens and as it went inside, something crumpled, he hearing it, but ignoring it when the ground came on. Know that the impact had left some sort of a mark on him, a little ounce of pain echoed through there, not broken or anything, just maybe a purple bruise would be there tomorrow. When he was secure on the ground was only when he was safe, feeling the dry mud create sort of a barrier around him, having preferred the wet kind since it felt a little better than before.  
  
"A-are you alright, Link!" She had gone crazy when he actually jumped, since he had begun to run, she expected him just to catch the thing, but here he went with the old jumping. Fluttering over towards her side, she checked him over with her eyes and hands, seeing that only a bit of a bruise would remain tomorrow, nothing serious.  
  
"I'm fine, but let me check out the lens." Looking back for a few minutes, he was about to check out the lens when she giggled a little, his eyes just getting a bit dimmer and looking over. Why in the world could she be laughing, there wasn't anything that funny about here, the prize had been given and happiness was expected. "And just what do you find so amusing, little miss fairie?" It was a strange tone he had; amusement mixed with a little bit of anger.  
  
"Oh, its nothing! I just find it a little weird that you are more interested in that lens than your own well being I would look after myself more often. But I can see of what you went through to get the thing how you'd be worried about it, I know I probably would if I was in the same situation." Giggling sweetly, the young girl just shrugged a little shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him in a nice little way. Mm, it was good to be back with him, otherwise she would have been scared to even look for what was coming on the other way.  
  
"I guess I am just worried about--hey that paper also needs to be found." He nodded and pulled out the piece of paper from before, not looking about the other little thing and just concentrating on that paper.  
  
"What is that?" Navi spoke out towards her in a way that was confusing, she appearing over his shoulder and staring down at the notes on the scale of music.  
  
"Its Shiek's handwriting." Nodding, the thing looked like a song with an inscription below calling the song the translation relating towards a Nocturne of Shadow, but for now he put it back in his hat and searched for the lens.  
  
Funny he was more worried about the lens than anything else, his hands going through his cap and pulling it out, looking at what a site it was, the thing was definitely of the Shiekah descent. Standing about the size of a hand-mirror, a little smaller than he had guessed, the thing would really stick out from a mirror because of the violet colour. Rounding out on the center was violet end three little spikes sticking out on the top, which reminded him of the blood-drops that, the symbol of the Shiekah borne. Also on the end was a small little gold rim that shown off the Triforce symbol, but the weirdest of all was the center, the beautiful center. A mixture of colours was in the center of the following colours: violet, red, maroon, purple, and all of the other colours all there, it was like the thing was dimmer than usual.  
  
Twirling the lens around configured it to spin around with him, making it look like the thing could read his mind, since he barely had to touch it. It was possible that this ancient machine could have the ability to follow its user with the push of a button, the thought inside of the mind. Of course, the technology back then was so bad, but was it, with all the ancient spells and magical items of the past, he was beginning to wonder if it was the exact opposite. This spinning device could be one of the most divine of the objects, or just a regular one with more and more beautiful ones awaiting his own hands to grasp on. Looking forward, his mind thought that it was time for a small little hypothesis of brain-control to be realized, otherwise his mind would pester him about it.  
  
An experiment went into place and when he thought of the lens disappearing inside of his satchel, the thing did just that very same thing. Floating out of his hands and defying the laws of gravity, it appeared down inside of the bag, before undoing it and even doing it back. Nothing was affected and Link even touched the lens for a second, making sure it wasn't an illusion, the piece just stopping in mid-air and waiting his fingers to leave, when they did, the lens resumed its trip. Not just mind control, he had to assume that maybe some artificial intelligence was in there, the theory had now been turned into a law at just how powerful the ancients really were. It was a great thing to have this sort of technology at his disposal, the places could be a lot easier--of course he had expected something very different from today's world since this was a piece of equipment that could see through illusion.  
  
"Is that thing have something artificial in it?" Navi pondered to mostly herself, though somewhat to Link, her eyes widening at the possibilities if this was ever manufactured into the powers of today. It was a long shot that there was even machinery in there, but just to think of what could happen if there was made a swelling sensation appear down her body. Most likely there was an ancient spell cast on the power to enable movement with the mind, so that it would never be lost from its current keeper--unless they died, which she guessed had happened in the last user. Otherwise, it would always remain with its master, never falling out and shattering, another plus side of this cool little powers that were granted. Mm, the weapons of today could fight on their own, reducing the need for soldiers and with more and more of these babies around could cause the power of fighting.  
  
If there was no more fighting, then we could easily get rid of that evil King and then no one would ever have to get hurt--ever again! Her beautiful views were not focused on anyone, she knew that, and guessed that if she voiced it that Link would know the same thing. What she was more concerned about was her boy fighting, so she didn't speak, letting him answer her question before even letting go such a farfetched thing.  
  
"Maybe, it could have a talisman tucked inside." But he wasn't about to break open the piece of power they needed to get through the next temple, when it was over, then they would dwell inside. Otherwise he was not about to do something that stupid, leaving the lens in the place of his backpack, and sheathing down his sword, no longer feeling any malice in the air, all of the nervousness was gone. "What just happened?"  
  
"With what, Linky?" She had spun around, searching the room, because there was no way to get out of here, the ladder had been destroyed in the aftermath. Indeed, she was not able to control the energy at such a high rate and in such a small body, so when the ground blew, it sunk down the ladder that led up. Going up at least a few forty-feet, and the ground as solid as could be, she didn't expect to be getting up that way, though there may have been another.  
  
"You know, that attack! I mean, wow, I've never seen anything like that. You reminded me of whenever you have a very long stem of bomb powder and light it, below was where the bomb was and boom!" Nodding up and down like the young boy he now resembled, the maturity was still there, and he was just so amazed with his young friend. "I just never saw us learn that from Shiek--I knew you had a few new attacks you had conjured up, but I wasn't expecting that."  
  
"Hee, why thank you! I guess I did imitate dynamite powers, and the ground opening up wasn't my deal, I couldn't control all of the energy all at once, its this damned body." Her cheeks were brightening up a little, using the familiar blue veil to cover them up (it was lighter then when she was her teenage form, because the powders had never been sprinkled there.) Now in her younger form, she was becoming more adjusted to it and just let it go through, the cheeks felt so young and sweet like this. Even though she did look like a young woman now, she felt more like a kid then anything at all, the other was just that a fairie matured faster, her mind was wandering, going back to the blushing. Mm, the embarrassment was a good thing for her, she was never used to being very cheered up like this, but whenever her boy did it, there were no problems. While those eyes were looking down, the ground being traveled upon was when she set her orbs upon it, nodding it just had to be the way out.  
  
"What's that?" Link had pondered; not even waiting for an answer while his eyes glazed over like a child whom had just found his beautiful toy after weeks of separation.  
  
Before she could call out, the boy gasped and had found it along with her, the symbol was familiar, but at the same time they couldn't make it out. No Triforce symbol was there, but the symbol was adorned around in a circular yellow light, the light had probably appeared right when they were there. At first it had been thought to maybe play the Shadow song, shaking a head because that was needed for the future, this was the past. It was familiar in their minds, because the sun was standing on the symbol, guessing at the Sun of Songs, but that wasn't it, that just made the day go away. Indeed there was something a little eerie about it, his eyes flashing in a sudden realization of it and with a quick nod those hands began to dig away at it.  
  
"What're you looking for?" She whispered, and landing down on top of the puzzle and sitting there, the thing didn't resemble a sun, it was more of an infinite light source. Even though Din's Eye did do that, there was another word for it, just grazing the tip of her tongue for the moment, waiting to see if he knew it.  
  
"Shh, I am seeing if they match." While he was doing this, he didn't hear her at first and again the name of the boy's came out, he hearing this time and turning his head, hands still going through the pack on his hip, the left-hand corner. He had never really hushed her before, so she knew it was important and awaited him to go through his back, a loud 'eureka' burst out when he was done.  
  
Snatching out of his side-pack was that beautiful yellow medallion, matching the same size as the green one hanging around his neck, nodding. When he held it up towards the light, it was beginning to glow even harder than it usually did also the green one had done this only one time before. That was when the Goddesses were smiling down on them and the refrained zoning was in place, the shimmer of it had been as beautiful as this one was now. Recalling the time with the worm, he nodded, and looked over towards his fairie, she looked as clueless as he had just did a few minutes ago. Not taking too much time to formulate it together, the smile glanced at her naivete and how she acted--they were children and at the same time, just adults acting like them.  
  
"I think this can get us out of here, this maybe one of the ancient powers of the Light Medallion." Nodding, he hadn't formulated a brilliant plan or anything, just the potential to show that he did know what he was doing, trusting it all in his hands. How much had been formulated was more of the question, it wasn't enough to scare and confuse someone, nor was it less to make them think it was some farfetched idea.  
  
We could have just played the Prelude of Light, but I don't want to say anything. A small giggle was held back in the back of her mind, never realizing how much care was exerted towards the boy, she knew she loved him, but love and like were two different things. You could love someone and not even respect him, she knowing that the both ways they went were both for love and respect, two and two were hand in hand.  
  
She was about to say that phrase, but when the glimmer of hope was sparkling in his face, there was no way that she could have ruined his moment. By the Goddesses truth, she cared for him and doing something to hurt him was not on her list, she let him have his moment and forgot about the spell that would have the same affect. Of course that song would transport them, but who knew whenever the ocarina would break, that would be a tragedy and if a certain stone could be used to do it, then by all means let there be a back-up plan. Just nodding with content, she fluttered up for his side and saw he was preparing all the ancient things that he thought was done before the transportation spell was complete. By waving his arms a little and holding the stone in the right hand, the success was done for each of them gasped when the familiar yellow light was around them.  
  
It was the warm light from before, actually a little easier because there was no need to play the weird tone, knowing as the lights surrounding them where they would be. The Temple of Light is where this would take them, no time to go and revisit the friends from the past (if intuition was right, they'd be back sooner or later.) It wasn't like they would miss him, those people were in the future and knew that he was on a quest to be the Hero of Time, so what if a few have they're past selves were unconscious to the thought. If the foolish were like that, there was no harm in showing the true promise of it, keeping it actually to himself or herself and letting no one else know. A promise was vowed to go see the beautiful maiden of the forest before his journey ended, there was no guarantee that she'd ever be seen after this, they just knowing that after it was all over, it truly was.  
  
After it was all over, he guessed that he'd have to return the treasure of the Royal Family back to the spot of the Royal Family--in the past or future. He neither knew nor cared who would take this machine back, he had his own to deal with, and it may not have been as magical--but it was his. Either way, he would not be able to peer through the time periods as he was doing now, a shame since it felt good to go back and forth or just back from past experience. Without able to scan through the past, his memories of everything might even fade, he still not sure if he wanted to keep his childhood or do something about it and remain here. That also meant the time period he was to stay was chosen by him and no matter which way he went, and the fact of not seeing her was there.  
  
In the past, he was unable to view her because she may still have been in the eternal conflict of being the Queen of the Forests. Now, that was a problem since he would be a young boy and not able to understand it, well maybe not since he could comprehend here, but you never knew what going back forever meant. If he was eternally doomed to a life of naïve places, and then he would remain in the future, there was no fun in saving the world and not even remembering it. On the other hand, if he was training himself as a child, then by the time he reached the age of seventeen; he could be stronger than his formal self and be a protector of all. That meant a lot as to take care of his love (glad she'd be in both periods with him) and if she wasn't, then he'd protest and stay in one with her.  
  
Traveling into the future had its pros and cons; the pros being that he knew all of this and still had the knowledge and piece of the Triforce of the Hero of Time, plus his physical core would remain. The body was a plus on this side and the fact that his memories were there, but the cons had to be established and they were many in the same. Being with the fact of all this torture he went through with no reward was not a very fond memory to reflect on, but being the Hero of Time had to be a plus side. On the bad hand, he was scared that if he were the hero, he'd be hunted down by gang's of Gerudos that survived after his assault and defeat of Ganon. That was only considering that he could kill the dude, there was no guarantee that his power would even stand up the King of Evil.  
  
His doubts were limitless, he didn't know if he could defeat a man whom had made a mockery infront of his fairie more than seven years ago (or a few months now.) It was hard to think you could beat someone when that happened, it always was, but in the back of his mind was the doubt that never showed. They never talked about it, because he was too embarrassed to admit how scared he was of Ganondorf, but he had an idea that she knew it and even the man named Ganon knew it. It was probably a mutual feeling, the reason that the dark side of him had been created and all of the stuff done to him was done, he possessed a vital part of the Triforce. That was another reason the man was after him, those thoughts flowing away as he felt the familiar smell and bells of the church in Hyrule.  
  
Mm, it feels so good, but so fake. Chuckling silently, his face had only felt like laughing, but at that moment before he traveled from the 'fake world' to the one that had no sunlight, it was depressing. Everything was either in a gloomy mood or felt like it had been made for the reason of driving you insane, but at that moment he only wanted to resume his little quest and have the proof of traveling back seven years.  
  
I don't believe it could happen like this. She was feeling the same sort of depression, but her thoughts had not keyed on like his had, they were just remaining in the neutral position until the time came back here. Hating how this place felt, she just wanted to curl into a ball and return to her own land, not the seven years after or before, just a land that held her and acknowledged no one else into it.  
  
Eyes were closed (as always had been) during this moment of travel and soon there was only his feet tapping softly on the ground, knowing where to look. When the ground and everything were back in place, he took a good look around and saw he had not warped back in time, of course he wouldn't, he was standing on the white plate before you even got to the Door of Time. Eyes had peered themselves forward and the graceful steps were given down through the place, poking down through the huge door and seeing the trusty blade was there. A good thing that it wasn't stolen--but if the legends proved true than only he could grip it--everyone else was out of luck and met with trying to handle it, which also the prophecies said were false. He really didn't believe those things, and walked towards the Pedestal of Time, his hands lacing around the violet grip and feeling the familiar smell of steel.  
  
"You ready, Nav'?" He whispered out, they had done that since the silence was beginning to tally on, only the Gorgon music was playing, the unseen spirits.  
  
She just nodded his head towards her, and he yanked out the sword with the acknowledgement that they were body ready, his legs spread and leaning up to pull it out while she sat on his shoulder. He could feel the click of the hill as the mechanism came out, the familiar blue fire surrounding him and then he expect the pain to overflow through him, though there wasn't an ounce. It must have been some sort of test, that proved he could withstand the limits of time and his acknowledgement as the Hero that conquered time, and since he passed, his reward was no more pain. The fire of the bluish hue passed through his body, feeling the body of his begin to grow bigger, either that or the shell was loose and he was a wandering spirit going for the next shell to inhabit. Before he could consider the possibilities of growing and shrinking, the flames around him had died out, he feeling the comfortable-ness of the five feet, seven inch form.  
  
"Mm, it feels good to be back in this body!" He swung the sword back and forth, taking it and sheathing it down into the newly acquired one, his hands looking around at his form and smiling. There was everything and in addition to that were the beautiful lens resting inside his satchel, in the same spot that it had remained, and the forces of time not hurting it. What he guessed was that everything attached to him and inside of the blue fire was unaffected, while if you stuck you're hand out, that the seven years would pass quicker than you could ever imagine. Being a fast process, there was no telling how far he could go if he wanted too, or had the more vastly knowledge in the exerts of Time Travel. Right now, if he wanted that, he'd have to find an ancient sage and the only one around was Rauru, but he had no time for that, the next time it'd come up was whenever they met again.  
  
"Indeed it does, so what about that tune?" She chirped out in her teenage form, feeling the eyes of the boy pondering over and not minding at all that he was looking onward on her. It was his to look at, and no one ever said there was no harm in looking at something that you wanted and were having permission granted too. Besides, she had looked on him from time to time with a sneaking suspicion of the way he looked, as a boy and even as a teen, both were good in there own little ways. Back to the important hands, she was more concerned with the tune inside of the boy's cap; there was another song for them to learn, probably towards the temple. Since they had not run into him, she guessed that this was his way of rescuing them without a meeting, maybe not able to face them after the training they endured.  
  
"Oh, that. Let me check, it was called the Nocturne of Shadow." Nodding, he remembered the name because there was a definition he had looked up at one time, but now that he was trying to remember it was gone. A frown, he was very good at the remembrance of things, his brain was just on the fritz from traveling back and then ahead in time with only a few days time.  
  
"Nocturne is named because it is a dramatic, brooding piano composition. And I think since we are dealing with death and Shadows, that it seems very appropriate." Frowning a little, she took the paper from him and began to read over it within her head, memorizing the notes so that they would come out with little ease.  
  
"I see, well do you think we should play it or just go on towards Kakariko and play it whenever we get inside of the village, maybe visit Shiek." Of course, Link had no idea where Impa or Shiek were residing, he was still a little phased about if they were even inside of the village. In the back of his mind, it screamed the right direction to take was the magical way, rather than favoring the old-fashioned method.  
  
"Of course you play it. You don't need my permission for those sorts of things. What else would you do with it, Linky? " She just giggled a little and placed the paper down into the boy's hands, noticing that for the first time how sad it would sound on the ocarina.  
  
The chuckles and everything there had just been brought on, her face chiseling down into a thoughtful expression while those hands held the paper tightly. Her facet was a bit of a fake, since she did want him to play the thing, just not ready to hear it, that was all she knew about with herself. There were notes being ready to be played, it was just the way that he knew it would sound that made her shiver a little, not even wanting it too pass through her ears. Not that it was a horrible tune, by no means, it was just the sounds from there she knew would make even the most masculine of people shed a few tears. She knew that the two of them wouldn't do it (this was a normal person that would cry) after what they had seen and done, there was no point in bawling over a song.  
  
Not seeing him pull the instrument out and start the preparations, her mind was wandering back to the notes, since she had memorized them beforehand. That was for if he were to get them wrong, then she'd be able to correct him without the fear of seeming wrong herself, that usually discouraged the boy. Usually his eyes would sulk down and then he'd get sort of sad, a cute way of pouting, except he wasn't really begging for attention. In this New World, it happened a lot, because she knew a little about the world, but not enough to satisfy all the questions and curiosities in this new place. Whenever her knowledge was wrong, he knew that they were screwed, but when she gave in and showed her real reality, it was a good thing for him and his powers usually increased.  
  
Courage was not just the way he felt sometimes, it was what powered him better and relayed the strength that existed inside of his body. His normal strength was always there unless faltered by sickness or exhaustion, but that was not was used when the Goddesses relayed their powers on him. Some could relay this power as a limit of some sort, it only occurred in the direst of situations, so this was when the courage bottled in his heart was temporarily released. Shot out like a cannon with a long fuse, it had the lasting affects of not running out until either the enemy had died, or his own vitality shut itself down. She knew that this had never happened before, and knew that it wouldn't happen because she would never allow him to over-exert himself so much.  
  
Backing to the other affects, the kid had pulled out his instrument and tacked up the sheet of paper right ahead of him, to follow along the notes. Reading it sort of like a kid read the instructions out of a textbook, a cheat-sheet, his mind did not even comprehend it, since he didn't care. The boy was not one to take pride in his feelings near here, and even if he had mostly mastered the ocarina, there was still the fact that the songs had to be remembered. There were just too many songs and the situation was too desperate to take into the hands that forgetting it would just screw you over in a big hurry. If you had no time to remember a certain incantation, and the enemy was after you, then that was bad reasoning, he just intercepted this was easier. He did usually take the time to learn the notes; there was just no time since the feelings in him were beginning to bottle up more than usual.  
  
Even though the dreams had disappeared over the years, there were the feelings that he could never deny that released in the back of his mind. The forethought saw that the village was experiencing/or about to experience a series of bad weather, not just that, maybe a curse of some kind. He knew that he had a psychic sense, there was no denying that, it was just whenever the sense was either the logic of the moment, the sense, or just stupidity. Each one varied a little, the sense had been whenever he felt a strong tingling; the logic is what he learned and he could tell what being stupid was all about. It was just that sometimes the cloud of judgement was pushed aside and let him realize how hard it could be to pull the differences out of them.  
  
It was hard to distinguish between them, but at this very moment, calling down towards the town did seem like a very good part, going to the village by foot is what he wanted to do as this time. Calling upon the magical powers of the ocarina would warp them past the village and towards the graveyard; he feeling it may have been too late. Protruding back, which depended if they could even find their way back form the entrance to the temple was probably not even in the way of looking. Besides, who could even tell where the temple was located, Shiek had said above the graveyard, so that couldn't mean in the sky? Yet, at that time he wanted to summon the warp and go on, knowing in his mind that it would not be as bad as it seemed, maybe it was just his imagination.  
  
Pushing all those thoughts away, his lips pushed to the ocarina and there he played out all the notes that were lying on the script of paper. It was indeed, as Navi had described; a very somber tone that could smooth out the soul in only a minute or two, but the two of them just listened. Feeling like the head of Death was at you're door, the victory of life had been stolen away and replaced with the cruel un-satisfaction of dying. Now a few of the tunes did get to the two of them, a bit of a sigh escaped from Navi as the teen's eyes watered a little, disappearing before the tears could come because a gloved hand pushed them back. When the song was accomplished, his hands went forward and just pushed the instrument back into his case, feeling the familiar tone as the transformation began.  
  
A violet light surrounded the two beings--he guessed that with each spell and tune, a different colour had surrounded since the forest had been green, fire was red, and water consisted of blue. Now as the light was pushing over them, his hand reached out with some dissatisfaction of maybe losing an arm and grappled forward for what it was going for. Pushing forward even more, the hands groped the tacked piece of paper, the notes, and just slung his hand back as the light was getting ready to overlap them. It stuffed down inside of his pocket, he considered himself lucky to do it so fast, and otherwise there would have been a legendary Hero with one arm. If the warp closed down all the way, then his arm would have been lopped off (his own theory) left back at the Light temple for travelers.  
  
Mm, they were gone out of site in just a few seconds, it was quicker than they imagined and just knew what waited ahead of them. A zipping noise was the usual tone that was set when the warping began; it was not a very long process, or an amazing one, for that matter. Since you had to keep you're eyes closed on the ride, there was no marvelous movement in the distance of a few days in a matter of seconds. Oh, sure it had been important at first, but that seemed like centuries ago to them, it was now a means of transportation as little vastly as most of the other things. Rivaling to a better way or traveling than a horse, other people would be amazed at the boy who could travel miles and miles around with just the tweet of an ocarina tune, but he didn't regard it as that.  
  
How much of his innocence had been lost since the seven years and about six months had passed (combining the two journeys together) and how much was done? It was strange that the vast fields of Hyrule had once fascinated him were now just a dull blur, while the horses had been a wonder beyond dreams and now gone for good. He was astonished as he felt the land appear under him as how much else would change whenever this was over, would there be something worse? Could there be the possibility of even Hyrule seeming stupid, he venturing for the bigger and better lands and leaving this beautiful place behind? Of course, he already wanted that, it was a stupid thought and his mind charged to another direction when he scanned his area, they were not at a symbol.  
  
"Where are we?" The surroundings were a little familiar, they were outside of somewhere, yet the inside of a town or something, and it was just there was no symbol below. Sure enough, there was only the brown ground below him, the eternal-night sky was looming over all the way darkly, showing that it was internally night.  
  
"We are, I think inside the village of Kakariko." Navi answered her partner, illuminating her own aura a little brighter so that it could be used as an old-fashioned torch for him. Sure enough, the place around the duo was the village of Kakariko, the night sky was actually darker than usual, and even in the nighttime it wasn't this black.  
  
"You may have a point, but I feel something." He spoke in a little nod, taking a few steps forward, seeing that they had been standing at the back of the front-gate, where they had tried to get over before the capturing and the warp-hole, that had all been ancient history, though. Mm, the kid did feel a great something in the air, keeping his hands at his sides so that they could grab his sword and shield on natural instinct.  
  
"As do I, let us keep ourselves on guard for any attacks that may have been waiting us in the darkness, something about the sky scares me more than usual." She whispered out, since the two of them were going to have to switch to the whispers, since it was so dark around here, as far as they could see anyway.  
  
"The sky is always dark, Nav', the curse." He thought that maybe she'd forgotten about the blackness.  
  
"I know that, it's just darker than usual." She knew that they would have to be on their guard or the consequences for being so foolish were not only imminent, the numbers were also great. There was no way that she was going to be held like that, to be ambushed by idiots after the reward, or even something greater. The sort of things that you didn't want to think of ever, the ones that made you pull the covers up over you're head and hope that the monster didn't steal you away. A something that would make the reward shiver in pain, it would just react to the rest of the world and cause the fear to strike into their hearts. That was what could have been in the cloak-and-dagger part of the mission, she able to feel the same weird force that previously had not been around here.  
  
There could have been another reason for this part of smell, the way that the winds felt and all that; she just had to wonder about the date, though. Kaci had died in September, she knew that much (almost wanting to take a calendar on their trip so they could record the dates) but had it really been close to a whole month? There was no way to tell unless they asked some villager, or maybe the boy knew, he could have had a thing with the dates and she not knowing about it. If her theory was true, then the darkness was greater than it would seem, the terror would be to get out of here until the final date of October passed and on came the first of the next month. Indeed, staying around would be only what a fool was capable of doing, a coward maybe, but still better than the 'hero' who died for no reason.  
  
"Hey, do you happen to know the month and date of today?" What confused her most were their few days in the past, had it just been a day or so, or had many more days passed than the two of them knew. If that was the case, the rip in time could have sped it up for a few days, explaining just why they were nearing the closer eve of the spirits.  
  
"I would say that when we finished the Water Temple it was closed to the twenty-first or second of October, but I am not sure, since the whole time thing. What I am guessing is that a few days we went forward, if any, since the time in the past seems a lot slower back then--how else could of those idiots not attacked Hyrule. Maybe a year in our time would show back then how the destruction is, I don't know. I am guessing maybe a week passed." He was curious why she was asking, they didn't really carry a calendar around, but as he traveled through the lands, he did keep an accurate percentage, incase he ever wanted to record this journey in later years. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Oh, I am just a little curious about the day, that's all." She was a very bad liar, but why did she need the ability too when she never really told any fibs for anymore, now however, she knew in her head she had too. Now there was the first one and it was able towards Link, knowing she wouldn't have too anymore, because very soon the truth would come about. Of course, that was if her predictions were true and the thievery of the knight was going to be attempted in the process, not been wanting to feel like what was going on would truly. That seems fairly accurate since Kaci died on the twenty-first or so of September, that left three weeks resting, and the passing week just pushed it off. Mathematics were not a strong-suit in her head, so she just had to keep it off for the time being, until other evidence came into play other than the wind and the counting of days.  
  
"Mm, okay." He didn't seem to notice the lie and continued down the path with her sitting in his palms, actually gripping her a bit tightly like a person would hold a forth. Her aura centered just above her head, it was dangling off and gave the feel that he was inside of a creepy pit instead of a horrible land with no sun or moon.  
  
They were coming along the path nicely; a few ten minutes had passed since the conversation had died down, their own thoughts just pushing on each other. It was a nice walk for them, because with the warp and all, they hadn't walked in a while, the lack of sleep or what you would call 'time- lag' was coming in. That was basically when you ripped through the time portals, how complex it was to get felt ripping from the past to the present, then back from the present to the past, a reason that they didn't feel it before. When you travel west (or the past) there is no jet lag in an airplane, so why wouldn't the same reason work for when you were stripping time from the west. Now traveling back in the east (the future) direction caused the lag to come on a little fiercer and you to experience a bit of dizziness, the walk would blow it off and get him back to normal in no time.  
  
Navi was more focused on exactly counting the days, she was precise in her decisions and just worried that if she said anything and made a miscalculation that it would of cost them all. The day had to be somewhere in the late October, closer towards November first, then it was for the beginning of the months own. There was all the nervousness of getting it out, she was stressing over what would happen if the Spirit's Day was set free, because then would be a hellish nightmare in Hyrule. It wouldn't have happened back in the old days because there may have been the physical idiots in the ground, but what they were was physical, the situation having changed over the course of seven years. Spirits now roamed the graveyards, parts of Hyrule that gave off the hills, but they were only assigned to their spots of designation, until this night.  
  
All Hallows Eve, also known as Halloween was either having happened, happening, or would be in contact in just a few hours, or minutes. When that happened, the kids used to go out and dress as their favorite character from comic books or puppet shows (possibly the used-to-be-popular Keaton.) While on these adventures they received candy and stuff like that, but since Ganondorf had taken over, Halloween was a dreadful holiday that no one wanted to look forward too. Since the place was full of criminals, there was no reason to pass out candy and the Poes that were let out of their territories haunted the people of today. You see the spiritual laws to be held up, but on their holiday was when they were set free to roam confined them, and she just knew the Spirit Temple would be in frenzy.  
  
I think I know she's up to something, just not sure what ... Link, however, was just wondering how the lens would be useful in the Temple of Spirits that a little one could veil over, of course he believe that illusions were in there, the story just seemed weird. I mean, he had faced the spirits in the dungeon under the well, he just didn't believe that anything past a hidden wall was all that could hurt him (he hadn't really faced spirits, though.) His only encounter with the undead was inside of the Forest Temple, and the Poes were mostly solid, so there wasn't a problem there as expected. Now that he was expected to believe a whole temple was dedicated, to the temple, he was a little skeptical about it, but then again who wouldn't be? There just had to be some unseen past to make it appear, otherwise those spirits would have already come down to get him, aside the monsters he was assured had bodies.  
  
Those Poes were imposters, his thoughts had led him down, they were just solid bodies that somehow faked to be ghosts, and they didn't even turn inside out or disappear. None of the supernatural qualities were about them, otherwise that they could spin really hard and whenever you looked at them once they left. He had no sense about their spiritual powers were un- measurable, for he had never seen them come off and disappear, possess people, or anything like that, of course there was when they were died or looked in the eyes. The Poes did disappear, so maybe that made them seem like ghosts, plus they way they died was as mysterious of where they came from. The leg-less fiends burst into a gulf of flames, and when dead could be used to possess certain, things, so maybe there was a bit in their favor, but not enough ghosts to scare anyone. Now that his thoughts had calmed down, deciding he'd decide for himself if there were other spirits aside Poes, was when the walk came to a halt.  
  
Now the walking along the path, there eyes had been lowered to the ground, even Navi's veil disappearing because they were convinced that everyone was scared. It was either that Halloween was tonight, that ghosts had started attacking the town, or the possibility of the Spiritual Temple just awakening and sending out a horde of spirits to take care of things. Of course everyone could be asleep, since it was night (or so presumed) but back to the better theory of them being a part of the same tribute the Kokiiri, Zora, and Gorons were on. Now that could happen since things from the Forest, Fire and Water affected the people living nearby--these were the closest. No one else was left to torture in the land, except maybe the Gerudo, so everyone in the population of this town was declared to being wanted by the fiendish ghouls that appeared in here.  
  
"I think I know why they're out for the night, Link." She whispered, the houses they had passed had led them down into the center of the place, far from the people, but still could glance if a light came on in the pitch- blackness. No denying her thoughts, it was better too warn him before all of the chaos grew out of control and knocked her explanation.  
  
"What's out there, Navi?" Repeating here question, not for the fun of it, his eyes were just glazed a little and accustomed to staring out where the rest of the world was. It was beautiful to look in the darkness; of course now all that illuminated the sky was the light veil that Navi had around her body, she no longer laying in his hands. Resting on top of his shoulder, there was nothing to do but understand the explanation of what had an entire town filled with fear because of something bad had happened. He believed nothing could keep people in a place this beautiful, the harshness was probably trapped inside of there when resistance was held on. Now they were bristling out into their homes like cows that knew the food was in the kennel at home and just aching after days of exercise and isolation from the rest of the world. It was a beautiful thing to give on, they would fight until the end and even after there, there was no guarantee of what was too come--but it'd be faced together.  
  
"It has to do for why I was counting the holidays--but I guess you figured that out, eh?" The way that he smiled proved that she had a simple idea, not a theory or anything, just a plan that was made up inside of his own mind. Somehow she was able to know that he knew more than he gave on and would definitely able to show it whenever she was leading to talk about it. That was the way he felt the plan had just appeared and now was working on the simulation as if real-life was interacted in there.  
  
"Almost, I have a thought that it has something to do with All Hallows Eve." When his eyes looked over towards her and he asked about the conflict, those eyes opened a little, as if surprised by the little comments that went around. Navi was speaking of terms that she knew were just a little crazy; it was indeed one of the strangest ideas that she had conjured up. Who could blame her when you were trapped in a place of eternal darkness, where even the blackness was darker than usual, that was the worst part. There was no other way to go about it without referring to something very badly, which was the way that the world worked in most parts now. All did believe in spirits of some sort, but up until the reign of Ganondorf, none had been able to prove it, which had all changed when the King was laid to rest.  
  
"You're right Link, I am sure that the spirits of tonight will rise." A sigh behooved from her chest, ready to explain it all when a clash of thunder caught her attention, the once dark place illuminated with darkness.  
  
Each of them stared at the source of light, it was very close, and there the embers were twirling down what looked like a spinning object. At first the start of the fire had kept the small thing twirling in small spots, but when the flames were licking down at the skin of there, the speed had no choice but to pick up. Not able to make out what it was, the speed of the spinning meter picked up, hiding the appearance all together, and looking like a fireball was being juggled at an incredible speed. Moving faster and faster, the closeness was not as far as they though since it was at least forty feet away (the height had exceeded the posture) making it seem like the oncoming embers would spew at them. Fortunately, they just passed twenty feet from them, not that there were a lot--whatever was burning was made of paper--that's when the flash of inspiration sparked the hero's mind: the windmill.  
  
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"The mill's in flames--run for you're lives!!!" A scream pierced the surrounding neighborhood and all of the houses near the mill that could be set aflame were up and at them. Several of the people stormed out of their homes, even if they were far enough to avoid the sparks, just coming for the hell of seeing a show. A lot of screams were coming out of the frightened citizens, their terror was reaching a new plane as the only place for their water was being reduced to ashes by an unknown source. It was a horrifying site to behold, there were thanks that no one was trapped inside of there, otherwise the corpses would be lining up, no one wandered inside the mill. No one was noticing the hero with the wanted ad on his face, that was unimportant, what seemed better was taking care of the matter at hand--the wind-maker.  
  
Several tried to run up with buckets of water, climbing the giant structure that held a few dozen feet from the tower, and throw it down towards the licking fire. Cheers of joy were sent out when a piece of the wood began to turn black, the celebration brought to a halt when a few seconds later they licked back up from where they had been. No, nothing had spread over and sprang a new fire, it was like the fire just regenerated, or even backed down to dodge the oncoming water. All the liquid did was be absorbed by the flames, not even hurting the onslaught, it was like the fire was possessed and its natural enemy was not even a threat. Cries were hurried out when at least three gallons were sprinkled on the place, twenty minutes later since they didn't have very big buckets, there seemed to be no way to stop it.  
  
"It's hopeless, let's just let it burn, its better because no one is inside of there!" One of the villagers shouted, but in just a few minutes his prayers would be reversed and there would be an every worse change for rejoice. Everyone was glad that no one would be hurt, but his or her presumptions were dead wrong.  
  
When it had calmed down, the screams that was, they were set out when the door to the windmill sprang open with a step, everyone expecting a fire- monster to come bullying down on them. No, it was nothing like that, but the man with the organ grinder on his body, except his body was not the normal pale sort that it used to be. The only white spots on him had been his eyes, which were probably closed, and even they had a crimson tint in them, that being of the blood protruding through his body. Fingers and hands were curled up in a freakish nature, his mouth gaping open and showing the pinkish skin that slipped out when his speech sought to come. Of course not he wasn't normal, the twenty minutes inside of the flames had cooked him beyond recognition, the man was no longer a Hyrulian, he was some sort of disfigured Dracula who had been set in the sun.  
  
Most people didn't know what to think, they had seen the man before, but no one had the slightest idea he had been trapped inside of there. People knew the crazy old man had sometimes liked to visit the place, but since he was alone and never even married, the people thought he traveled or had a house somewhere--people usually didn't sleep in windmills! Nothing was to do, the man had finished it for them, reaching up his hands and extending what was a sliver of shining metal, their conclusion later one was it was a knife. Indeed, because a second later the sliver at his neck and even a millisecond later (before anyone could react and snatch it away, although they were at least fifty feet away) the nape of his neck was not anymore. Blood was gashing and squirting down the edge of his neck, staining the neck that had been no more, a giant slit remaining that poured out the liquid, a few seconds later the body dropping into a corpse.  
  
The screams went out, as the body dropped down, the people taking the distance from fifty feet, all the way to one hundred feet, except one person didn't move. Well, from a closer and in-depth look it was two people, a mini-girl was standing on his shoulders with the beautiful wingspread out like an insect, except better. The boy, dressed in a green tunic and skirt, was holding his hands at his side and watching the flames flicker as eagerly as a pyromaniac watched his own work. It was a sad sight how he brought, but when his face spun around, the subject of him starting the fire was gone, this was a face with the sorrow spraying on it, nothing an arsonist would attempt. There was one thing about the boy that was shown off, his sheath held a sword that sprayed out, and some of the people whispering it were a magical sword.  
  
To say that this was a magical sword that this boy owned? That was about as absurd as proclaiming that the reign of Ganondorf was going to end, and even some of the villagers argued in secret as the boy nodded and spread his hands. The people were watching and arguing at the same time that this could be either a fraud or the legendary Hero of Time, whose vanquish would wreck havoc on the land. Some argued he was the boy from the picture with the wanted ad on his head, the believers proclaimed that of course he was wanted--Ganondorf would be slain by this kid, so who else's head would he want situated on a plate? The proclaims of the believers were astounded when a huge cloud appeared out of the sky, raining down on the land around the mill and setting the flames out.  
  
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He killed himself! Oh, Goddess he's dead, the man committed suicide! Navi's brain rattled out, she still standing on her hero's shoulder, just feeling a little queasy in the stomach as the blade slit through the man's neck. There was a confident smile on the man's face; it was one the other villagers were never able to see the two of them catching it with their perfect vision and ability to see through the smoke. None of the embers that rained on them even touched them, discarded because of the tunic that laid on his body and her own natural aura knocked them out. It was a site that she wished they never had to behold, suicide had never been a thing that the kid experienced--or herself--she just having the worry of the affect it would have on him. How about the effect on her? Well, that was explained when she fluttered off to the side and the retching sounds could be heard by her partner, the vomit clashing a few feet away.  
  
"Dear Farore, how could he do that." Was Link's only comply, his arms wrapped around his chest in a motherly support to himself, he hearing the girl's cries and waiting until the sounds went away. As they disappeared, he turned around and gathers her into his arms, hugging the girl as the sobs of hers began to shoot away from her, spreading and even disappearing into his eyes. It was a beautiful site to be with her, the crying was not for the crazy man who needed a monkey skull, it was not even for the suicide that they did. Neither of them would begin to know why the tears sprinkled out, they just poured out faster and faster, not even showing the slightest hint of stopping. A nice little moment, the time passed and soon five of those sixty second marks her disappeared, she drying his tears and he doing the same, a look at him with a smile showed he had done the right thing.  
  
"I think we should put this fire out." Her voice came out, so the other Hylians didn't get word of that, she returning to his shoulder and knowing what they were saying did hurt her a little. Being accused of being a fake was one thing, but to be the killer in the ad had caused the heart of hers to swell a little, maybe it was why they had cried?  
  
"Well, yeah, but how? The water that they used, I think some was even blessed by one of the Goddess-worshipers, it didn't even work." Of course there was a way to do it, he just didn't have a clue to how the transformation was started, nor how it was finished in all recognition.  
  
"There maybe a way. I have a theory that about these medallions of ours, I told you about what happened when you used it against that Genji Dragon, so that was the forest medallion. Put two and two together." Her smile brightened as his did the same, a nod was given as he began to dig through his bag for the medallion, the light having been replaced before they even attempted to leave so it was secure in there.  
  
"Of course! The Water Medallion produces water, just like the Fire jewel should produce fire and the Forest summoned the forest powers! So if we use that little jewel with the help of Naryu, then we just might be able to put out the water!" Giggling, he held the thing tight to his chest and pushed it right against his heart, feeling as the thing began to glow, his eyes not looking, but knowing. Astonishment was washed upon him when the jewel was glowing higher brighter and brighter, he feeling the wetness of the thing begin to soak him. Except it wasn't washing him away, nor was it soaking him in a matter of his suit getting wet, it was just the fact that he could feel it disappearing onto him. Smiling, his hands jutted forward, the blue jewel remaining there with some unseen pressure, and when his hands sprung forward was where the waves started up. Indeed, they were brushing up harder and harder, sinking out of the jewel and able to be controlled by the will of the Hero of Time's hands.  
  
Oh, not it's coming! Link was a little nervous about it and he wanted to shut his eyes, but he knew doing so would cause an ever-lasting feeling to take over him and cause the downfall of the powers. That would be something he just could not allow, otherwise the powers granted to him would be a waste of time, the title of his brandished in a way that the formal could not take it back.  
  
Ah, it really is happening, I can't believe it! There was no denying the greatness of the boy, she knew that the full extent of the Hero of Time's powers would never compare to that the evil Ganondorf could muster. Now, he may have been able to beat her Link as of now, but given two more medallions then the power within could be shut in and extended to strike down the menacing King of Evil.  
  
Navi's eyes widened, she didn't really believe what she had said, but sure enough and to the thoughts of the little villagers behind her, something was amiss. The first time that the Forest Medallion had been used, it was in a quick and ceaseless move (almost thinking it was Shiek's doing), but now that they were alone and without the ninja, the only thing she could do was truly believe the forces above. The waves, looking like they had just come out of the ocean itself, was sloshing through the air, but it was like a certain force kept any from dripping. Yes that water should have leaked a little if controlled, but the fact remained that Link and she were underneath the water and as dry as could be. Nothing was going to touch them in this form, she feeling the water could be controlled as a shield, so if a certain spirit was chased out when this went on, the Naryu powers would stop it.  
  
He was not able to speak, his eyes a little widened as the fact of his powers, but he saw that Navi wasn't trying to speak to him and took it as eager anticipation. Talking would probably make him lose his concentrating; resulting in a slosh that would probably rock the heavens, themselves, and the quantity was enough to stop anything. What had to be an entire lake of water, if dropped would flood the entire village, so the speculations around were on a quiet view, incase this boy decided he didn't like the village and wanted to stop help them. True that this village had not become one of his favorites ever, but there was no way he was going to flood them out, the reason he had touched into his beautiful powers was to take care of this place. A smile was given, the liquid just above the water, as he cupped his hands and watched the stuff condense down into a single ball, sloshing it upon the windmill with his hands throwing forward.  
  
"It's coming!" He heard one of the villagers scream, the rest of them hiding down and taking their distance from one hundred probably to three hundred, he almost a blur to them. It wasn't that their faith was lost in them, they just wanted to survive incase this newfound hero wasn't able to take care of these aquatic powers. Now as they passed even worse and worse away, Link couldn't help but chuckle at how scared they were, that was what the condensation was for, to protect anything that went down there. He wasn't sure about the mill, it could be destroyed, but who cared what the hell went on there, the thing was smoldering so bad that building from scratch was the only other way to get out. While his hands were no longer needed, he grabbed the medallion before it could fall and stuffed it down into his pockets, orbs of wonder staring up there to meet the place.  
  
Even when the impact was met, he grabbed her and ran a few extra miles, not sure of the pressure or debris that was coming out of there. Grasping forward for her, and gripping upon her, he felt that sensation that moving would not only cost dire consequences, but a few injuries. He had outlasted his luck and doing so would only cause a few little adventures to happen, otherwise there was the alternative of going forward and facing that. Maybe if he was alone than he could do it, but his fairy was with him and she had to be the most important thing to him in the world- -which he'd never, neglect to see. Diving about twenty feet forward with her in his arms and he resting on his stomach, the blowing explosion sounded worse than any bomb that he could of mustered.  
  
What happened was the bomb intercepted the top of the land-hill that was called the windmill and with it excavated, there were no worries of what could happen to it? It was a good thing because the powers of the Goddess of Wisdom were really pushed in as the giant ball of water slammed into the center and took out everything in its path. This time, with the Naryu-water, the enchanted red flames did stay out; they didn't even attempt to light out while the water flooded the entire place. It was filled from top to bottom, not that there was much left to flood, it was just that the water had destroyed most of everything. It was in there for a good fifteen minutes and with no ignites; the power had done its job and slipped back into the medallion, without notice.  
  
Draining back from its source, there was really nothing left when the last of the liquid dried up into its home of the medallion stashed inside of his side-pack. What was left was quite a mess, there were ruins that exposed the inside of the windmill, soaked down to the pour and looking like no amount of power was able to fix that. Another thing was the moist ground all around, since the amount that had hit the ground, there was no chance of approaching there without fear of falling. Inside of the ground was where they would go, since the impact just had to have leveled out a few feet of the ground, so breaking you're feet was the only way to go. Besides all of that, there seemed to be nothing else wrong here, it was all right given the circumstances of being almost burnt all the way down.  
  
"Are we okay?" He muttered out, relying to his feet with a stomp and looking all around him, those eyes widening not at the wreckage but how much he was spared. Nothing short of a miracle, he suspected, the area around his body, extending out fifteen, was a clean cut grass and debris- free of the shortage that had rained out hundred of feet ahead of him, sparing him.  
  
"Wow, the medallion must've protected us." She nodded and took a glance over at the building, her arms crossed around her chest and shaking her head, it hurt to see it like this, but she knew it had to happen. If the flames hadn't been stopped then who knows what would've happened, there was no guarantee that the whole town would be in flames from the loose embers, but now everything had been saved--the question was from what?  
  
Before any other speech could be heard from them, a single clap began out of the audience, they looking forward and seeing that the crowd had surrounded them. A nervous glance was exchanged between the two, glancing down in the shame, until Link's eyes perked open and realized that there were no angry shaking fists, this was actual clapping. There were not fear or anger in their faces, as Link had expected, but the clap that turned single-file was followed by tens, then hundred, and then close to maybe a thousand. Who knew the population of Kakariko now, but however many there were, now the entire town was around them--except the really heavy sleepers- -and the applause was streaming on. Coming in such a beautiful way, the clapping had been not all together, but somehow the sympathy had picked up and brought it on in such a rhythmic tone that it put his ocarina-skills to shame.  
  
The clapping followed on by whistles from the men, then the beautiful little whistles from the girls as they stared on at the pretty Hylian with the yellow hair. The handsome boy, was what they would call him, about the age of seventeen or so and possessing such magical arts that even the most best of sages dreamt of. Magic in the world had never been this great, now the astounding effects were pushing on and showing that maybe a new age of it was coming forth. None of the villagers had paid much heed to the medallion, they're eyes were focused on his own actions, even when he put the jewel on his chest it was like no one noticed. Sure it was sort of a catalyst, but it was better than letting the temple close down, or was it even that--maybe this jewel just opened up the powers of the hero?  
  
Mentioning him, his cheeks flushed deeply and he held up a hand to show that to stop the applause, he didn't deserve it, which was far from the truth. He'd never admit that he loved the applause, because usually attention was not what he lacked for, but now being the hero and saving the town (in such an easy way) was one of his best joys. Not really having been applauded for such things before, he couldn't think of anything really to do, his cheeks were blushing a bright pink. On the inside, the boy was beaming brighter than a Christmas Tree, astounded that everyone was cheering on for little old him, and it was astounding. Mm, there was nothing more he could have wished were to stay here and take care of the applause, but there was an even more important matter at hand, orbs focusing on his love.  
  
Of course she was doing the same thing, they weren't just cheering for him, because she could see that one of them were staring at her (at her!) and showing a riot. It was a beautiful thing, because she never knew being his partner meant she had her own share of the glory, she was his partner, not a sidekick or anything. Okay, so she never thought of herself as anything but a guardian and an equal member, but now that she felt a bit of the spotlight, she realized that the term was more affected than ever. Staring at her younger boy, she giggled a little and nodded while his face straightened up, knowing that the affects of finding this out were way more important. The person--or thing--who had started this was probably gone, but there was a chance that the beast could strike again and more fiercely.  
  
"Now, now, just c-calm down." He spoke out in a clear voice, more of the women letting out sighs of love as they heard the young hero's deep, but not too deep, voice of character. Noticing this, he looked down and flushed a little, not able to keep his voice form knocking them down, the embarrassment was just too much.  
  
Offering a smile at his little plunders, she appreciated the attention but since none of the guys were particularly looking at her--and she wouldn't be blushing if they were--her voice rang out. "Can we have a little order in here? We appreciate you're applause, we really do, but we have to know if you heard anything strange out here? Like some incantations or something that'd lead to the start of the fire?" Most rang out that the fairie could speak, they knew what it was and that showed at least some intelligence, but the ones who knew about the forest were astonished that it did speak. They knew it could, it was just that most fairies kept quiet and only spoke when spoken too, or they were speaking just to their partner in private.  
  
The two of them went on for a few minutes, getting the reactions that they had heard nothing at all, the boring parts were pushed aside when someone spoke that it was October 31st. Images of the ghouls rising up and performing an act like this were essential, because that was the only day they could, plus they envied the living. Of course they did when the percentage of the dead had risen, plus the fact that on this night that all of the dead were alive, why not try to bring some over towards their side? A few could possess, but that was about it, the rest were more destructive and whose territory was in the middle of nowhere were looking forward to this night. With more interception of the comments, they found nothing, but were left to ponder in their mind just what these dead things would do?  
  
With more perception, the crowd was getting a little smaller; their eyes were focused on wondering what in the world would be their initiative. Of course, torturing the living was the first itinerary, they probably loved making fun and playing tricks on them, and since Ganondorf was about, the ratings were higher. Besides that, the ghosts had the freedom to roam all around without the fear of being captured/killed, that was for the past six years, now the seventh was where the problem arisen because of the Hero of Time. No ghost hunters were in this area--there were never a need too, since the ones who died in Hyrule died peacefully and with no malice--there had been some during the wars before this one, they all disappeared now. Navi had read about the hunters a while back, she now doubted they were even real, maybe just a legend that the Kokiiri or other agents had made up.  
  
Ghost-hunter, it was an odd profession by today's standards, but back during the war that the Kokiiri didn't participate in, there was a need for it. Whenever someone died in malice, the ghost hunters would take the body out and cleanse it in the Holy Water of Naryu, then guiding the spirit to safety. This always worked in most cases, but sometimes the priests would have to take worse matters and banish the spirit from the world of the living down below. It was a horrible fate, but sometimes the people could not overcome their jealously, even if they were innocent, perhaps a grudge was what it was. After the wars, the ghosts were not active and so the pay became now and the once well paid profession had gone down, so all migrated elsewhere with their secrets taken with them.  
  
More and more people had begun to drift away from the two, until only a sum of a fourth were left, or maybe even less than that since he barely saw a hundred. All of them were hard working men and women whom needed a good night's sleep, the parade in his honor would probably be the next day or so. Not that he wanted one, he was good enough with just a warm place to sleep and some hot food cooked for him, except no one had even answered that call. Maybe they were still afraid of the poster, he had saved them, but he could have started the fire and did it to gain the trust of the foolish people. As much as it hurt, he knew that a place to stay would either be with Anjou or somewhere else, maybe with Impa if he could locate her. Both were speculated on sleeping when a thundering crash came out of no where, it sounded from below and made a bellowing laughter of them all.  
  
"Link!" Navi spun out and screamed, there was a flash between them and the rest of the people whom had turned were now staring around in a fury. Only the boy was left with a dumbfounded look, the townspeople had begun to run away while the shadow was descending on them, only a single one.  
  
The Hero of Time watched in horror at the two of them were not targeted, the targets were the townspeople whom had been left out for the prey, the ones inside never touched. In such a horrifying manner, the moving targets that had once been stationary were impaled over and over with the running wind that he could only identify as a shadow. Suspecting that even the other people just saw the wind coming at them, except for Navi and he, there was no doubt this was the criminal whom had set the fire. No denying it, his horror was went more when the things zipped to and fro a person, not going for an instant kill, but instead taking off arms legs, then the chest and finally went for the head until it stood before. Of course it didn't go for the heart when it hit the chest, just slowing down and hitting the other side, and damaging internal organs that would bleed even if they survived.  
  
"Navi! What is that thing!" It was moving so faster that his sword and shield was out, but there would be no way to strike the thing with the motion that it was moving. Growling with fury, the attacker went back into its base and there he just held the defender in both hands, prepared if an assault was pushed at him. As hard as it was, the girl standing right at his shoulder (yelling because of the screams and the howls that the victims and the monster made) the only part that he wanted to protect right now was her.  
  
"I-I have no idea. Obviously the one who started this, but I can't even get a reading on it! My sensors are dulled, for some reason when I try to even detect a life-form, I get nothing!" She was scared to death, never had anything like this happened, even before her training, she'd always been able to detect if a thing was the type. Before she couldn't sense any of the energies on it, but now as the monster continued to decimate the citizens (leaving those who made it to their houses alone) there seemed to be no hope. Her eyes were glazed with tears for them, she wanted to help, but knew that if she ventured out that he'd go after her, something she simply couldn't accept.  
  
A shine of light had appeared in the air, the light was artificial, but there was something about it that seemed warm for the hero and his fairie. While they stared forward, the shadow moved towards the monster whom was busy going after probably the fiftieth victim that appeared on its list, a slight pain appearing out. With everything going down in a bit of slow motion, the light died and moving around at a lightning speed with the shadow was the equally safe ones that leveled down. No one was able to see him or her, the shadow nor the newly proclaimed 'savior' that was in the making, putting the Hero of Time down in shame in speed. It was a good thing to watch as they thing protruded against each other, the vision coming clear of the new one when he slowed down to reveal itself as just enough speed for Link. There was no doubt about the yellow locks that shown through, the beautifully white uniform and bloodstained tear at center.  
  
"Shiek!" Link squealed out in a savior of hope, his dulled senses were back and he saw as the golden-haired man was moving quickly against the monster. It was at such a speed that Link hadn't been able to see before the time of training, a power that Shiek had just acquired, or just decided to use in such a case. He could barely follow them, but knew which one was the boy, since the blonde was now acquitted with the rest of him, giving itself off in a dead get-away.  
  
"Shiek? Oh, Goddess it is Shiek!" Navi burst out into a stream of giggles, holding onto the boy and pulling him down into an affectionate hug, on that showed the real care in her embrace. It was accepted by the young boy, the two of them watching the fight as each strike and blow was repelled in a way that made it seem the monster and their master were equal. It couldn't be, since this was not Ganondorf (or was it, surely Ganon could not move this possible) a gulp of fright was balling in her throat, making it hard to swallow.  
  
The two of them were going at each other like the wild bores that they were each going faster and faster in a manner that really didn't seem possible. Link and his partner had broken laws of Physics, but this was even farther a law that had never been made, it broken by the two contestants that moved at lightning speed. It was so scary how they moved, the battle was at a level that the citizens whom were looking through closed curtains saw that the young boy was watching the air battle each other. Each blow was used with the fists of the trainer and even the claws (or hands) of the contender, not sure which would be which, since the appearance was not available. Now the quicker and quicker it got, there was a long grunt and then the slosh of blood at the side, one of them falling and the shadow pressing in speed.  
  
Incredible, I never imagined that Shiek could generate so much power! Navi's thoughts barreled out as similar ones were perused in the mind of Link, they were just amazed at how fast they could move, and it was weird how much was met. There was no denying that the better of the Hero of Time were these two, wondering if the King of Evil was indeed torturing people, and after killing all the citizens had it out for him. Sighing with the relief, the grip on the shield was held forward, there was no way they would be caught off-guard if something happened to Shiek.  
  
It would have been over, the man whom was working with Ganondorf had to be stopped by one of the generals, whom he had to kill before a report was given. The new general who was only awakened on all Hallows Eve had discovered something about him that could threaten his spot, so Shiek challenged. Mostly, the man was going through his down and killing stuff, so the so-called power of Shadow was not going to be mastered by this lowly spirit. How sad that it had to be, when the master of Shadow was the boy called Shiek, there was no stealth in the way this newbie moved, he be just faster. Already, the speed had caused a few scrapes and scars, but the final one that ceased the pie was striking him down in the chest, screwing up everything. Then there was a shadow infront of him, one that was smaller than he, a clink of metal was raised up and the screaming of the shadow rising.  
  
A stupid move, they both knew it, but at the same time whenever their master was struck down, the act of protecting him had never appeared in their mind until now. Even though Navi was about to shout something at the kid, he was already in the air, the defender held and so the fairy charged after him. With a giant leap forward, as the spirit was coming to strike the young man that was down, he appeared infront of the man and held the shield out taking a mighty cry of power. He hoped that summoned up the courage and created it into some sort of barrier, because when he did yell, there was an illuminating of the shield. They never saw that, but felt the vibrations as the power was getting closer, gripping the metal handles and yelling out louder than ever.  
  
Will it hold? All I need it to hold is for a few seconds, so that he can recuperate and get back! He knew that the shadow beast could not of been beaten by him, and if Shiek was incapacitated, he would pick him off and then go back at him. That's why it was editable to preserve the boy and he just did that, the Triforce on the symbol of the shield was flowing brighter and brighter, still no notice.  
  
I know it's important, so there is only one thing I can do, to help! Nodding, she felt that Link's life force was pushed into the shield so she began to add some of her own, not enough to kill them, just some. It made the shield even more powerful, and now the two of them saw that and a smirk was upon each of their lips when the shadow intercepted with them and pushed even further ahead.  
  
The focus of the attack was immense and he would probably feel the after affects for quite a few days, but he didn't mind and neither did anyone else. Feeling the power from Navi was all that he needed and when the spirit connected into the shield, normally breaking a regular shield, their powers were pushed forward. Since this shield had never been bought, who was not to say that originally spiritual powers inhabited it, since it was found in the tomb of the dead. The life of theirs was drained into there and yanked it even more forward, showing off that they didn't care who was there, no one would mess with their master. Indeed, their was surprise when the powers were held together and the once-powerful spirit was knocked aside, away from them and in confusion.  
  
A few more attempts were made to get at them from different angles; the spirit was very pissed and struck with all his power, not even putting a dent. Chuckles were heard from under the shield, obviously the boy and his fairie, the one whom he had been told to watch out for and sure enough, he'd fallen for it. There was no denying that he'd be punished for his aftermath, but taking the head of the top general was something he had to do, reporting whenever the head was gone so having no punishment. There was nothing to do but lose more powerful and soon the man would be awake and even more powerful, retreat was the only answer for it. Mm, that was when it disappeared through the air and zipped silently back where it came from, the house of the dead and above there it slipped into the temple.  
  
--------------------  
  
"What in the world was that? I don't understand what's going on, Shiek! I mean, that thing was not normal, I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in my entire life, and why was it attacking them?" Link screamed out, the village abandoned inside of its home except that of Navi and Shiek, a few minutes had passed since the thing disappeared. Actually half an hour had gone by and he was leaned against a wall, looking as the boy had finally awoken from the unconscious that had taken over after the spirit left.  
  
A cough was given, then a little hack and the man had to lie down, and the pain in his chest was boiling over a lot more than it had been before he passed out. The sickness, or whatever the hell of it, was intense and there he felt just like a child again, except he was being attended to a boy who was weaker and slower than him, it was a bit pitiful. Not that he was in any condition to complain, he may have felt helpless, but he wasn't stupid and was not going to do something to end his life here. There was no toxin in his space, he had met the spirit, but still speaking was going to be hard if he was standing up, or sitting, so lying was the only explanation. Besides, he couldn't stand if he wanted too, there was not enough willpower in him to attempt that without maybe crushing a lung or two.  
  
"He can't speak yet, Link, let's give him a few minutes." Link wasn't mad or anything, his curiosity would just have to wait until their master was healed from his sickness, otherwise they'd get no answer. Nodding, she crossed her arms across her chest and fluttered over towards Link's shoulder, not really offering any medicine for the man. He couldn't because there was none, spirits never attacked people like this, and probably the most affective medicines wouldn't work because something like this never happened.  
  
"Thank you, Navi, but I can speak, I just can't sit up, I'll have to get you to use the medallion in a few minutes." A smile protruded his lips and when he saw that they didn't know, he knew in his mind that he should have been there and let them listen better at the medallion explanations. "I saw you put out the water, so obviously you know the elemental properties, but the Water Temple's jewel does more than just cast water. It can heal people, not if they are on their dying bed, but for me, a stupid fool, then it could restore me back to normal, the bad side is that you two can't be healed by it."  
  
Chuckling a little, he reached out his hand and took a hold of Link's, then cupping through his side pack and somehow knowing where the medallions were located. Pulling out the one that the hero received from Ruto, he placed it down into the hero's hands and began to hum a beautiful tune and speak softly. A warm light appeared around him as he placed the hero's hand on his own chest and then the words in the Shiekiah language disappeared as he moaned in the satisfaction of the wounds. Indeed, they were disappearing and even the cut on his chest was leaving, the torn skin just showed a small scar of his that rang off in the true matter. At long last, the thing was done and retrieved down inside his bag, looking at the way the two gaped, he sitting up with laughter inside of his body.  
  
"As I can see, the two of you are very dumbfounded, but let me explain it to you two. The very essence of water is to heal and protect people. As you may or may not have noticed when you were controlling the huge water- ball, you could of refracted it into a giant shield and deflected any attacks. Strange, isn't it?" Smiling for the two of them, his arms crossed over his chest as he stood all the way up, moving over to the wall where Link was leant and put his own back there. Not even looking at the two of them, he expected a few questions, that was inevitable when you had just done the impossible with the power of a little jewel.  
  
To the surprise of Shiek, there were no questions, and even after a five- minute past, the two of them were just looking onward with their eyes glazed. Growling somewhat, he expected to be like the teacher now and when he realized there was none, he knew in his heart that the maturity was higher than when he was to met the boy in battle. He knew this because soon his body transformed in the position, just looking at them with his own eyes sort of in that position, wondering about their thoughts. It was untrue that he could read into their thoughts, weaklings were a natural part, but these two were nothing like that, so he never even attempted it. Before he could speak out and ask them why in the hell they were so quiet, the questions did come, but they were not about his recent healing.  
  
"Shiek, what was that?" He still hadn't answered it, so of course the Hero of Time was going to peer at the question once more, and he always would until it answered. Well, the question was more of who that was instead of what, since they knew what in the hell was after them, it was a spirit of the underworld.  
  
"Yea, Shiek. I was wondering the same thing, it certainly wasn't something of this world." Well, it was of this world, just in the part below, instead of the ground above, that was for certain--maybe a race of fighters that hunted down spirits. To believe that was a little farfetched, but what the hell when the world you lived in had to be one of the most genuine ones that existed.  
  
"I knew you two were going to post that at me, it was only a matter of time." Nodding his head back and forth, he disappeared for a few seconds and when he reappeared there was a lonely treeing about three feet away, they following as he appeared on the branch. "Okay, listen up. The monster that I fought was a General of Ganondorf; his name is Bongo Bongo. Now don't laugh at the name, Link, you saw with your own eyes what he's capable of. That beast is the shadow that dwells inside of the Shadow Temple, the one you must face."  
  
"Face! Shiek, we couldn't even see that guy's movements, and we have no time for training!" Navi retaliated; she could see the movements, just not as well as to block them with her own fists, sure that the kid could do the same. Glancing over in his viewpoint, she saw that he was nodding his head, the lack of courage was shown because of what had happened to the one more powerful than him.  
  
"Yes, face. I know there is no more time for training, you don't even require any to defeat that monster. He is empowered because of tonight, it is All Hallows Eve, but you won't face him tonight. I do want you to venture into the temple whenever I take my leave. I am telling you by the time you get to him that his power will have shrunk from leaving the temple- -and believe me, he won't be coming out tonight anyway, the sun is down. Whenever the clock strolls at two o'clock is when the powers are all over, you probably won't even be halfway through the temple then."  
  
"But what if he deliberately searches us out?" Link whispered in a hushed voice, some of the townspeople were coming out, most cleaning up the bodies, but you could never be too careful. When you had a bunch of horror- stricken people out of their homes, one might turn a little loony and hear this weird conversation, thinking you were what caused the massacre. That was something that he didn't want to deal with, so those lips were hushed very quietly and speaking just enough for the Shiekah's elven ears to pick it up.  
  
"He won't." Shiek clearly stated, crossing his arms around his chest with a look that just proved he knew, not that he was going to tell you about how the information was cleared. His own voice was in a whisper too, but since reclining in a tree, there was no worry of them spotting him, from there it probably looked like Link was speaking to a tree.  
  
"Tell us how, Shiek." The fairy of the Hero of Time spat out in a hushed tone like the both of them, wanting to know desperately how this boy found out his facts. Obviously, the two trusted him, but not enough to reveal such things that could endanger their lives if it was spotted out by the King of Evil. Maybe they did trust him, maybe they didn't, it was not a matter of trust, what was at hand was that the two of them were in danger and he seemed to be the only valuable person to help, all the others wanting a savior.  
  
"I just know. Deal with it." The way his tone trembled out made the two of them glance at each other in suspicion of the situation, nod and then clear the way for him. There was no denying anger was dwelt down inside of the man, and when people pissed it off, there was no holding it back, but this wasn't all the time. Usually he was a great guy, for he was handsome, beautiful, strong, a great personality, and could score any woman he wanted, the problem was that he never felt like it. His attitude on life was poor, his self-depression was always hidden, his tone and way of life usually in a monotonic point of view, leaving everything else back. Now as he looked at the two, some of the bits of madness had been swell out, his eyes adjusting a little and shaking his head in apology. "I'm sorry, Link, but I can't tell you, I just need you two to trust me on this. I am one-hundred percent certain the Shadow boss won't attack you."  
  
"Okay, okay. Fine, we both trust you, don't we Nav'?" He had felt the anger, but pushed it back and glanced over at his fairie, she nodding a bit and letting him look back towards the young boy. Their Link just watched with a peculiar sense of being he speaking out next for it seemed that the ninja would not utter a word. "Well, I want to know how the two of us are going to get there, the song sent us to the back of the Kakariko Village, it'll do it again as well."  
  
"No, no, that was only a moment where the temple was not opened. The place just opened a few minutes ago--you see the last temple is the only one left, and if I gave you the song then it would only send you to the town nearest it, or whatever civilization it was built by. In that case, it'll be the Gerudo so you would transport down into the Valley. But now that the temple is open, I suspect that the song will transport you into the center of the Graveyard, at the very back where the entrance to the place is open." Nodding, his tone had calmed down, that was good for it usually meant he was about to leave the place, all the excitement of the situation was disappearing.  
  
"Oh, so the last temple is with the Gerudo, it's a bit unusual, but there don't seem to be other places left." Navi jotted out, her arms uncrossing from her chest and fluttering around the boy's shoulder until she found her spot and rested down on top of it, staring forward. When she was down there for the count, she saw that the man was rising up, slowly as he usually do and would soon slip off the branch and probably disappear in the middle of the air. Either in the air, on the way downs, or flip around a few times and perform some death-defying stunt where the appearance was more vital than actually doing it. That's what you got when you were around the Great Shiek, he always left you at a cliffhanger and usually the outcome was not the best in the world. There was a bit of humor in her face while she noticed the long silences, there was nothing worse that she hated than going on with that.  
  
It was true that every spot in Hyrule was occupied by some sort of place, a temple, dungeon, and sometimes it even stored two of three. If you counted the jewels he acquired as a kid and this one in Kakariko, every place was full of a temple and a dungeon to explore, in some form of a matter. She thought that the place with the Gerudo was probably the same way, there was no denying that the similarities in the places were unlike any other. Only one other place was exempted from the cause, that was the farm of Lon Lon Ranch, they're existing not even a place where monsters roamed. That was, of course, because the place had probably been moved there recently when he was a kid, and besides Ingo being the only youma ever slain there, the place had settled in and was never there for the ancients.  
  
"Hero, I have some other news, that maybe a little unsettling, for the man has attacked before this, that's why I was aware he was coming a second time. But before I could even reach here, you're former master, Impa, has been seen going into the temple." He hushed a little on that, his arms crossing around his chest and a sigh filtering through his body, this was troubling news for him as well as them.  
  
"Impa! She's in there!" Link gasped out in a furious voice, his anger rising a bit more than he wished for, but this was a matter of his master being hurt!  
  
"She's in there?" Navi just whispered out, the tears forming in her eyes when she felt the destruction that was commented on the land, never wanting the same results again.  
  
"Yes, she is, but she is quite capable of handling herself, now Hero, I want you to go as soon as you can." Nodding, the man was readying himself to leave, you could tell by the way that his gesture went that the time to disappear was almost at hand.  
  
"Of course, I'll go as soon as I am ready." The fairie nodded that she would do the same, and the two of them prepared for the man to leave, seeing it as no big deal, as the other times had been. Leaving was just Shiek's style, a way of life for him and whenever he did that; there was no other way to describe how he felt.  
  
"I have to be going, Hero of Time and partner. I expect the two of you to do well so I can show you a few more techniques and teach you one of the very last songs that will help you defeat Ganondorf." Sliding down from the branch, he hit the ground with a thump and gave one quick look around, noticing what everyone had been doing for the last twenty minutes they had been speaking. It was amazing it went on that long and with no appearance all the townspeople had taken the liberty to clean up the blood, take the bodies off to the graveyard (most of them probably still there) while the rest just went back to sleep, the barn could wait.  
  
"See ya!" The two of them yelled in unison, Link pulling the ocarina from his pouch and posing it up to his lips, like he was going to twirl a goodnight tune for the man. Of course he knew better, only a smile grazing his lips and unseen through that mask, sometimes wanting to rip it off and show off those pearly whites, though he knew better. There was nothing weak about it, he just knew in his heart to be alone was the best way in the world.  
  
Shiek waved a gloved hand and stepped back a few feet, not feeling like a great entrance of battle, so his hand did not appear on the smoke bombs. They were a mark of an illusion and right now he didn't feel the least bit like that, plus they were a limited factor in this day and age, buying a handful usually cost a bundle. His wages around the hands of Ganon were great, but had been lowering for the past few months, he thinking it may have been a sign that he was about to be dropped off, dropped never meaning fired. Having been manufactured mostly around the time of the Shinobi, even ten years ago there was a man whom he had bought them from, not remembering how it went. The guy had either dropped dead, been killed by the vile men of today, or was simply in hiding for fear that Ganondorf may decide to hunt the small amount of Shiekah like he done so the Hylians.  
  
Who could blame him if he wanted to hunt down one of the strongest races in all of Hyrule, probably that of the Gerudos favoring in the odds, Hylians were the easiest? Shiek's opinion had always been that the only reason they were still around was the Shiekah, the beautiful ones that didn't even need weapons, only using them to protect their masters. It was stupid how they had fallen under the spell, but there was nothing you could do when the past was unchanged, Link had no the powers to rip more than seven years in the past, that was enough, yet not enough to heal the wounds. There was a vast difference between them all, the possibilities of the Hylians ever beating someone was impossible, they only more powerful than a Hyrulian (that couldn't even hear the Goddesses.) Weak and protruded, the other races had weak qualities, but only the Hylians had invented the need of swords since the arts of Magic and fighting had not appealed to them--a few Hylians making the cut.  
  
Not that any of the others weren't weak, the Gerudos were a sword- type race that had adjusted to martial arts and even some magic, though their expectancy of it was weaker than the Hylians. Zoras may have been strong swimmers, but if put near the heat then their skin would be reduced to ashes, like a vampire in the sun. Even the strong Gorons had a weakness, the opposite of the Zora's, the water was so strong on their skin that they always sunk to the bottom whenever trying to get in, drowning. Every race had a weakness, the Kokiiri too small and even one of the most superior had a soft spot, more or less, one that made the people of today criticize the ninja-based race. It was that their hearts too big and the level of compassion extended more than usual, the only reason they ever put their lives on the line to save such a weak race as Hylians.  
  
Thoughts of that were pushed away, he not even thinking about the Hero of Time and deciding to use a bomb, it made him feel better to imitate his ancestors. Even the ancient clothing was a way of that, hands wrapping around one of the bombs, as he knew in his heart it always made him feel good to get this out. Slamming the thing directly infront of him, the smoke poured out and there he stared for a few seconds, looking through it and seeing that the boy could see through it, smiling at him. Shiek just slumped his shoulders a little, almost forgetting about the bomb, and seeing it was drying out and fast, about thirty seconds later and only maybe ten to spare. Leaping up into the vast spoke that had arisen, his body blurred into the smoke and in a flash he was gone just as the smoke leaned off into the skies.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Well he's gone." She trailed off in a little sad tone, she had almost wished that the man might accompany them, since he seemed to be better at shadows and stuff. It wasn't that he was dead or anything, she just believed that since the Shiekah people had designed this, that he might be interested in his heritage.  
  
"Yea, it is a shame, I sort of wanted a backup in here." He sulked a little bit, crossing his arms around his chest, looking around and seeing the ocarina was in his right hand, making sure that it wasn't lost. One thing that he hated was that it wasn't his own, the one he'd received from Saria couldn't withstand this sort of magical capabilities, and still loving that the same beautiful music reflected from its ends.  
  
"What? I'm not enough?" Giving off a little smile, she giggled when his hands came over her body and began to stroke in certain places that made her own self feel nice. A small little pleasurable moan spoke from her lips, feeling it and loving the feel that came out whenever it was done, being quite a rush for her.  
  
"Of course you are! Aw, I didn't mean to mistreat you, did I?" Smiling back, his own hands were now curled around her, taking the girl and sitting him upon his long cap so that she could be near. He always kept her near, incase the transportation left her behind, in which of that event, he'd have to make a long trip back to retrieve her, but of course he'd do it. There was no doubt of the things he'd do her for her, the smile would always remain when he came after her, the giggles coming from her as his fingers massaged her.  
  
"Nah, of course not. If you would, I'd have to punish you!" She let out a scream of giggles when his hands went upon her belly, stopping after a few minutes and just keeping their movements upon her stomach. Tracing back in forth in beautiful movements, there was no denying that she liked it, there was just too much ticklish movement to run hardly across the sensitive and pale flesh.  
  
"Oh, and how'd you do that?" He grinned towards her; his own cheeks taking on the fresh brim of crimson, knowing that this was definitely not the time, not that he caring. There was never enough time for them, he hated that, and so there was now the time to be made, the seconds flowed by in what seemed like none at all.  
  
"Hee, I don't know, but I think I'll give it a try." She spoke towards him with her own cheeks matching his own, there was no doubt that a veil wouldn't cover it, so she let it fly through. Besides, watching him blush was such a cute little enjoyment, she thought that if she could see through his eyes that he thought the exact same thing.  
  
"Well, why don't you try?" Knowing it was a bad idea; the ocarina tucked into his right hand was preparing on what to do the instinct of hero in him telling him to do this later. Actually, the hero in him was also saying to do it, these were the only rewards that he was ever given, why not indulge down into it?  
  
Fluttering at his lips, she saw that his hands was yanking at the ocarina, she actually thought that he was going to put it back at those little pink muscles. She hated that it happened like that, she was neglected so much sometimes that she didn't even want to give it a second thought, just let it rip through. Now as her own lips were getting tired of waiting, she watched the hands decide what to do, his own were wavering between moving it down or up in the direction that seemed to cause it all. Jealously flowed since the ocarina received a majority more of the kissing than she ever got, there was a kiss every now and then, the two of them were just too nervous. To her own surprise, there was a moment she had not expected, the flap shutting as the blue piece was tucked inside, eyes of his staring into hers.  
  
Yanked into a kiss, the lips of theirs were pushed together in a passion as he kissed the girl of seven inches the best that he could, she knowing the difficulty and accepting it. Of course there was going to be a difficult level, she didn't mind and just did the best that she could, using the pink muscle in her mouth to lick across those lips of his, the shivering taking off. There was no telling how long this would take, it might have to be cut off short, but the both of them were glad that it happened--longer than the pecks they received every night before bed. Of course they wanted to do more, the hormones were driving the two of them crazier than anyone could imagine, the typical teenagers. Now that they were satisfying their needs, there was no anger in of them, the happiness was pushing itself even further, the sweet kiss was a moment when the world didn't matter, and only they did.  
  
There was magic in there, the both of them knew it, and the typical phrase was when two people kissed and felt the fireworks, that love was evident. No fireworks were being fired, it felt like the Eye of Din had crash-landed on the two of them, with no pain, just the heat and pressure that was expected. Like a thousand stars had exploded in the world, the power was reigning down on the two of them, yet there was no physical harm, the passion was all that remained. Alas, all good things must come to an end, the duo knew it and pushed upon each other at the exact same time, breaking the saliva-wet kiss in the most beautiful of ways. A way where no one was hurt, the equal partnership just enough to make you nod with a smile, that the two of them really could read each others minds with love.  
  
"Ahem, do you think that we should get going?" Navi whispered out, feeling the affects of the two in love, there was no doubt denying that anymore, what was really weird had to be the way it came about. Mm, her own personal opinion was not to leave, give it a few hours, or even tomorrow morning, then there was time to take care of the place.  
  
Obviously, the psychic link between the two was acting up, because he crossed his hands across his chest and simply shook his head back and forth. There was no fun in going on, besides, they needed a little break within the time-traveling part, plus hadn't Shiek said that it was not coming back? "I don't think we need to go just yet."  
  
"Hm? What do you mean?" She sounded a little surprised, though inside of her own body there was a spirit jumping for joy and thanking the Lucky Stars that had shined upon them. Mostly, however, the thanks was for Link for outwitting and getting better at deceiving people, he probably never planned on going right now. "What should we do?"  
  
"Hee, I don't know, I just want to be with you!" Flushing around those tanned cheeks, he nodded a little bit and reached forward with desperate hands of his, grasping her with such a gentleness. Doing this, the young boy wrapped those teenage fingers around her and held her firmly in them, the beautiful way that he held her was awesome.  
  
There was alertness about disobeying her master in toll, but it wasn't like they would be punished with this, plus who could deny the love that was there. A certain rage of their hormones had stuffed the hole of where conscious thoughts were and just unplugged the one where you wanted to get wild and crazy. Mm, the way that she handled was nice, she didn't know what they were going to do until either the morning sun of Din rose, or something happened. That spirit from inside there could come back and take them or Shiek could simply rise up and try to warn them to hurry on, wherever the hell he was. Either way, she was contented with being with him, it was always what was in her dreams, just to be held by the strong, Hylian arms and love it.  
  
He felt a similar away about disobeying, but there was no harm in that, Shiek hadn't commanded them to go to the temple, which had never been his way from the beginning. Probably not even thinking of himself as much of a sensei, because whenever they tried to call him that during the training, he sort of frowned--not saying anything, but you could see it-- and nodded. Stating that he did not order people around, the way that he said that left to be that this was his own destiny, and he was adult enough to take the consequences of not complying. Now as they were doing the opposite of what he had set, of course there was a little bit of masquerading in there, though the clog had been set and once it was done, there was no reason. Only the girl of fairish descent was the most important to him, looking around for a place that maybe was fun, there seemed to not be a one about.  
  
"What do we even do for fun, Nav'?" Sure, it was a silly question, but the time the two had known each other--aside the week vacations between each mission--there had hardly been any rejuvenation time. A bit depressing, the plan for when this was all over was to take on the pleasure of lounging around and being lazy--a benefit he never got.  
  
"You're asking me? Before you, I was not really the center of attention, sweetheart." Cocking her head in an odd fashion, she saw that his face broke down and he nodded a little, those hands going a little faster around her small body. Those strokes were the nicest thing in the world--no he was the best one in the world--feeling that there was no one else who could of done this to her heart. Un-melting it and causing such a swirl of feelings to appear as butterflies in her gut, they were just readying to burst whenever she heard his name. Shivering into those palms of the teenager, there was nothing that she could say, anything else would ruin the moment, so her thoughts were dwelling off. A sad little smile pierced her lips, she thought she'd told him the story before, nevertheless, just thinking of it made her sniffle a somewhat.  
  
I remember it like it was yesterday, one of the saddest moments in my life. You don't know how happy you've made me, Hero of Time. She nodded in her own conscious, sometimes afraid that she was going to lose him, the reason for so much jealously, but now as time passed it was ceasing. Not that she still wasn't mad at him sometimes, it was just at it was a little better than it had ever been before, much of a nicer thought.  
  
The fairie was a girl, so she seemed a bit more informative and emotional than the male, though there was no one to ever throw her opinion at anyone else. Link had friends as a kid, well Saria and a few of the girls, the exact opposite was of the girl--she had no one at all to rely on for her problems. Of course, she wasn't teased--she was never even sought out, one of the lesser important fairies, and whenever her name was heard is when the scratching of their heads begun. For the most part, the girl was a lot older than Link and had dealt with this torture almost ten times as much as her, the pain had built up so far she never thought she'd be happy. Saria was to Navi a bit of a dream; there had never been a fairie, or a Kokiiri to lean on for the support you felt whenever you felt lonely.  
  
Loneliness was one of the worst things that could happen to a person, it was just the unbearable feeling that slit through you whenever there was nothing else. It was a hateful feeling, one that no one wanted to express, even rivaling for the worse of Death, because then you were always remembered. Memorials were what funerals were all about, otherwise there was nothing else to do, and her alone-nature had hardened her and made her worse. There was a certain flair about her, which always made the ones she was assigned to leave with harshness, until she met that legendary Hero who would make time. Only his cuteness and innocent nature was what cracked the shell of abruptness and left her a little better, though the loneliness would never go away. As you can see, the death of a person was expressed with the memorial and you always knew of the person, at least for a time being.  
  
Back then, she felt that if she dropped dead, it would even be a few weeks before the body was discovered down inside of whatever happened, probably suicide judging from back then. Possibly speaking, everyone would be confused at what happened when the girl slashed her wrists and remained dead upon the earth. There was no way to exactly know how long it would go on before an answer was found, she not even wanting to know, this was very common back then. Thinking about taking her own life was a normal occurrence for her, glad she never introduced the subject to the boy, it was probably because back then she saw something new in him. Suicide was never a really important thing in the forest, since everyone was happy and free, even the strays were happy, but that was because they were young.  
  
When that happened, they wouldn't be able to identify her, except for the Deku Tree, and that was because the stupid old tree had been on the rampage and knew everything. One of the reasons that he had known about the Boy- Without-A-Fairy, never really shown why the boy was never invited, that was always a secret! One thing or another, the man was not a good talker, she only called because of her personality of the strays, she was the oldest stray around and had the experience to guide people--or so he thought in his own little world. His mind was able to identify anything in the entire forest, that was because he was the God of the Forest, or a mini-God, something like that. The position of the rotting corpse was no longer a worry to her, his life was drained and whatever hell was out there was where he was, the way he acted she despised.  
  
Really, there was no reason for that disgust to appear in her mind, it just did because back then she held such a false sense of attitude for him. If she had known the one named Shiek's alignment with the King of Evil, then they could have shared a common bond, it wasn't that they sucked up, but the ceremonies were never attended with her. Every time a festival came up, she was always mad and moody around those days, taking out her anger on any creatures and fairies she could find, not able to fight back then. Possessing that sort of energy in the old days would have made the forest a virtual chaos, since she wasn't in love, then taking lives wasn't a problem for her. She never watched the boy back then, so there was no way to tell that he never went to the same ones, she had noticed him, though.  
  
Not obsessive or anything, it was just at times when she traveled through the Sacred Forest Meadow and saw the two of them--Saria and Link--playing and such. Her mind was always filled with the content of never ever joining in their childish games, hating them for having so much fun. In her own world, the jealously had swept up even more than usual and sometimes she even felt like dropping stuff on them, hating the duo because of how they felt. Such pain and hurt had been developed back then, and as she looked on it now, she wished she'd become a friend with Link back when he was six or seven, that way they'd be best friends. Of course she wished she could enter there, and as the boy had decided to walk forward for a new location, she knew in her mind that this wasn't the right time to think of it.  
  
"Are we friends?" She whispered from the tone, staring over at him with a look of dissatisfaction pasting over her face, they had been walking even since her thoughts prepped up. Nothing had been said, just the two of them walking around the town, now they were at one of the many corners, it so dark she couldn't recognize it.  
  
"Of course we, Navi, where did you get the idea that we weren't?" A smile glanced upon his lips, he hadn't been thinking of much while they were headed this way; mostly his thoughts were on the young girl here. Not one of being a fairie, his thoughts had been on her for a while, but now he was just staring down at the tomb of the Hylian girl whom had died. Unknown to the young fairie as where they were, he knew because even in the dark he could tell and hated the place, the love for it moving at the same time. One of the last nights they had stayed here, he had undone the place, raveling a large stone over the hole so that no one else could ever go inside and see the past. Now as he leaned against it, pushing his back against there, he leaned down and sighed deeply, waiting for her to speak back.  
  
"I know we are friends, but are we the best of friends?" She muttered softly, her eyes were used to the light, but still all she could see was a place of where a wall was, his face looked a little different. This was one of the only times when he held his feelings in, it was hard for him and so he was very bad at doing that--and lying, of course.  
  
"Yes, Navi. You are my best friend in the entire world." Smiling, the thoughts of the dead girl were beginning to fade away, though that didn't mean he was going to push out of here as of yet. Not at all, he had planned on coming here for the time being and maybe searching for a few hidden things, now that they were here, he had no intention of leaving. With a small grunt out, he pushed upon himself and let the rock slide out with such ease, remembering when it put it on how much his muscles ached-- he really did grow stronger.  
  
"More than Saria?" She knew she hit a soft spot, but what the hell, she was in the mood for a little excitement and since the two of them weren't doing anything, why not address it to the full potential. As if it hadn't ever been discussed, every time this happened, she either choked up, he did the same thing, or they just switched to another one. Sick of that, there was nothing more she wanted too do but discuss the problems they were having, the dealt of their relationship and all of those things, her eyes watching his actions.  
  
"Saria? What are you getting at?" His eyes did flame over a little in embarrassment, so that's what this was about, the sudden reign of questions and then the little way she was acting. Of course, he was so dense in the matters of love sometimes that he never even realized it, of course he hadn't much experience in the field, which was a good thing. Only two girls in his life had he ever been in love with, one as a sage and the other positioned as his partner, each of them high inside of his mind. There was no way that he could choose just one, if he could, it would be an easy thing, but now that one was taken away from him, the selections were easier. Nodding a bit, he sat down on the rotten entrance (that had looked beautiful the first time they laid eyes on it) trying to deal what she was getting at. Of course she wanted to know that if Saria was to ever come back from her sagely duties, would he fall back in love with the girl.  
  
While the lid of another girl's home he was sitting on, the pondering was going on that if and when he traveled to the past, would something happen between them? Obviously he was not a Kokiiri, so when he grew to the size of a full adult that she would look just like a child to him, well more of a teenager. Now that didn't matter to Navi, since she would still be longer than the girl, and looked more like the race that she was--a fairie, and it did really suck. Not that he didn't love her race, it was just hard dealing with the size, not that he didn't hate her, he had fallen in love with her form and if it ever changed, then he wouldn't know what to do. At his form of now, there were some parts of his body that were longer than her, other parts that measured just in size, and even a specific part she could climb onto.  
  
Now there was the Hylian girl that he could fall in love with, but she was a little girl with seven years put on him, plus the fact that she was dead as of now. So there was no possibility in there, it was just the fact remained about his nervousness of love and how two girls had popped into the picture so suddenly. Saria started returning his feelings and even as an adult she wanted to return them to an even more powerful extent, plus there was Navi. Not that he didn't love the two of them, they just appeared at the same time, so choosing was one of the most difficult things he would ever do in his little life. At some points in time, he wished he wasn't a hero, maybe that's what attracted them, but with these two it was different--they knew his faults and still cared for him.  
  
The one part of me is just the same size. His cheeks reddened a bit and he looked over at her, she noticing the way he was sitting, it was a funny way, as if he had thought of something very bad. Giggling, his hands were placed down into his lap, staring up towards her and feeling her flutter right infront of him, sitting her behind on his nose.  
  
"Well? What's so funny?" A good five minutes had passed since she posted the question and there was a reasonable amount of time for the question, the farther it went, the more nervous she was. So scared that he would say that he liked the Princess of the Forest better than her, and why wouldn't he, she was obviously better. This form was on she sometimes wanted to throw away--sure she had gotten bigger, but the appearance she wanted was one the size of a Great Fairie, not seven inches. With the bigger appearance, better looking in most departments and a wise, little girl frame to boot, there was no wonder that she was even still around. With a small sulk through her appearance, she felt a hand stroke her cheek and then stared up to see the bare (gloves taken off) fingers of Link.  
  
"Hey, there's no reason to fret--I don't think I will ever see Saria again in my life." He didn't want to lie to her, that was for sure, lying was the worst possibly scenario when you were trying to be nice to you're love. So there was the delusional fix that he was going for, that way he could move within his own barriers without hurting her feelings or lying.  
  
"But do you love me?" The words whispered out in a tone that felt dead and at the same time alive, there was a bit of jealously ringing about her, the old sparks from before. Since the defeat of Onii's pet, the voice had been gone, she realizing that must have been her, so nothing was against her in this little argument.  
  
"I do love you, Navi, I always will." There was pure truth in that comment, his love for her was eternal, and there was nothing that could break the little cycle of that, for she was his stronghold. A pressure that kept him alive and he knew without her there was no way that he was going to live, there was not a way to go on without her. His life without her would be a dead and delirious zone, just like if Onii had survived how he would of felt, and what his little fairie did before the end had happened. The suicide was a trip for them, not a usual one, but more of a self-sacrifice than anything, and now as he thought of that, he knew the two of them would of done the same thing in the similar situation. Pulling the pipe down, feeling the sick feeling of the situation, his hands slid down the ladder with her on his shoulder and began to descend down into the ugliness.  
  
He felt a small pressure near his chest and stared down there to see that she had her face buried right in his breast, the tears dripping down, as he climb. There was no way that he could reach down and grab her without halting his way and risking falling down, or doing the opposite and slipping down. Although he wanted too, the slip was too great and she just curled in his chest, tears running and keeping her face pressed down there for comfort. Even the part of his heart was hurting to go ahead and risk it, he biting his lip and screwing the fact that the tumble down was another fifty feet and doing it. Climbing at such an incredible rate, a hand went down and pulled her up, halting a bit and pushing his lips against hers, continuing to descend.  
  
Now as he slid down most of the way, hands pushing against her back for the kiss, he felt the sparkles sprinkle all over him, knowing in time it would fade. There was where the kiss went on, no passion was in it, and just the staining of her tears against his cheeks, soon it catching on and he joining in on the act. It was beautiful and act caught on as the tears from him began to sprinkle down, he crying along with her and feeling the things smash together in the passion that had caught on. Even though he felt so bad, the passion had increased because all of those emotions were swirling even farther and farther forward. After a little while, the two of them quieted down and just the kiss kept on upon the two of them, the end of the ladder finally in view.  
  
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"So, where are we?" About twenty minutes had passed since they had come in, they had kissed up until five minutes ago, where the boy was quiet and she wondered around. Something about this place was so familiar, but she just couldn't put the tip of her tongue on it, there was a very vagueness about here.  
  
"You don't remember? Dear Farore, Navi, are you losing you're memory? It was only a little over a month before the last time we came here." He slapped his forehead a little, but could imagine why she didn't remember; the girl had been about half asleep the last time that they ventured here. Well, they had been here fully awake when it was at another level, but when the mass you see before you was around, they'd both been a little out of it.  
  
"I think I remember, but just not well enough to know the name." She whimpered a little at the comment, getting her hair stroked a little that meaning the boy was just teasing and she giggled a little bit now. There her mind began to form around and in a flash, he walking off towards the slim room that stood off to the corner, she shouted out in a stroke of genius, like all great inventors. "Kaci's place!"  
  
Indeed, this was the same place that they had visited more than a month and almost a week ago, or so she remembered from the night. Not as beautiful as before, it was streaming full of passion and as they looked onward with a place from above that seemed to shine out. All ruined and barren, it was a veritable nightmare to behold, they knowing in their mind that this was not going to be a very pretty sight to behold. There was only the problem of why in the world they were there; it wasn't Navi's thinking it was the boy who held destiny in his hands. The only point was why he was here and she floated over at his side as he went towards the hidden room, a foot kicking the door down and leading inside.  
  
"So, what are you looking for?" She whispered as she floated over his shoulder, he didn't seem to be looking for anything, since this wasn't even the room they had resided in. Basically, there was a way to look around, he was trying to find it within the allotted amount of time before everything crashed in.  
  
"I am just killing time, as you can see I am not even in Kaci's room." He smiled a little towards her and then went searching through the entire room, pushing it aside and leaving out of there in a little under five minutes. As that was done and a few more rooms over, he stopped at the place where the deceased girl had resided for the time they stayed in the place, maybe her real room.  
  
There was the room he had wanted, while the others just for fun or to allure her that he was not even looking for anything, in his reality it was. Yes, indeed that was how he felt while those hands just boiled through the drawers, finding nothing and with a growl there was when he went to work. At first those were those small mounts like searching for a hidden wall or something, that was when the fury started, when his search was clean. Turning those mattresses upside down, digging through cabinets and stuff like that, there was still not anything and his madness boiled. There was nothing even angrier than that so the madness went onward for more and more fury; his searching was frantically looking onward. When, at last, he was sure that there was something coming in his way was behind an old desk and even compiled into a small doll.  
  
"What're you doing, Linky?" Her voice rung out, seeing the scene as very strange as he moved around like an addicted madman whom had found his favorite drug. In a bad way, she was scared for a few minutes, until he spun around and had that beautiful smile plastered on those pink lips, the ones he trusted.  
  
"I am fine, love, its just I sense there is something that we can use--or something like that--I don't know." He flushed a little bit and went back to going forward through the pillows and other stuff like that, he had the doll in his hands now. Looking for a small way to open it up, he was a bit baffled by it, but what the hell when you were like that, there was no way to stop the way he felt.  
  
Cleaning out for his dagger and taking a small little dagger, he ripped the inside of it open with small dagger held forward and seeing the shine of it. The cotton ripped while he tore across it, feeling that it was going to be an ever better experience to take care of it and get back here. He hated doing this, feeling this, but maybe if there was an afterlife, then she was calling him from there and telling him to get these. She wanted him to have these, so he was more interested in helping with the cause, for he felt that he'd need it when the time came. That was the Kokiirish blade he was holding and that was when it opened up, his eyes glancing forward and seeing that beautiful pair of glasses rested there.  
  
"It's pretty." Navi whispered out, fluttering above his head and admiring them.  
  
They were the most beautiful he had seen, resembling goggles more than anything, and measuring back into the glasses than anything he'd ever seen. Glasses was an understatement of the pair, he felt for sure that they were goggles, the white specks came out and could be held very surely. Upon them was a small strap that you could use to put around you're neck when the time came to put them on, resembling goggles more often than another. Taking this and putting them upon his neck, not used for now, he had reassurance that when the time came to travel in the desert that he'd take it with full arms. Sand was liable to sprinkle through his eyes when traveling, but that didn't matter, another sense was saying that he would really need it as of now. How come? Well, that was the question and there didn't seem to be an answer, maybe easier to handle a ghost in the newly acquired temple he was heading too.  
  
"How did you know those were there?" She muttered out, it was true that the specs were quite spectacular, one of the nicest pairs she had ever seen, but the question was if Kaci had told him?  
  
"I really don't know, but somehow it was like they were calling me. I know how crazy that sounds, but what the hell, I felt her inside of me searching me out." His shrugged a little shoulder, it did seem stupid and idiotic-- not to mention the rising of an upcoming loon, but Link knew that in his mind it was true. Hands scratched down for the back, unsnapped a little bit of the side pack and slid out of there a light blue machine that produced music.  
  
Navi didn't really know what to believe, she didn't doubt her boy, and it was just the possibility of him sensing something did seem a little on the crazy sight. More of what a person whom he had just met would just bust out laughing and call him an idiot for even thinking such crazy thoughts. Not that her doubt was lost, she knew that a certain part of his mind had summoned up the goggles, because the two of them never even asked about it, the entire time they were there, they stayed together. Nodding her head back and forth, she floated upon his shoulder and watched his movements, the taking out of the ocarina, signaling that the trip was over. What she guessed was that the reason he hadn't wanted to leave was to collect these glasses, they were going to be useful in the future.  
  
I know that I'm right, I don't care if anyone else thinks it, I'm sure she believes me, but I know that Kaci communicated with me. A nod was given over towards him, knowing that it was going to happen, those fingers tracing along with the magical machine that would help.  
  
No time was wasted on the effects of that, Link quickly transported the ocarina over to his lips, taking a quick look into his mind and feeling the ones he'd memorized. Well, he still remembered them from before, it had not been all that long ago, so that was easy to master in just a few and simple steps of the matter. It was easy to remember stuff from the recent past, because it had happened so short a while ago--even though it was three hours or so--his brain automatically clicking into it. Blowing upon the music as the notes floated out, the sadness was returning, and his eyes almost water a little, but they didn't and soon he felt the eternal light from before. Returning the magical instrument back into its case, he felt releases begin to swell over his body, the bright light was getting hotter and hotter, soon his own self-disappearance from this place in time.  
  
A quick movement was wrapped around his body and soon there was that familiar light-headed feeling when you were transported from one area to the next. The fast-paced part was what he wanted, and got just that while the purple light surrounded his entire body, filling him up in a way that most couldn't. Eyes were not opened during the transfer, because there was a bad thing about keeping those eyes fluttered open, maybe shown as an omen for those he did it. Just like when ripping the time barrier, ones who seemed unconscious had a better chance than one did whose mind was completely open, not even wanting to know what happened. Blanking the thoughts from his mind, the transport was different, he felt as if he was not going back, but in a forward motion at the north.  
  
There was a bit of difference as one would hope to find, because the fear of hers was that the boy would transport them backward for the entrance. Her mind was a little blank not to face that evil again, she was just ready for them to go towards the temple and stop fooling around here. It was fun to hang out, but the best times were when the two of them were together and nothing else mattered, right now there was the bitterness stacked in there. She wasn't really mad at him, just that the song might accidentally bring them away from the Spirits of the Dead at the front gate once more. Shiek had mentioned that the temple wasn't 'awakened', which gave the indication for another reason that they had been awoken up seven years.  
  
Besides his physical strength that had grown, there were other attributes, which said he could have been awoken when he was sixteen instead of seventeen. His natural body would of stopped growing at about sixteen or seventeen, waiting a few months after his birthday of seventeen just to put him awake. Maybe the sages guessed and hinted at when the temples would come out of their rest period, and when that happened was the day he was knocked from his slumber. That was another fact to indicate, that the lots of those bastards were waiting for the temples to awaken, since his body had already happened itself to normal size. Question that remained had to be how in the world one of these nightmarish places opened up, like was it shut up before the process?  
  
Maybe before everything was not awoken, then the gates were shut themselves off, monsters weren't even around, and the general had taken its place? Another factor was that since the temples came about in a different order, which the Forest Temple was the last one that came about for them, the others more around. From the look of things, the Water could of opened first, followed by any of the other numbers, maybe the last one had been that stupid Spirit--they just awakening him since it would be months before he got there. How funny it would have been if he got there a few months earlier and had to wait for the bastard to get this place open--whomever was in charge of this kind of stuff. Opening up could also of meant that the general took its place in there, not that the thing was shut off, it was a very confusing amount of information flowing through the minds.  
  
Back to the more important matter at hand, those thoughts had been revealing through their mind as the space drifted onward, a bit longer than the usual ride was. Of course! It was always longer the first time you traveled through it, since you're body was not used to the velocity, for every song was at itself different. Each melody had been composed a different way, probably by other races, so the vastness of them being linked was quite impossibly in the minds of others. For some reason, he believed that the Goddesses had linked their minds together and arisen a powerful force that made the velocity of their minds bond together for that one moment. He already knew there were only about two songs left--Shiek had said so-- probably one for the Spirit Temple and another that could do something to Ganondorf.  
  
What sort of song would do this to the Great King of Evil? Well, you had to imagine it would be quite a one that he would learn, maybe the power of a song was going to soothe the savage beast, as it is sometimes said. How much of a sight that would have been to see the marvelous beast who had destroyed and raped the land of Hyrule subsuming down to a little song. That was where the level of insanity reached a new peak, the thought of that was a little hilarious in his mind that there could have been nothing worse than that. To believe such a tale would take one of the greatest minds in the world, such full of fiction that maybe an author or some sort of journalist would publish it, otherwise there was no way of that ever happening. The defiles of the land could not be taken down by a childish song, with just the music, there had to have been an every greater power that could loosen it down.  
  
Now a more intelligent thought was that the song had some sort of stronghold against Ganon, maybe a weakness that bound him down to the ground. Link had never heard of such a weakness to anything, especially the evil King, but there had to be some sort of power in the legends that stopped evil. Some sort of magical veil, a stone, or even an incantation like the ancient peoples had used to fend the bad spirits away, scrolls and things of that sort. It was horrible thing to think about, but if push- came-to-shove, he could always just send out a reign of fire to wreck havoc upon that old bastard. Evil was a bad thing, and every time someone would publish to do a certain will too it, that's when a barrier was made for that, never for the light side.  
  
The light side may have been one of the most controversial sides in the world of the land, but only because there remained three powers (Light, Dark, and neutral.) There was such an extent that a person aligned with the good could take, Link would be one of the ones to know, and his experience with it was the best ever. As much as he loved to help people, when there was no satisfaction in the victory, aside the love of his fairie- -some people didn't even have that--you tended to sicken of the experience and want to give it up all together. At least when you were on the side of evil, you were expected not to receive applause, this was the hero and there wasn't even a round of applause, at first it not bothering you, but the more and more you do it, the more clapping you want. Mind was rambling onward when the familiar tap of his boots claimed the air, he staring down and noticing his Kokiirish boots on the pedestal.  
  
A small streak of water appeared between his eyes and floating down upon his nose, dripping off whenever the violet light disappeared altogether. Touching down right infront of a massive tomb, those hands wrapped around his chest and stared at where he was, noticing the drops of rain that poured on his head. It was coming from everywhere, and at the same time, was not coming from anywhere, the metaphor was playing itself into the mind as a violinist plays his cat-gutted strings. Arms that had been crossed came out and there they lay at his sides, not minding the water from above, it was just that Naryu was rewarding him for arriving here. Mm, a thunderstorm that was not his own, it sort of somber with the mood, the fear that echoed while he stared down around his area.  
  
"I think we're here...the place that Shiek was talking about." His voice whispered out for the fairie to hear, while the place he was standing out was outside, ahead of him was not one of the best places in the world. The platform he sat on was the purple medallion he had seen inside of the Chamber of Sages all that long ago, this one now un-highlighted and just awaiting his powers.  
  
No way that they were inside of the place, because the two of them were being soaked and from the past experiences, all of the temples had been inside of somewhere. All around him was a flat little land with nothing in particular except the platform that he was standing on, the only other landmark had been mentioned. Yes, that was the gully that led down, obviously made of stone and in the direction that it slid down would be the beautiful temple that their imaginations held. Just keeping a wind of it, he noticed that on top of the stretch down (hidden in some rain and growing grass) was the symbol of the Shiekah, reassuring him that this was the place. He just had no idea where, so that was when he peered over the edge of the cliff that they were on top of, his eyes widening at Shiek's words.  
  
The Shiekah had said that the two of them would find the temple on top of the graveyard, or the house of the dead, he thought was his exact words. It was true that they were situated on a place that Link could of found if his little eyes had just wandered up there as a child, no way to get down, though. What he was staring at was none other than a cliff that was preparing off of the muddy slope, the place was sat right on the very top of there. Not even hard to catch, he wondered how it took seven years, and three medallions to glance up at the place he could have easily seen with or without the use of a map. It was a little dumb--his excuse for the last time was a death--those hands reaching up and tightening on the goggles, nodding a bit when he felt her near his side.  
  
"It's so beautiful." Her lips whispered out, not waiting for a reply, or she wasn't even thinking of, because the question was rhetorical, no one could deny the prettiness of the place. For a House of the Dead, there was a certain charm about this place that would reign in the hearts of someone for Goddess knew how long. It wasn't the smell, fortunately the rotten smell of the death souring over in the autumn rain was causing a bit of an uproar, but still gave confidence to hide it. A good thing, because the two of them would of felt like throwing up, especially after a few hours when the shallow graves would give through and the bodies rising above the water. A gruesome sight, it only happened when it really flooded, and from the look of things around here, that was going to happen in just a few hours, the rain looking permanent. Fortunately, there was no time for that to happen for the girl spun around from there, he turning the same way with the same words in his mind.  
  
"Mmhm, I am sorry to let this go, but we have to go." As much as it ached to turn away, they had done so and that was the first step to winning the war, letting go of the scenery and just dealing with it. Only the spirits here was what they were healing, the two of them aware that there were no races in real trouble--unless Bongo Bongo returned.  
  
"Hm, the Temple of Shadow, do you think you are ready for this, Linky?" Her voice chimed out in the little joke between them, the one that other people around were to hear it, then a bit of crazy looks would be exchanged between them. That was how it worked when you were with the boy you loved, there were moments where everyone else doesn't get a joke besides the duo.  
  
"Yes, I think I am. Are you?" His voice pondered out, those arms keeping from his chest and a hand slipping back, caressing the blade that had just been newly returned to his back. Knowing that when this was all over, he'd miss the little blade that had shared its fair amount of monster- -just pulling out and unsheathing the place in a quick little motion, keeping it and prepared in his right hand.  
  
"Mmhm." She just spoke out, fluttering above her and holding those hands forward, to shoot a Ki blast whenever someone was in the way of the two. Her arms were prepared infront of her like a warrior, she not wanting the boy to waste any hidden energy that may remain roughly inside of his body. That was not what she wanted, her plan was to keep him healthy because for the things that were in here--especially that black mass, they'd need all the strength that their teenage bodies could muster.  
  
"Let's be on our way, then." The words were simple and meaningless, yet they had the feel for a thousand years of time to be associated with them; the sentence was not an easy one to speak of. He was scared to death, he knew it, she knew it, but most of all, there were people counting on him and right now that wasn't even important.  
  
Before he actually let himself go and went out to rush into battle, he felt the dripping upon him and with a bit of frustration, pulled out the backpack from his bag. Taking it out and slipping a little into the grotto that laid before him, hands were kneading through there until a gasp of satisfaction came about him. There he let out a small little squeal and yanked out the cape that remained infront of him, the one that the girl in the very village's graveyard he was wandering through. The very same one that was a little messed up since the battle against Volvagia, he strapping the long cloak around his body, letting the black side down. Inside of it, crimson shown out from the material, he feeling the rain drip over a pulling the collar up, so that it acted like a hood, protecting him from the rain.  
  
There was one last glance that was protruded over for his fairie, one last look of determination, and then that was when it all boiled down too. Shuffling a bit, his eyes were glanced over towards the ground as the water began to beat harder and harder upon the edges of his cape that were used as a cap. There was a bit peaceful moment about this, his eyes glazing over in passion and a breathy sigh disappearing from those lips, admiring the entrance to the Spirit's end. Shuffling his feet a little bit, a nervous chuckle came out, the water-drenched Sword of Evil's bane was leaned on the ground, just looking forward. He was stalling, as he usually did, nothing that a hero did, this was not the way of a hero's acting, which was more leaning towards a coward.  
  
A small little grin had faltered his face and with a breath of fresh air whisking form his lips, the young boy nodded and walked forward a few steps. Those long little steps forward were the scariest he ever felt there was just a way about this that scared him, the faltering and features, not to mention the aura. Evil was protruding form there, in a form that he just wasn't ready for, there was no way that he could face this alone, no way at all. Halting right before the land met with the grotto, there was no way to describe how the frightened little boy met--he really felt ten years old now. His body didn't matter anymore; all that mattered was the form in his spirit--still not accustomed to the body--so of course it was still frightened. Of course, he would of remained that way until something disturbed him, it was the same thing that usually did it, the voice of his only love.  
  
"Link! Link! You need to calm down, Linky, I know its scary but we can get through it together, I am sure of it. I know the way you feel--my senses are better in this area and I can honestly say that so much evil has never protruded through one of these places. There are not just Ganon's minions here, I feel something else, something I can't quite explain." Her words halted as she floated over towards his face and pushed upon his cute little cheeks, leaning forward and kissing them softly with the pink lips of hers, then going up and pecking the lips before smiling.  
  
"Huh? How long have I been out?" He didn't even know if he was 'out', all he felt was that for the past few minutes or so that the quietness had been overwhelming him. It didn't usually do it more of the time, only when he was feeling a bit fast-paced than usual; a better determination was sprinkling out of him.  
  
"About fifteen minutes, you were just standing there with you're back to me, like you were about to go. Five minutes passed and I noticed you weren't moving, so I decided to check on you. It's been about ten minutes of shaking and yelling to get you awake." She flustered a bit as she spoke, probably from the screaming that was dead silent for him, such a pity since he loved to hear her voice.  
  
"Oh, I see. Well, I am ready now, I feel I can do it." The gleam in his little eye was the part that showed he was not just kidding himself, the right hand gripped upon the hilt of the water-ringed sword. Slashing into the air, the water that had filled upon it went sloshing off to the side, hitting the ground and showing off that its skill was in need of the dire blood, a smirk piercing upon those lips.  
  
"As am I, I wish us the best of luck." To tell the truth, she was glad that the young boy had taken the few minutes to recuperate, the lie she just told him had been one of the hardest. She never lied to the boy, but admitting that she, herself, had been out of it for as long as ten minutes was the worst feeling that she could show to him. If he found out that she was scared, he'd become to the same feeling and then they would be back at the square one-section, a place they should of passed long ago. There was no need to frighten him like that when she was in one of the best moods of her life, the one that made her feel better than Faroe's Green Earth, the sky of Naryu, and even the molten lava of determination of Din shook with fury. Her shakiness had left because of the rain pilfering had dripped off of her veil, since the thing had shut off, and dripped down into her eye shaking her awake.  
  
He looked up at her with those blue eyes that tinted back a little, the ones that showed the fear was coming out only a few minutes ago, however they had changed. It was quite a dramatic change because as the fairie stared into them, her mesmerizing of the boy had once again been reacquainted because of those beautiful eyes. Mmhm, once filled with fear, the warm feeling was such a dramatic transformation that one would think that he was a different boy altogether. His eyes were now full of an emotion he got when he was not afraid (and right now he was scared), the specific feeling was determination. The power of this had signaled for him, the blade held in-between the right hand as he nodded and plunged down the hardened path that would lead onward.  
  
Leading down into the black path that came on, there was no stopping as the footfalls of Link and the slight fluttering of Navi were held in them. Faint shadows of the two were replaced only when the veil of the blue- haired shone off, the kid keeping his hands inside of the gloves, incase not to warn something. Light from the Triforce was just too powerful to be trusted, this light was small and pure, and just what was needed to accomplish the endless job. It was as midnight as it could get inside of here, there would have been a problem seeing, even if the sun was as bright as it could be--alas, it would not rise for quite some time. Right now, the only focus was that the endless spiral of stairs might go on forever, as the fifteen minutes had passed so quickly--that's what it seemed.  
  
No rail to handle, or bars to grip incase of a slippery slope (which there seemed to be a lot of, due to the constant mildewing and dripping of incased water) it was basically a death trap. If you stumbled then there was no telling how long you would fall off, but as he realized this was when everything suddenly went blank from regular precipitation. When twenty-five of the sixty-second marks had been accomplished, the gray-paved stones had come to a quick halt when at last the end was there. As abrupt as it started, there wasn't a single worry, for the room ahead was lit all the way, though aside the glow from the fairie, another sounded about. Blowing back the fairy's light, though not as quick in measure as when the Triforce was summoned, the dim gray light had filled up the entire room.  
  
"Where's the light coming from, Nav'?" Link whispered out, not taking a glance over at her, but sensing the nervousness that was coming off of her body, it was like he would sniff it out.  
  
"I don't know, was it here before? Like could we see it before we got off the stairs--I don't remember seeing it, but have a suspicion that it had been here." She bit her lip from the nervousness of the situation and realized with a shock that she was more confused about what she had just said then what he'd even thought of. Not knowing his thoughts, it was the expression that he included of the comical stance that normally would have made her burst out in laughter, pretty sure she showed the same one. There was no way that they could have seen the light, it was too dim, but it was funny that as soon as their path away from the stairs was disappeared that the beam of gray appeared. Quite a confusing situation, there were things that were better left alone, and although she wanted to dwell on this a bit more, now did not seem the time. Now was to figure out where to go, the place here was quite an adventure, and she took the quiet time to examine the room, in case there were a few traps about to catch them off guard.  
  
With the basic layout of a square-shaped room, this place was not you're normal place, but at the same time did not pass the standards of a temple room. Shadows spread out in different directions, covering the corners and all of the walls, so it could have easily concealed an enemy of stealthy personality, but only a little one like the Kesse. With a light gray mist around the room (she concluded that that was the light cause) there was darkness and the dankness about, like in the tombs. Indeed, the tombs had shown a familiar setting in here, not to mention that inscribed in green, shining runes, were all different structures about. What was even more peculiar about this place had to be the torches and that platform in the center, surrounded by ten or fifteen torches spreading in every direction there was to go, not blocking off anything, just showing a weird fashionable sign.  
  
"What in the world are those?" Hunching upon his knees, bending in such a way that was normal for a man, though would hurt one of an older generation, those hands felt upon the rules. Reacting on some sort of instinct, the glow began to intensity a little brighter than it did way, generating what seemed to be a power source. Quickly ripping his hand away from there, he pushed the glove aside and stuck the finger with the Triforce symbol on it inside of his mouth, a whimper escaping as he suckled at it.  
  
"Link, what happened?" She fluttered over for his hand and inspected the glove, to see it unaffected, but when she glanced at his hand, was when the touching of the runes was bad. The forefinger was turning purple, not able to swell or show much signs of pain, though using a sword in the hand would be a problem for about a week or so, the violet colour was mysterious. There was a bit of time before when she wouldn't have known it and for the first few seconds was when her mind was blank, until it popped in a flash, knowing he'd be all right. No, his finger wasn't burnt or anything, the thing had barely knocked him and shown in great attitude that the draining powers were full in affect. These were not runes at all, maybe a spell, of drainage that was used to take in the power of those that dared to touch it, ones that could easily kill a normal Hylian in one drainage. "It drained you."  
  
"It what?" A few more suckles and a liquid appeared in his mouth, he tasting it and quickly snapped his head to the left, trying to cough up what was there. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat and spat out the spit that had clogged his throat, letting out a whimper when the purple was inside of there, only good news was his finger. Glancing over at it, he saw the swelling was going down--there had been minor, or so it seemed too him--and now the finger had returned back to its original state of tan, taking a rest on the center platform and watching her.  
  
"You got rid of it, that's good, if it would of went into you're blood stream, then we might have had to come back in a week or so, the thing numbs you pretty well where it drains. Hm, you asked what it is? Ah, these are ancient ruins of the Drainos, an ancient race that was too weak to fend on its own, so it created a magic to drain the power sources from others. I know it sounds crazy, but it worked wonders when you were dying and a healthy cow just happened to be walking around, you could drain to you're heart's content." Smiling, she appeared down into his bag and came out a few minutes later with a piece of thin cloth that was soaked in a liquid, along with a bandage. Applying the alcohol-soaked bandage to the hissing boy, it was soon over and his finger was wrapped up so that it could heal.  
  
"So, its like vampires, except they drain Ki instead of energy?" Plus the fact that they didn't use sharp teeth and didn't scare the crap out of, of course now that Link had experienced, he would never place his hands on glowing runics ever again. He sensed that it had been tapped into, but was not sure since anything like this had ever been met with him, usually he was using it when fighting.  
  
"Yea, but it is different, I can't explain it." With a hand wrapped around her stomach in a gesturing movement, she shrugged a shoulder and showed that she didn't know everything, sometimes you had to figure out for yourself. Grinning a little sheepishly, the young girl just blushed a little and with a nod was looking away from the boy, just staring onward for the ground, trying to think it out.  
  
"Because I think I felt it leave." Oh, yea, he had felt most of his Ki being drained, but also some of his life force, a far more important element than the little Chi of it.  
  
You see, every body is capable of exerting a certain amount of Ki, and over time and practice one can become a master and do all sorts of special techniques with their acquired Charkas. Charka is another term for the energy, there are other certain names, but the most wide one of Charka are what the ancient Shinobi used, while regular people thought of it as Ki, but there was a catch to this all. At the moment of the trick was initiated, for even the masters can run out of Ki in just a certain amount of time, depending on the time and place used to develop it, execute it, and the after effects. Everyone can run out of Ki energy, because it regenerates within a night's sleep, along with food and certain other pleasures to channel you're power in a certain spot. On a different subject of regenerating Ki, there was the other one that made you see the day of life, or the night of death, it was entitle the force of life.  
  
As the name tries to prove, without you're life-force, then you have no life and you cease to exist and join others down in the depths of Hell or otherwise. What was drained from the boy may have been that, of course it could of just been his imagination, he'd never really tapped into that sort of power before. There is even a certain amount of life-force inside of you and in the most dire situations had people tried to tap into the power, knowing the consequences are deadly, but trying to put out one last attack. This is when you are trying to defeat you are opponent and either you're Ki isn't strong enough, or won't regenerate, and then you got for the more powerful, but dangerous arsenal. It is when you do that you suffer the penalties, for the life-force is all inside of you're body and you have no idea which part you are using, though it can eventually regenerate if the effects aren't permanent.  
  
If, for instance, you were to drain from a part of you're body that happened to be connected with you're brain, then you would be screwed. For the life force, or spirit as some call it, has oxygen in it and when taken out would make you brain-dead or comatose, even after the force returned. The force can't heal you, but the devastation that exerted from within would be more than enough to destroy an entire planet, even a normal one's power. Fortunately, the Hero of Time did know about it, but also knew all the consequences and never took the risks; besides, he had the Goddesses on his side. They did offer their own souls in him as a temporarily catalyst, but were also dead, so the souls being away from the body were not enough to do harm. Only time when a person can use his life force and not be harmed is when he had a sixth sense, which enables the spirit/body separation without harm to the person, because when you use this power, you are basically pulling you're spirit out to attack.  
  
"I don't think we should worry anymore, Navi, I think we should find a way inside of there." His finger came out, glove slipped back on and thanking the Goddesses for such strong cloth, when it pointed northward to the only place that the gray mist seemed to leak from. There, ahead of them, was a solid stone door with all the markings of a man in love, they were shown in such a weird way that it was almost mind-blowing.  
  
"You're right, but how, we have to think this though." She was the one thinking it through, he had placed his sword down into his sheath and was standing on top of the brown pillar that rose about two feet in the air. It was a weird little thing, seeming to stick out of place in the gray room, so she examined it for a few minutes, noticing no specific marks about it and just looked around other places. Meanwhile, her mind was connecting to the doors and the torches--there just had to be a way that they were connected, some sort of puzzle was in this room. Now that it was time to put it all together, she remembered from the dungeons--not the temples, but the old places--and that's where the connection was made. Of course she could have said it earlier, thought of it, but now that the fire was back in her mind, she knew that a specific little spell that went in all directions would light their problems.  
  
"Maybe I should--the flames." Ah, so he was catching on as well, it seemed the creativity in the family was showing its true colours between the two of them, that was the way to go about it. Of course, before he was going to attempt some stupid little stunt like that, he was going to run it over with his fairie, that was what being partners meant. Yes, his fairie would know about it and only then after they had discussed it would he even attempt such a powerful maneuver, incase a trap was to be triggered.  
  
"Yea, you should those arrows we got at the lake." She giggled a little and nodded with a little bit of enthusiasm fluttering over towards where his bag was and beginning to sift through it. While she was inside, her eyes glanced at the quiver, a new one was right with it, and there she grabbed the one with the crimson inscription upon it, the newest one that was given. As she was done, she came out with the regular bow and quiver, yet the arrows looked a little different than the usual ones, they were red on the tips.  
  
"From the lake? Oh, yea, I remember, it's sort of a blur, but it just came back too me!" Nodding, he took out the normal looking arrow with the red tip where the blade was sharpened and examined it a little, thinking about how he got these. Running a finger upon it made him feel the sharpness, yet his finger didn't cut, for these arrows had been sent just for him, or so that old marker had said so. It was a while back, but getting them had been one of the strangest ordeals that Navi ever talked him into, getting him up was hard, but actually attempting it was nuts.  
  
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It had started during their little eleven-day vacation, maybe it was that long, he really didn't remember, all he knew was that he wanted another one of those. Anyway, the place they had stayed was the old fishing cabin, it was a secluded old place and after a few days, the bore had gotten to the two of them. Card games, talking, and everything else had been attempted, but the two of them were not really good at coming up with their own fun, usually exploring was their idea of having a good time. It was actually about nine days into the trip, and since he was feeling better for at least a good three days, the time had come and gone in just that quick of a fashion. With the two minds conjuring up, they reading through the old books and journals that the man had left behind, it was then that they found that inscription.  
  
During most of the time, they had explored all of the books, but this particular one was hidden in such a fashion that one would not expect to find it anytime soon. When all of the inscriptions of all the books had been done, that was when they decided to move the shelf, for no reason at all, except Link wanted to build up his power. Turned out that the shelf was not that sturdy at all and it came collapsing down in a matter of seconds upon the two of them, but not even injuring them in the least. Turning into wood specs as it came down, the sawdust was all over them, and hidden behind the shelf was a single little platform, sitting on top of it was a mantle of some sort. Upon the three foot long marble part was a book, and what a book it was, this thing looked like it was going to shred into even smaller pieces than the large bookshelf had, the dust was covering it.  
  
Spearing upon it in a second, the boy and his fairie spent the next night over-looking most of the legends that went through, although some of them they didn't even get to read. That was because as soon as the book was opened for the first time, about three-fourths of the pages came sliding out and the impact of the wooden floor made them turn back into their tree- dust ancestors. It was a shame, but also gave them the opportunity of not taking this thing out for a month, since there had to be well over three- thousand pages in here, probably a fourth remained, it was unknown since the dust was all around. The ashes from before had to be cleaned up, since they were spread all around and would only be tracked, but taking care of the book was more important at this moment and time. As the dust was cleaned and the thing read, more and more pages came out of it and by the time the place was fully done, about only fifty remained for the two of them to read.  
  
Out of those fifty that remained, there was the fact of how much they could read--if any of them were even in the right language, and what would they say. Of the half of a hundred, twenty-five of them were in a language that was of the ancients, so they were thrown out, since understanding them was inevitable. Gerudo and the ancient race of the Hylians and Shiekahs were also in there, a few battle techniques that he read through, but nothing really useful. A few more were in the Zora and Goron language, and though it could be read, there were nothing but recipes for the two of them, making it utterly worthless. What he found the best was one of the last pages that stated of an ancient arrow, inscribed in the Kokiirish text, and the only thing there was of the Kokiiri--it was actually a weapon that he could put to some use.  
  
The legend was in Kokiirish, but talked about an ancient lake that was far to the south, and when this lake was filled all the way was the only way the prophecy could be fulfilled. Speaking of the southern Lake Hylia, the legend went on that only one who possessed the string of the fairies could come forward and launch a shot forward. When the blade of the string of the fairies was met with the eye of the Goddess of power, that was when there would be a show and down would flow the power. Not even speaking of the Forest one, the one from Din would take the chant of Faeroe and lend her own powers to create something that could not otherwise be shown, unless in the form of a spell. Speaking of such a piercing shot that would reign fire out, it would come from the power that was enchanted in the arrows, and with that you were able to summon up the power if given the right set of shots.  
  
With some deciphering, it was figured out that what exactly it meant had to do something with the bow and arrow, or the gift from the faries. Faroe's beautiful shadow would shine upon the bow and reveal only when it was given for the Goddess of Power, the ancient power that a spell could perform. Spell was maybe the old one of Din's Fire, though this was just a guess and really there was no proof except the deciphering of the ancient texts from this Kokiirish language. Shooting it out towards the fire of Din probably had to deal with the sunset and there a new tool came out, though they were unaware what that was. There really was no point in getting off of it, the lake had to be the ancient Lake Hylia and now that the lake was filled to the top, which was where the next adventure would begin.  
  
One that would not take long, nor would the benefits be that great, just the part of adventuring was what made the two love it, the feeling of being together. Where death was not a problem, they wouldn't die, and dealing with the Goddesses on their tails was neither a problem, it was like the women let them have a break.  
  
The next night at six was when the two of them decided too leave; the legend had spoke of when the eye of Din was just raising itself up. That was when the ancient bow was to shoot a blind shot straight into the rising sun, or so they thought, so coming too late in the day meant a very long wait, but not too early as to maybe fall asleep and miss it. Indeed, doing something stupid like going out in the middle of the day simply wouldn't work anymore, you had to be cautious when dealing with the ancients. This was a time before he was born, before loopholes and easy ways had been made, so determining you're way out was not going too work, they were either too stupid back then, hard working, or maybe a little of both. It was decided that six was fine, since six-thirty was the time that it came when the sun rose, that was usually how it went every morning, hope it did now.  
  
When they ventured out of the old house and swam through the waters, until their eyes came upon the old structure that had beveled them before. From where they got out of the surface, the climb was about twenty feet up and pulling up the huge hill did seem to be quite a task, moving only because of his strong body--at long last he did reach the top and the beauty was just as great. A long path that was carved from the earth, basically a bunch of pillars of grass and dirt standing out of the ground, which connected by the simple bridge from one to the other. Neither of them even spoke about it--it was like they knew it--and later on would baffle at the connection of themselves that the psychic energy was really boiling out. There was no need for words, just climbing up of there would be enough and soon they had swerved enough to get right at the first part of the bridge, continuing onward.  
  
The long, wooden bridge did come out for a while and then stopped at a mid- point, where the gravestone had resided, now as barren as the rest of the place. Someone must of either looted the grave and stolen the stone, or lighting or another little event had knocked it aside and down into the waters below--this was a place where the fairie had talked to a certain owl. Ahead and behind them were two bridges, ropes to hold onto if the thing should snap, but from the look of the wood, dry rot had started to take its place. It would be a silly thing to die over such a thing, but there was no turning back from here, that would mean being a coward and denying that the ancients were not morons, this would be the best thing to do in this situation. To adventure was when you took risks, the risk of losing you're life could be consummated at just going and getting something to eat, sometimes you had to take the moment.  
  
Flying forward in a frenzy of the run, the young Hylian zipped across with his hands held free and figured if the rope snapped, even if he grabbed on, he wouldn't die. Unless the rocks got too him, that was the worst that could happen, because if he fell, he could imagine his recently acquired boots and the tunic on for the fall down. So as he came across with the arms spread just like a flying-machine, the girl fluttering right at his sides and not even speaking, the speech was no need at this point, being together was the only thing that mattered. Closer and closer the middle had come, then it was past and then the closer and closer came the exit, where a single gray plaque was resting right above the oak tree in the night sky. Before the two of them could speak, it came to them that this place was the spot, there was no doubt about it, and just to make sure, she was reaching in and taking out his bow and one little arrow.  
  
The moment of truth, not very long since it has almost been thirty minutes, it took us about twenty to get up here and now I guess we have a minute or so. His senses told him to shut up and concentrate, so he obeyed them and eyed over at the girl, who let out a small smile and nodded for him to proceed.  
  
The way that he walked over towards the black plaque sticking out of the ground was quite frenzy, moving in such a way as an old man was walking to his deathbed. Falling upon his knees, a last attempt was made to read the text, which was also in Kokiirish, but it was futile since the days had spread. Now it was ineligible, and trying to decipher it would take eyes better than his own, not that he had enough time, the sun was already proceeding for the horizon, not yet reading the full stance, but making the place shine yellow. Clearing his throat and holding the arrow back inside of the latch on the bow, he smiles towards himself with a nod and pulled back as far as he could. While it was yanked back, a smile was given for the Goddesses to grant him this power, it wasn't like he ever asked for much else, and with a nod the arrow was released when the huge orange ball lit up the morning horizon.  
  
Amazement was all that could describe the screen, the arrow shot from the arrow, but this time it wasn't acting like an arrow usually would, not at all. A normal one would shoot for the sun and go as far as the user had put strength into it, then fall down into the ocean and sink down there. Not this one, though, this one was very different and as it hit the air, the wind was starting to pick up the speed of the arrow, as if Naryu wanted to help so the guide was offered in such a beautiful way. The Goddess of Wisdom had helped in her own way, because Link and Navi stared with wide eyes while the arrow sunk further and further, never faltering a little. Actually, if anything it was getting higher, though it was hard to see because the sun was in their eyes, yet they could not take their eyes off of the beautiful eye of Din--it was one of the last times that either of them had laid their orbs on it.  
  
As they traveled back to Kakariko in a few days, the sun was no longer there, as if remembered, it had been taken care of during this little ordeal. No idea how it happened, a few ideas of Ganon's magic were there, but also that the Goddesses were looking out for the people who would freeze to death. A blanket of air was now around the entire land of Hyrule, so no one froze to death in this place, the crops and land began to die, but it was better than people dying were. It was guessed that the power of Naryu was not being held for the castle and the other places where Ganondorf resided, for they never wanted to protect him. A warning for each temple he visited, as of now, there was no guarantee that they'd protect him so the extreme caution was used, but how it happened was so strange.  
  
When they looked back on it, it could have been them that shut the sun out, but it also could have been the same time that Ganon had cast the spell, maybe a weird coincidence. For when the arrow was at the end, he could hear a small little swooshing sound when it entered the sun, not even deciding if it had traveled through space and time, he doubted it and the thought was it just looked that way. Mmhm, because the sun was just too far away for it to go all the way, so they did not pop the sun when it turned off, that was the vile spell of that King of Evil. What the sound must have been was the arrow being burnt up in the atmosphere, because very soon, there was nothing else except the morning sky. Thinking that maybe a solar flare had traveled this far and burnt the thing up, there was nothing else too do but turn back around, though they never got the change too.  
  
What in the land of Hyrule is that? Navi thought as she pointed around, trying to scream out Link's name, but realizing her own voice was caught in the wind, the howling that was coming about. Traveling back towards them seemed to be an arrow, except it was inside of a quiver and about forty of the suckers had been stored in there, the same amount that could fit on his other one. Also, the sun was looking strange, there was a certain dimness about it, not that she paid attention to that, she was more interested in the returning arrows.  
  
A tap on the shoulder made him spin around and there his hands were opened on instinct and caught the quiver that sent him back a few feet, eyes of wonder staring over the beautifully constructed holder. It was made of a beautiful cremation glass, so that no one could wear it, there it was painted with beautiful symbols of crimson, showing pictures of a gorgeous woman dancing. She had several Gorons below her, and the red-headed beauty was had a small Triforce above her head, this symbolizing what he thought of as the Goddess of Power, especially since flames were painted all over the place. There was some sort of ancient tale too this, especially since there was another Triforce piece on the back, and a young man dressed in clothes that held a sword, this man held a bow and inside of the bow was a red arrow--this just had to be him! Inside was not the stuff for decorations, for forty of these arrows were stored in there, he bending at his knees and taking one out, inspecting it with wishful eyes.  
  
Long as the arrows he had collected from the Forest Temple, these beauties were not red, but down on the sharp blade was a bit of crimson painted on there, and on the end was the crimson feather-tail that was usually red, but different. This was painted a darker shade of red, plus in-between the legs of the 'tail' seemed to be another bit of a tail, this one red, so he knew it was special. As sharp as could be, his fingers reaching and running along the edge, he realized with a bit of a start that it didn't cut, but when he struck a stone, was when the stone was cut into a few pieces. With a start, he knew that this could only be symbolized because of what was in the picture, that the arrows that were made for him could not harm the Hero of Time. The Goron's and Din had been in a dancing ritual and were presenting this for him--who else could have sent this, but the beautiful maiden had done this for him and a small giggle was about to come out when the entire place turned pitch black.  
  
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"Mm, I remember what happened next." Link was fiddling with the arrows as he spoke, the story he had spoke of, but now that he thought about it, the possibility of it being their own fault was definitely in order. Not that there was time to think about it, stumbling around in the dark was one of the scariest moments he had ever had, especially since the moon hadn't come out for a few days. "I hated when it came out, I sort of feel like it was my fault that we did that, I mean I don't believe that an arrow can go so far as into the sun. Although, there could have been magic that traveled that far into space and blocked up the entire planet from getting energy."  
  
"Linky, there was nothing that did that, I am sure it was Ganon's magic. But we did leave after the moon came out and came here--I hate how that happened, but we need to get back to more important matters, Link. I want you to try those arrows out." They hadn't even had the time, so now would be a better place as any to try them out, it wasn't like they would burn the bow up, they were meant for it. Now a normal bow would probably be sent up in ashes, but this was not a normal one, this had been enchanted by the fairies and as it seemed, made for this special arrow.  
  
"Okay, I'll leave it at that." A smile was given as his eyes looked at the torches, trying to decide at how to go the best way about this, incase there was something flammable in here. He doubted it, and within a few seconds, he saw that the worst that could happen was the stuff went out, inside of spreading so bad that it hurt someone.  
  
It'd never be you're fault, it'd be ours, and I'd take the blame with you. Her words didn't speak anything, but her mind said it all and with a small start, she watched him glance all around with those beautiful skyline eyes. Staring into those eyes all day would never be a torture chamber for her, maybe what people had described as heaven--doing the best thing with someone in the world--well, there were other things she wanted. There was just something about there that she couldn't get out of her mind, maybe how he knew who had helped push him into it, and would take the entire blame for her. She knew that he cared, that was evident and she wanting to take the blame herself proved the entire same thing, the caring between them was quite magical. As soon as he was done, he saw that he was getting ready to attempt something and just remained there, incase he needed her soon, not too far away, just enough to be out of harm's way incase a sword was drawn.  
  
Nodding, he dropped the subject of how they got the arrows may of caused a great catastrophe and focused more on what in the hell they were going to do without wasting these arrows. He didn't even know if they drained manna from you, since they were just regular arrows now, you may have to give up a portion of you're manna to get it. Although, manna did regenerate as fast as Ki, there was still a problem in wasting it this early, not that he bothered to even attempt it, he was just backing up towards the entrance of the room and examining with his bow held up. The quiver was laying off to the side, one arrow in his hand as he looked around and saw where to get the best spot, his hand went over at the bow and nodded with a sudden awareness. There he pulled the thing back all the way, nodding for Navi to come over at his side and when she was sitting on his shoulder was when the arrow was let loose, feeling something disappear.  
  
Surely enough, the power from his magic was drained; though nearly not enough as the old fashioned Din's fire had come, and even better was what happened to the arrow. The thing had been just as normal as could be when it was sent off, but now that it was in the air, a different aura was surrounding it, a good one that they both hadn't felt in a long time. As it soared through the air, their eyes both watching it, the tip of red on the bladed side began to glow brighter and brighter, until it burst into flames when it was heading for that first torch. Maybe the embrace of Din was on them, that would be a great thing and when the fire was swirling around were only in the blade, so that the arrow would not burn up in the middle of the air. When it touched the center of the torch, the left one came to life in a second, but that was when Link's aiming gave up, he grabbing her and hitting the floor as it began to ricochet.  
  
Hands were placed down in a protective manner, one that showed that he did not want to ever let her leave his grasps for whatever reason, whatsoever. Arms were bound around her in such a hold, those arms were holding her where there was no chance for an escape, darting was the way he felt. Nothing could bind the two of them from the massacre of fire that would surely head this way, or if not, then the protection would seem needless. But the fact of the matter was, that his feelings were there, there was no denying them and without the protection, he knew something horrible would happen to her. There was a part of him that did not want to let go--that part would remain with her forever, while another feeling was focused for another part of him.  
  
This other brochure had refocused to show that not only would there be a catastrophe in the waiting--someone was going to have to take care of it. An arrow that had been lighted by the fire of Din was around, the legendary ones he received at the lake, and it was bustling with no care in the world. Din had lit the fire with her own fiery arms, no contempt had been laid on here, with the only problem for starting this was to save a little bit of magic. If someone did not take the decency to dispose of this crap, then there would be consequences that either of them did not want to attempt to dissolve. The only problem was that there could not be a way to get rid of it, at least from the perspective that he was staring at, there was no way to dispose of it.  
  
Naryu's powers had never been enabled to him, from the Din's Fire point of view, so there was no magical spell that he could summon to take care of it, but then another idea was in his mind. Grabbing with the free hand that wasn't around the fairie (she now had her head poked out and watching the arrow with the eager anticipation) he fished through his side pack. If this took care of it, he had no idea how long it took to charge, or recharge, then there was going to be the way to run, he not ready to arise and risk getting stuck down while the arrow zoomed overhead, not yet hurting them from above. This was the only way to attempt it, his thoughts shot out, while the hands went deeper and deeper, finding the stack of medallions, hands fishing through and beginning to rub. Rubbing as in a way that a dehydrating man had just received a magical genie's lamp that could grant him all the water in the world, time was of the essence.  
  
Finding the familiar inscription that resembled a tear--or a drop of water depended on who was the studied--his hand was pulled from his pocket. While it was slipping out, the arm around the girl had tightened just enough to cause her not to feel any discomfort, though if she tried to squeeze out, he would do it harder. His mind was focused on her and on the azure medallion that had slipped from his pockets and beheld like a magical treasure, but it was that, wasn't it? Anyway, the trove had been established and he watched with the satisfaction that the arrow was not heading towards them, it was a good thing, for in his little cockiness, he sat up on his behind, still below the shot of the arrow. Holding the arrow out with one hand, she sitting down in his lap, he didn't know if a chant was needed, so he just began to hum sweetly through his mind, hoping.  
  
"Naryu, come to me!" He shouted out in such a triumphant voice that anyone in the surrounding area couldn't have avoided it, but there was no one around except his little fairie. So, there wasn't a soul to hear his called, but maybe the Goddess of Wisdom was in hiding and would hear it and decide that it was time to save the two of them.  
  
Navi did listen; not looking at him and the medallion, knowing what was schemed, just watching the medallion that was displayed before them. It was a beautiful device, better constructed than any of the other engineer's of today's generation could of done, but was it even of the ancient's time? Who knows? The damned thing could have been from the Goddesses' themselves, or even the sages that had been induced the powers of each lucky lady, that was another possibility displayed for her. Whichever the case, as her eyes glazed over, she knew in her heart that this was not going to work, it couldn't be this easy, because this had to have been some sort of trap. Eyes began to drift away from that momentum of beauty and glanced in all directions for what seemed the proof that her mind needed.  
  
While she was thinking of this, Link was staring at the medallion and holding onto the hope that there was some way that it could have been fixed in a possible manner. His left arm was held high, the one of the other just petting the fairy and stopping the grip upon her, while his eyes changed from the arrow back over to the medallion. Watching the arrow had become somewhat of a bore, since the thing was just sliding back and forth, sort of like an old game you played where you slammed the ball back and forth, forgetting the name. It was slowly fading when the two minutes since his arm had extended now transformed into four minutes, an expression of hate was dwelt in him. Remembering what Shiek had said about desperation, that had meant that when you were in a life-threatening situation, which it was to activate.  
  
Could that possibly defy the possibilities, shatter his fears, and show in a revealing light that there was no danger of being killed by this arrow? If there was, the thing would have already activated and shattered the place in water, the older boy had never mentioned anything about the things having to is charged if used too much. They didn't dwell manna from him when they were used, so there was no point in having them charge, they were from the Goddesses, and there was no powers over those three women. Having created the world and all the inhabitants inside of it, one single man with their Triforce could not be able to control and manipulate them, now could he? Indeed, he noticed now that there could not be a way that the arrow was going to hurt him--there was always a higher power in the world, but never had there been explained a bad entity.  
  
Three were good, but there wasn't a lone, nor another trio that took care of anyone that was bad, it never said what happened to you when you died. Most people assumed that you were sent into the land of the Goddesses also called Heaven, or if you were bad then the other part happened. Being vile and corrupted sent you to another place where there were no rules, deep inside of the earth where the fires were so hot that the eruption of Death Mountain was child's play in comparison. That was what they thought, now his own were not in that perspective, he had no idea what his beliefs were, but he had an idea that someone could not control the world. Sure, the Goddesses powers were stored inside of the Triforce, as legend indicated, but not all of the powers were there, surely not, or were they?  
  
It was a scary thought to think that if someone owned the entire Triforce, that they not only could control the world, but even the creators of Earth. Sure, Din was the most powerful, followed by Farore and Naryu (since Ganondorf controlled the world, Link had to awaken his powers, and the Goddess of Wisdom's holder was not yet active) but that was the way the world worked. They were sisters, maybe triplets, and one had to rule over the others, but there was one difference between Ganondorf and Din, which was their alignment where Din was good, Ganon wasn't. Did that mean that the entire land could be controlled if someone not only owned the most powerful piece, but also even the sisters of the powerful one? A shiver was bristling through Link's spine at the thought of that, those eyes drifting away from the thoughts and dissolving from the medallion, now almost five minutes passed while he watched the fate of their lives.  
  
As if in a flash of inspiration, what all great artists feel every now and then, her mind focused on the four-letter wall that seemed to scream at her: wall. What about the walls, what in the world could they have done? Well, to spell it out better for any of the others who were not looking that way, there was a familiar feeling about the way that the place was looking, not shaped, but looking. Her mind was not made up that the medallion would work, but the walls confided in her that this thing would not stop unless it hit a specific mark, was douched with water or another chemical that could put it out. The reason for this was that the material of the walls, the shape was a normal wall, it was what the walls smelt like through her Fairic scenes, she couldn't explain it. With another flash, she realized what she smelled, it was man-made and there had been few instances when her nose came into contact with it.  
  
Rubber! That was it, there was rubbed in this wall, imbedded for Goddess knows how long, but still, the bouncy material was there, accompanied with another. The other had never been decided in her mind, but she knew that along with it, stuff such as arrows and other metals could have been reflected, where usually they could of not done it. Repelled in such a way that it reminded her of the compasses that the explorers in the old days used to navigate the seas, or so the stories said since there were no seas to navigate her. An old wives' tale, it had been called, but with the reflection of that, he mind was becoming set up that indeed, the material from the compass (of course they had run into them in the dungeons) was apparent in the wall construction. And why not? The compasses had been made by the ancients to navigate the places, so why couldn't they be around now, but that wasn't the question, what was had to be what was inside those blue circles that led you away from being lost.  
  
"Magnetism!" She screamed out, the eureka could be heard slamming inside of her mind, that was what they were yelling at her, she was actually doing it right. A full five minutes had passed since Link had held his medallion up, now the thing was back in its place with a furrowed little frown on his face, only to be replaced when he heard her comment about magnets.  
  
"Magnetism? What about it?" He drifted his eyes away from the arrow, only to meet the bustling face of his fairie, she streaming out in a way that made her look like she would explode. He loved the way she looked, he admitted, but was there a calm way to get this out of her without her tackling him down and taking her with him? Thinking not, he didn't speak, he just awaited for what she was going to do now, her thoughts were what mattered--he was out of ideas.  
  
"Haven't you wondered how the walls are pushing the arrow back and forth, back and forth, without even the arrow falling out or just stopping in mid- air? Like how its been going on for five straight minutes, I mean, normally an arrow would hardly even ricochet, especially for this long in time." She questioned with her look of beauty displaying, the flush in her cheeks from the stroke of genius was apparent, and he could even smell it in her power sense. There was just a way that she looked around nervously, that it was known that if the problem, or solution wasn't realized, that something terrible would happen.  
  
"Now that you mention it, I think I have noticed it--its not supposed to go on for this long, or that's what physics has told me." A smile was beaming over his lips, where he spoke the quote without even taking the time to review the situation; there was no need too. No display of intelligence was realized in those words, more of an instinct, then taking the time to think it out, and not a usual way that the Hero of time deciphered things. It was just the way that she was acting that he wanted to say yes to her, even if she admitted that the world was flat, as long as it made her happy. Within those few seconds before she answered, his mind began to think of what she said and in a matter of milliseconds; the thought process had started back up, for she was correct. He knew that when an arrow or another object was pushed against a wall enough times, it would eventually lodge itself somewhere else and implant itself there, it was just natural.  
  
The twirls of the engines inside of his mind had been down ever sense he had seen the way that she was acting, shutting down just to display that she was acting. On instinct of thought, someone had clicked the overheated engine up and now they were pumping back and forth, the thoughts coming out. There was no accurately way to say how she was correct, just that the laws of physics had been broken within the material that was displayed before them. How could the arrow be going that fast, there had to have been a source that was controlling it, some sort of catalyst that gave it the energy to move back and forth. Now that he was thinking about it, the energy from the Goddesses could do that, but there was no reason, the torches hadn't even been lit, except three (two others had been lit as the arrow shot around, directly only circumstance. Now that had been five minutes ago when he looked, but not even taking the time to glance, his thoughts were on what she said about it.  
  
"Magnetism, you said, could you explain?" Only a few seconds had passed since he said the other quote, this time you could tell that he was deeply interested, the latter had been worse. On the other occasion, it had been like he was a druid that was programmed to say yes, now there was more enthusiasm in his deep voice.  
  
"You see the walls, I have been sensing them and my senses gave me the reading that they were made from rubber, yes the material that they used to make their wheels, or the palaces, I think we saw that. It's been so long that I hardly remember what the old castle looked like." She did not want to even take a glance at how Ganondorf had redecorated the once-beautiful building into what would be called a chamber of nightmares. "Anyways, I am convinced that there was another material that my nose had barely grazed upon, then I remembered the compasses that we had. Well, I dunno if you have ever researched compasses, but they are full of--" Link cut her off.  
  
"Magnets!" He burst out like a schoolboy who knew the answer, leaning down on his bottom in an Indian-style, he did, indeed, resemble a child. Well, this one had known in his lessons with Saria that the compasses that they used to possess had a magnet inside of it, why the points always went northward.  
  
"Yes, now I have a thought that when these special arrows slammed into there, that they were polarized and that they were the opposite of the magnetism inside of the walls. So I deduct that this was set up as some sort of trap, the rubber to deflect any objects not made of metal, and the magnets to deflect any metal objects, incase you were trapped inside of here, or in our case, trying to hit the torches. A very unreasonable theory, I know, but I also think the medallion didn't work because it was opposite of the magnets and was sent off, I think they're made of metal." A small smile grazed her lips as she watched the young boy reach for the medallion along his neck, the Forest, hands rubbing at and then feeling for the material there.  
  
"Mmhm, it's made of metal, so that must be why it didn't work." The smile upon his lips was of satisfaction, and there he watched as she went down onto his knee and rested, just looking at him and no one else. The important thing was what to do, there was no way of knowing on what the two of them were going to do, and so staring seemed more apparent thing to do than anything did.  
  
The arrow would eventually light all the torches, he knew in his mind that it was a stupid and restless thought, but at least it took his mind off of the troubles. Getting inside of here would be harder than he thought it could, not even taking the time to look up, nor was she, their eyes were just connecting together. If this moment could have been saved onto some device and seen over and over, then the Hero of Time would do it, that was what seemed more important. Going inside of the temple just seemed stupid to attempt, he wished at this moment that the world was over and they were left on a plain where the two of then would live and be happy. It was selfish, he knew it, but there was nothing in the world that his mind would want, knowing her own was thinking the same little things.  
  
There was so much satisfaction between them, that he didn't ever want to look up, the clinking of the arrow hitting other sides was also sort of soothing. That's also why his orbs focused up, there wasn't the familiar clicking of the arrows, hadn't been for what seemed about thirty seconds for now. It wasn't right, because between ten seconds was the time it took the arrow to travel from one plane to the next, ten was the maximum. Eyes were looking from her and that was when they took the chance to look upon the torches, those eyes were widened for what seemed so much that they would pop. Hands were going forward, grabbing the girl and holding her down in his lap, looking at the torches was so magnifying that what was coming towards him was too late.  
  
His own thought did not matter, nor did it that ducking down would only become a skewer inside the head, more brutal then where it was currently heading, so he decided for the first mark. At least there wouldn't be a mark to be left, maybe a few sparks of blood, but less brutal than moving would cause, there was just a distance too close now. Sorrowful for what was going to happen, his eyes were no crying, that would be stupid and un- meaningful, trying to play the cool part would also, so he was a little in- between. Maybe if he had had enough time, then he would have been able to prevent it, that was what he knew in his mind, but there was one thing for certain in him. That was that he would not be dodging out of this with any scratch at him, the plunging metal on a stick that had hit a wrong angle and decided to go down was proof enough.  
  
If only I hadn't been so idiotic, I took my eyes off just to look at her and this is what I get for just looking at her, how could I be so stupid! As bad as it felt, there was no remorse in taking his eyes away to look at her, that was probably the best part of it, to gaze into those cerulean hues, of course there was sadness there. He would no longer be allowed to gaze into those eyes, touch the skin with gentle fingers, and fulfil his dream of one-day loving her from the friends and affectionate they were, transforming them. The transformation would be fulfilled from the way they were now (which there was no real term) into the more beautiful one of lovers.  
  
Indeed, he had taken his eyes off of that arrow too long and the arrow of Din had decided to take its revenge on him by hitting another side and follow through for him. Moving at maybe one of the four corners--he hadn't been watching--there was no way to determine how it had happened, the impossible had been broken and he had an arrow to kill him by proof. There was no denying what he had done for lying up was stupid, the thing would hit somewhere in his chest, and where he was hoping would be an instant- kill. He hoped this, because anywhere else would just wound him and cause more pain and misery when he bled to death, which was something he did not want, for his fairie to suffer. The arrow was now heading at him at such an incredible speed that dodging would only prove to be infantile and stupid, and calling on any powers was out of the question.  
  
So, the Goddesses had cheated him and there was a recharging or regeneration period, even if the water had come out, it probably dissolved when it was inside the medallion. Either that, or there wasn't enough power inside of the thing--not him--to summon it up and create a barrier of water to stop the arrow from hitting him. Having an idea that if the fire was singed, the arrow would stop, that was a great theory and all, there was just no way to test it since the thing was going for his heart. His mind once again wondered from his own death and back to the important reason that he was going to be dead and responsible for another life. The entire reason for this was a blue-haired little girl that measured in at seven inches--the only person he could fully claim his love for, another had been, but was long gone in a position that left her without the time to see him.  
  
Navi would be alive, she was in his lap and would be there to see when the arrow, or hear since his hands were over her eyes and holding her down, entered his body. Before, while she was sitting on his knee, it would have been brutal for her to see that, the arrow was never in the faction of hitting her, but might ricochet and hurt her. How horrible would be it be for a double-kill for the pack of arrows he spent his good-willed time on, the ones that he felt would love to go back into the sun where they came from. That was, when his own body had been claimed, so inside of his lap was the safest place for her at the time, no way that the arrow would be able to down this low. Never would they, but he was no worried about the arrows killing her, he was concerned about another force claiming her life and it was not an enemy or a monster, it was by her own hands.  
  
There is no denying that she would kill herself when I am gone, I know I would if the positions were switched, and she as the one dying infront of my eyes. Even if he was hidden from her and didn't really watch the killing, the feeling of wanting to end it all was surely to enter his own eyes. Before, maybe not if someone had been killed, maybe back when they were children it would have been a definite 'no' since they were too young to understand love. He could honestly say that now he would gut himself, or do some other slow way to end his life, usually lathering for fast in most scenarios, but it wouldn't be worth it if he failed to protect her.  
  
Now, he knew that neither of them were suicidal (but if a normal person had seen all the blood and merciless killings that they had, they probably would too) but there was just a degree on how far you could push a person. A person in love was one that would protect you with their life and if they failed, then they would want to take their own life in the process. It was mostly fault, he understood that, but in another sense it was the weird feeling that you wanted to go ahead and end it all, because there was nothing worth living for. When you are in love, true love (not the shitty kind you see in stories) then you would not want to be away from that person forever, the thoughts are just too unbearable. It hurts too much, maybe with counseling it would get better, but there would always be an empty hole in you're body when you thought of, or saw something that reminded you of them. This was just how Link felt, and knew that Navi had to have the same personal thoughts, or at least similar ones--they were more alike then they knew.  
  
Now, while these thoughts did pass through his head within the seconds that the arrow got closer and closer--it seemed like time had somehow slowed down and allowed his thoughts to pass through--he thought about taking care of her. He knew it was impossible to lay a hand on her head, but the thought had popped up to take her right before it came, then the two of them could die together and be with one another. Such a beautiful and horrible thought, he knew in his mind that his own hands could and would never be stained in her blood, unless he held her bloody corpse. Shivering at the thought of Navi gone from him forever, there was the remorse for even thinking those stupid thoughts, his eyes diverting down where she stood, no longer wanting to watch the stupid arrow. There was no point and while his eyes were turned down at her, he saw that she had looked up, being pushed down for a few seconds and there was such a horrible gasp in her face, it was made out that she saw the arrow, a nod given.  
  
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An unbearable, well not unbearable, but really big weight had been pushed on her head when she saw a disgusted look come upon Link's face. No, her eyes knew different and didn't see the disgust, it was more of a surprise and then a horrible gasp was coming through his tiers and every part upon his face. Like there was a part to a play that he couldn't bear to give up, it was a weird way that he looked and she would prefer that he never show that face to him again. There was part of her that wanted to turn around, but she realized that even less than a second later that something had pushed down on her, it was that big weight that was mentioned from before. It wasn't a weight that would kill you, just enough pressure to pull you down and she did decipher her own theory that Link was holding her down, trying to hold her back from something. What, was the question, and there was a moment when she wanted to spring up and scream to let her go, but her voice seemed to have been misplaced.  
  
Though, for the time being, there was nothing to do but accept the weight upon her and ponder why in the hell he was holding her down? Was he worried about her being able to see something, or someone that was coming towards them--no, there was no one here but the two of them. So that was ruled out, she knew in the back of her mind that there was no way a person could be down here, so the thought relinquished for the front of her, with a nodding relief. Now to figure out what had happened, a pretty good theory was he just held her down in a nice embrace, well, maybe it was a little stupid--this was no loving embrace. There had to be some simple explanation for this, otherwise Navi would of sprung up seconds ago and slapped the boy from pulling such a foolish trick.  
  
Could it be some sort of trick? I doubt that more than anything in the world does. Her thoughts were relishing around in her mind while the pressure had subsided from the immediate fear, back to the resting-place. She probably could escape if she willed herself, but at that time, she didn't want to know what was up there, thinking about it and relishing a theory was a much better idea. The theory was never put to a test, but she was working on the hypothesis, but at this time, her own mind was a little blank on what looking up would accomplish. That way, she wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of looking, plus that Link may have been a little angry that his surprise was ruined, whatever the hell it was. That was the true question, what was wandering up above and keeping them together from the bond that the two of them usually shared together.  
  
A trick, as thought of from before, was more than unlikely for there were more likely more ways to conceal a trick, like a deceiving smile or another thought. Her brow was furrowing, feeling the immense pressure move back onto her body, seeing that the boy was nervous again, her head had poked out once, but was pushed back into there. What was going on in here had to be established, but from her theory there were only three things in this place, well one object from the account. Him and her made up the two, and the third one was not a person, it was saw as none other than the arrow that was bouncing around the room. Of course! Her mind was filled with the fear and panic, and when the stuff came out, the pressure, she zipped forward and shot through the open hands.  
  
Oh, my Goddess, the arrow! How could I have been so stupid to let him stand up like that--sit up, whatever, he was way past the height and I didn't even notice! Her eyes were felt with fear when the light opened up for her, the shadow of the world was the same as it had been a few seconds ago. It all happened within a matter of seconds, so the hands pulsing back and forth had been very known, and now that she was above, her own eyes had widened. Maybe not as much as his own, although she had forgotten how they moved--it seemed like a thousand years ago--now she was more determined to see this and her prayers were answered. There was some sort of revolting thoughts flowing through her minds, those hands were brought up to her face and that's when it came out of there. A beautiful, piercing scream that if it could be heard would have rocked the heavens, broken glass and send tremors throughout the earth.  
  
Only it didn't, the scream did not come from her mouth, it was like the thing had been slowed down like time, but even more than how the arrow was traveling. What it seemed was like there was no way to say anything, her voice having shortened out, like the flame from a candle was blown out. Screaming out would not of done anything, especially since the boy's eyes were shut as if he was accepting it, yes, that was how dreadful it looked. Like he was going to accept death just like that, not another thought through hid mind, while hers was bustling just like a new-born brain, the thrills of the world around it just opening up. How utterly dreadful that her voice had to go out at a time like this, not that she would of said anything useful, she knew in her own mind that it was too late.  
  
I won't allow it, there is no force on earth that can stop me from allowing this, and I will not let him be taken from me like a doll is taken from a child! If she could of scream, it would not of been of sadness or sorrow, at first it probably would of been, but after the taken scene, there was no way. A ferocious, Amazonian growl would have echoed out like the prime alpha wolf ready to let the pack go and attack the intruder--this intruder was the arrow. It had invaded into the home of the two of them, their sacred place, a place that no one was allowed into and the penalty for trespassing was not that light--it was death that awaited it.  
  
As much as she wanted to yell out, charge ahead and strike with her own energy, she knew in her mind that there was nothing on earth that she could do. Her power was not low or anything, it was just too late to do it, throwing herself in the way was also too late, for the arrow had become increasing too close. Any chance of stopping it had been held back when Link had held her down, his own stupid mistake, she believed she could of saved him. Given the chance, of course she could, but now that was gone with the life of his that seemed painstakingly away, something she did not want. Her only desire was to keep him here and that meant everything in the world, so when the arrow hit, she screamed.  
  
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There was no pain; the impact was felt because the warmth had become so close to his skin that he felt like most of it was beginning to melt away. Aside that weird feeling (which he knew was illusionary, the skin would of burnt, not melt) there was nothing to accompany the feelings. Of course, he'd never been shot with an arrow in his life; the most he'd ever been hit was a rock from a slingshot by Mido and his fellow gooneys inside of the old Kokiiri Forest. There were some things to except when you were shot, like pain or something like that, he didn't know, but those what he most likely felt he was supposed to feel. Speaking of which, he felt no feelings at all, even the old fiery smell was gone from him, burnt flesh was not there and there was a weight pushed into his chest--he guessed the arrow.  
  
The hand that was supposed to be in his lap went forward, both sprung out when he felt the fire, trying desperately to stop it with his last intact. He wondered if he was dead for a moment, but when the left hand laced around the hard-core of the arrow and felt the surface, he knew that he was alive. There was no denying it, but one thing was for certain, there was definitely an arrow in him, the surface actually didn't feel like an arrow, it felt a little crisp. Of course that was from the burning of Din's arrow, which he could tell had now been extinguished, just recently since the warmth from it was there. This indicated that he had not passed out, that was lovely, because he was alive and well--except for an arrow stuck in his torso--but besides that, he was feeling pretty good!  
  
"Navi, are you there?" Already too scared to open his eyes up, he was so scared that he might accidentally do something wrong and survive his chances of waking up, if he was unconscious. Another factor to consider was that Navi might not be there, she might've done something stupid like jumping infront of the arrow and being slammed inside of his chest. How he didn't want that and dreaded it with the bit of pulsing through his heart, making it almost feel like a heart attack, so he called out again. "Navi!"  
  
"I'm here, Link. Oh, my Goddess, it must be a miracle." She whispered in astonishment, her own eyes were focused on his chest, there was no doubt that something had saved his hide from being incinerated and pierced. Of course it went through his heart, the arrow was lodged in the center of his left breasts, where his heart was located and there was enough common sense in her to see that the arrow could go there, it was the Din's after all.  
  
"Oh, Navi! You're alive, I thought you might've sacrificed yourself or something dumb like that! Hee, I am alive and so are you, so am I doing okay?" Her voice was just the way he enlightened himself, already most of the burden beginning to shed itself off, especially when she spoke of the miracle. Whatever this was, he knew that there was nothing dead in him, he felt like he hadn't even been pierced and with a flex of his fingers, leaning up to touch his chest, that showed he wasn't numb anywhere in his body.  
  
It was too late for me to do something like that, but of course you know I would try something like that, I guess I am a little predictable. A smile laced upon her lips and she couldn't help but express that emotion, his child-like appearance was almost faded by the teenager façade, but not all the way. There were times when you couldn't help but laugh at his innocence, the way he spoke, and of course the fear was more child-like then it had ever been, it was like that shrunk as his personality grew. A small little spark was placed upon her face; she sitting right inside his lap and looking up at the arrow that stuck out, though she really hadn't spoken of it yet. Why would she, there was no reason for her to do it, he could simply open up his eyes and peer upon them with those cerulean orbs, that was what was best. So, as luck would have it, those words did cross over her lips and away she told him to open his eyes and see for his own two.  
  
They did peek open, like she had commanded, and with the sparkle around him see, the darkness of the day radiating inside of the temple, he saw that at least he was still in this dimension. Eyes trailed down where Navi was sitting, she was sitting down inside of his lap, having returned there for the accident, well, before the arrow hit, since the blood would have been intense. Of course, its why he put her there in the first place, a smile sparkling over his lips and there a hand went down to stroke upon her in a good-natured manner. She seemed to like it and giggled a bit at him, the blush creeping upon her cheeks and there she turned away, his attention lost upon her and back to more important manners. That was what his eyes had opened up for, more than anything had to see just what was down there, he noticing the red at first, but this was cotton not blood.  
  
"My tunic, its red. The Goronic, but how?" Okay, so maybe that was a word he made up of his own, the Zorics were also and other names he had created for the races, but they didn't need to know, did they? Nope, this was his own little adventure, so the races had to have some cool names, otherwise they looked dull and stupid, the first was upon them. Stature around his body was that crimson one, having a clear hole in the chest area, but he wasn't noticing that yet, his vision still pecked upon the tunic.  
  
"Yup, it changed. My guess is that the Goron tunic kicked in and then magically dissipated fire, since its immune to that, which explains one of the phenomenon there. But there is one more that I don't explain and that's why you don't have a hole in you're heart." Smiling as cheer- heartily as she could, there was a bit of somber and sarcasm in her voice, like how such a task could have been completed. It was weird, she knew it, but her smile remained and it seemed to change a little better when his face turned towards hers and grinned back. It was not how he grinned, that wasn't what perked her up, it was a dumb little grin anyway, and the fact remained that he had done it. Even in the most somber of the situations, the young boy did seem to know how to cheer you up better than anyone could muster, a very redeeming quality that she happened to love him for.  
  
Not bothering to speak another word, he dismissed the tunic and drifted his eyes over where the arrow was, a small little sigh entering upon his lips. Indeed, it was lodged in there quite good, about half of the foot arrow had gone inside, so the bladed tip was no longer seen, not that he wanted to see melted iron. What got him was the fact on how the thing was sunk in, the charred remains were not much to give at, and with just a small tug was when they began to disintegrate down towards the ground. Disappearing, it all sunk out, he turning forward and shaking himself a little, which the tip fell out of there, hitting the ground and soon following the metal. Except not turning into saw dust, he actually had to plant his foot onto there and smash it harshly--which gave him more pleasure than you could ever expect--seeing the thing slither down and slide into little ashes of metal.  
  
"So, it wasn't all the way in there." Her own fears had been that he was in shock and the metal was all that was holding the blood from flowing through and crimsoning the entire area. Thank Farore that didn't happen, her relief was shown and she smiled, nodding for him to go on without answering, she was speaking to herself more than anything was.  
  
With that done, the hand went gingerly inside of the hole, which expanded a good two feet long, it seemed the fire had spread it before the tunic had kicked in. Of course, you couldn't expect a split-second remark, he probably had a few burn-marks on his body, not very scarring, more of the 1st degree, than anything. Then was when his hand clamped itself together, being still a little big for the hole, but it wasn't like he cared and slammed the piece down inside of there. Moving down throughout the tunic, feeling the undershirt give away and then the poke of his flesh, there was where his hand was digging around when the sharp pain hit through him. A sharp pain was sent through his finger and with a long cry of pain, the fingers dragged out through the hole, coming through to his mouth and suckling on the digits like a young child whom had gotten something sweet on his finger.  
  
"L-Link, what is it?!" She let out a small little gasp when he pulled back, why wouldn't she, he was in pain and with a start, she fluttered over and took his fingers inside of her hands. There was where the thing rested in his hand, those eyes developing over the cut and seeing that a little slit was there, not even enough to bleed, but it meant that he had been cut. Having been cut meant something very weird, there was no wound in there, something must of held the arrow from piercing down inside of there. "Link, strip your tunic and undershirt off."  
  
"N-Nav', now's not the time!" His expression had been of pain when she yanked his fingers out, but now they were crimsoning like a schoolgirl, a small giggle coming over his face.  
  
"What? N-no, not like that! I meant I want you to take you're shirt off because I am very sure that something held that blade back from piercing you." A nod was given, since the chain metal that he had received must have been cut up in the fire, but she wasn't thinking about that, her cheeks were just as red as his. To think he had thought she meant that made her own fire start up and a small little redness around her cheeks, quickly staring off to the side and letting it pass from her face, which was then she looked up and nodded--completely fine.  
  
A nod was given, his face was now down to a quiet pink, not at all able to conflict that like she was able, but he just smiled a little and reached for his tunic, yanking it up. There was a little discomfort with taking his clothes off infront of her, of course there was not much, since he had been naked infront of here, it was just this time they were not dressing or anything. Smiling towards himself, the shirt over his face so she couldn't see, it was the sort of a grin that a fool wore when he knew the best of the situation. Pulling it off, along with the medallion, they went soundly on the floor, followed by his undershirt when the perceived thought poked up inside of his head. There was not even a moment given from his shirt, he didn't even need to look when it blanked through him just what was down there and protected him, making this not a miracle at all, but just good old fashioned luck.  
  
Before this had all happened, on the way back towards the Kakariko Village in his adult form was when he decided that the Lens of Truth needed to go somewhere safe. There was a small loop on there and since putting it in the satchel would cause him more discomfort than anything--the thing could be easily broken, they decided to loop it on a rope and put it around his neck. Of course it worked out fine for the first day, then he was mad because it was beginning to rub against the medallion and mess it up, probably something of the Shiekah magic, so that was when he decided to slip it down there while she wasn't looking. More or over, it was when she was asleep that he put it on, slipping it under all his clothes, even the undershirt, and seeing that it was positioned right over his heart, because it seemed to warm him whenever they were cold. The next day he had said he found a safer, more secret spot and they left it at that, but now that he knew it, it was so stupid to keep it there!  
  
"The Lens of Truth? So, that's where you must have hid it, eh?" Navi whispered out in a quieted tone, her own that showed her worry, but still was not an angry voice, one rarely used when she was disappointed in something. Her view was that the lens was destroyed, the hard work of retrieving it had been so much of a mess that she had almost completely forgot about it and now how would they navigate the temple?  
  
"I busted it, that means all out hard work was spent for nothing, nothing! I mean, I was so stupid to put it there, if I hadn't, then it would be okay." Frowning, he looked like he was about to cry, the tears forming down inside of his eyes, the ducts, actually, not ready to fall just yet. They would be sparked within about ten seconds, he was just thinking about how much harder the temple would be as he slipped his undershirt and then the tunic back on, pushing a button to transform it back to green, there he sniffed.  
  
"I don't care about that, Link! I mean, you just said it yourself and didn't even know what you meant--you said if it hadn't been there. Linky, if it hadn't then you would have been dead." She was nodding in such a way that scared him.  
  
How could he have been so stupid not to realize what would of happened if the Lens of Truth had not been there to guard his heart. Hell, it could have been slicked a little around him and still he would have been hit with the arrow, which was definitely something that he didn't ever want to happen. Owing his life to a small little lens of the Shiekah, there was no denying that he did trust Fate, or Goddesses-whichever was looking out for him when he slipped the thing under his shirt. Sure, he came out with a few scratches, and maybe a few burns (but think of what a heart smashed with an arrow would have looked like in comparison.) Crying over that silly thing was not only moronic, it made no sense at all, he shouldn't be crying, he should have been looking at the damage to the lens, as bad as it was, so that was what he did, a smile given to his fairie--she was so sweet.  
  
How in Goddesses' name could an arrow do that much damage? Didn't the thing have a barrier or something, his mind wondered in sort of a paradox; the truth was he expected it to be since this was supposed to be a magical item. There was a bit of sadness that so much had been hurt, his immediate thoughts were this, so he decided to dwell upon it and exam that part for the goodness in there, if any was left.  
  
The damage was worst than he had thought, not even trying to imagine how bad it was, but there was a bit of difficulty in that situation, for it was intense. Bent all around was the metal frame, or the violet frame, he really couldn't tell it was metal, that had been an assumption on his own part--it felt like metal, though at the same time it didn't. Anyway, the piece was bent up so badly that even with all the forceful ness of his power, there was no way that the glass was ever going to get back into that frame. It was just too badly messed up for anything to slide down inside of there in a circle, the lens had been in a perfect circle, but now it resembled more of an 'L' shape. Nothing would be able to fit in there forever, it seemed, though that wasn't the worst of it because the frame was not the magical part, the mystical factor was what was tucked inside of the frame, eyes dwelling over it.  
  
Oh, Goddess, it was even more horrible than the lens were that was hardly an understatement for there was no way in Hyrule that the lens could ever have been repaired. Not even knowing if it was made of real glass--but it did bust like it when pressure was put upon-- it was worse as he bent down upon his knees and examined it. Violet was shattered into millions and millions of pieces, the amount was unaccountable for his brain, and it was like the glass had been refined into something else. Yes, this was not glass anymore, this was what the materials used to make glass consisted of, some sort of condensation that reverted the object back into raw materials. A small disgusted sigh echoed through his lips, gloved hands going down and brushing against the shards carefully (it cut through his glove, of course it was sharp) before his eyes transfixed on another pair of something.  
  
There was a moment when he felt the desire to pull away, smash the remains then let it transform back into the dust that it had been, but Link didn't think like that. His mind was screaming for him to pull up, so he did and at the last moment, the impulse came and then he grabbed the two thing little pieces of glass, so smoothed out that it didn't even have a sharp end upon them. Pushing him up, that hand reached down into the top-left empty pocket of his satchel and slid in there the two pieces of material that he had found. Inside of the pocket on the backpack was not anything special, an item he still remembered was there, having a few ideas on what the recently acquired glasses with no lens could do, there were a few ideas in his mind. Reaching up for his own height, a smile grinned over his lips as he fastened the part on the backpack shut and looked over towards the door.  
  
Refining was what he had in his mind, he thought to himself while he noticed that the boulder-shaped door before him had peeked itself open during the moment of terror, obviously the arrow lighting all the arrows before coming at him. That was what he wanted to do, he had heard of people doing it to weapons and other materials, but basically it was when you took two items (sometimes three, the three was a supplement to blend them together) and put them in an order. Not just some order, this was a way to regenerate it so that it created one whole item, one capable and stronger than the last, a fusion of some sort would be a better way to describe it. Of course, Link had never done such a thing, had seen it done in the forest, but his own hands had not stained the refining, though he had an idea that the glasses and lens could be done in such a way. Only two items would be used and by-Goddess he had them inside of his satchel, there would be such a way to take care of it, the thought slowly passing through his mind.  
  
"Didn't find anything?" She really hadn't been watching him take care of the glass, her own eyes had been over where the door was, seeing the darkness and deciding that it was time. When he arose, that was, she had thought and now that he was getting up, making conversation was the only other way she knew of taking care of the business.  
  
"Not really, a glass or two, but I just stuffed them in my pocket for safe- keeping." He said no more than that, not ready to explain his theory to Navi until it was experimented on, besides, it wasn't like he was lying to her or anything. Technically, he was keeping it safe for him, so that the pieces didn't break or chip, from the way they looked, it was probably just big enough for them to fit inside of there.  
  
"Oh, that seems logical, I mean whatever was left after the force of that arrow hit must have been smoldered in the fire, I mean most of that rim was in the fire, or at least blackened." Her disgust couldn't be held any longer, so she appeared down by the rim and fluttered up with it held in her hands, able to handle the small weight since her strength was better than normal Fairies. When it was held up for the torch that stood above it, her eyes were weighted a little, then she nodded and slammed the rim down inside of the fire, watching with an intensity as it burnt. A good feeling was overwhelming her body, like the purification processes of the mythology, where you were not free until you rid yourself from the possessions of the world. This was one of those items that she really could do without, so the smile did not deny itself from springing upon her lips and laying there for only the Heaven's knew how long. At last, the fire was dimming down, not enough to go down, but it showed the rim was gone for good, she looking and saw Link had swept glass away.  
  
"Don't you think that we should be going?" Link was the one that spoke this, he would of done it sooner if Navi hadn't been so caught up in ridding the place of the violet rim, he doing the same with the glass. Watching with fascination of the way that she reacted over the burning, a smile came upon his face and there he slipped off one glove, taking out a rag from his satchel and beginning to sweep it into the glove. Not inside, the fear of cutting his fingers later, but sitting on top of there, yet it took a while, not that he faltered to stop, the ceremony with Navi went on for almost five minutes, so he had more than enough time. When they were all secure, he dumped the glass speckles inside of the fire, watching the other torchlight up for a few seconds and feeling the regeneration overwhelm his body. Just like when the process was over, you were ready to take you're place so as the glove slipped on, he knew in his mind that he was ready to go inside of this dreaded temple.  
  
"Yea, I think we should, there is no stopping this, plus I feel a little better." She hadn't seen his own process, but the change in him was apparent, he didn't look as frightened as he was only a few seconds ago, and of course she knew it wasn't just the change in his attitude. Even his own spirit seemed to drip forward and yell that this was the time, the smile brightened her lips and the aura appeared around her body, brighter than ever because of the process, she telling herself that this was it and speaking. "I know I am ready, are you?"  
  
"I've never been more ready in my entire life." Smiling towards her, the familiar ritual that they did right before a temple was completed, she returning the smile with her own, that he knew was the end of it. A grunt of discouragement was inside of him, but soon he yanked it away and just thought of what would happen to show cowardice in the face of her. There was no way he could disappoint her, the hand reaching down where the sword had dropped so long ago and yanking it up, the shield left alone for the time being. Not enough rubies in the world could persuade him to go inside of a land like the bottom of the well had been; no amount of money could do that. Yet, he was going and as the lights from them dimmed and the only source was her own aura, his Triforce hidden, he knew it and recited that it had a little something to do with the seven-inch girl fluttering over his shoulder.  
  
So, the first ahead before had been just a long entrance for the real place, it was known for the way that the air smelt around here was so different. A musty smell was in the atmosphere, like the air had been trapped for too long and was beginning to emit its own stench, a nasty, sweaty one at that. No, there was no denying the fear inside of the two of them as they walked down the beat-path, it was made of simple rock the four feet between each wall was enough to drive a claustrophobic insane. Not that they were, as long as the walls didn't start coming in, which surprised them that it hadn't happened once in this journey, they would be okay and not panic. There was no panic at all for the first fifteen minutes, because the walk came on, turning a few corners and another few places, that was until they got to the edge.  
  
Sitting before them was a pit; pitch-black as could be and if you couldn't make the thirty-foot jump over, well you were out of luck because there seemed to be no end to this pit. To test it, the young hero kicked down a rock over the edge, just to test how far a fall would go--not that planned on it--and listened with excruciating details as five minutes passed and there was no end. Only the faint, whistling sound sounded out from there, seeming to drive on and on through the masses, where ten minutes passed and Link was about to stop when it did. A long, squelching sound came out and the pip as the water source was hit by the rock, maybe as deep as Lake Hylia, there was no real way to know. All that they did know was ahead of them was a Hookshot mark, where they could land it with the improved Longshot, no worries in that, that was until the ghosts came.  
  
No one expected it, especially Link and Navi this early in the temple, but as he reached down to pull out his own little Hookshot, the awareness was fully arraigned for him. Ghosts was the last thing that Link wanted to encounter in this place, so he hadn't even put the first possibility above that they would meet any now that the lens was broke. No, Link had been expecting them to fall through a hole or miss a place, like under the well, but that wasn't even the direction that they were heading in. This area had been thrown over and in its place would be full of ghouls and ghosts; there was nothing to do but stare ahead in misery. There was the place where he had been standing, except his hands were not where they were supposed to be, they were sitting squarely in his lap.  
  
"Link? Link?" She whispered out, afraid because he was not reaching for the Longshot, maybe he was just dazed at the place and was about to pass out. No, that would not happen so she floated above his face and looked into his eyes, seeing with some horror that they didn't look right, there was something wrong with them. "Link? What're you doing? T-this isn't funny, you better stop." But there was no answer, only the deep staring of his eyes, like those of a doll, the life-less feeling was in them, but he was breathing just as fine as he had been a second ago. There was no vision in his eyes, like he was under some sort of mind control, being held captive by an evil wizard, as the old tales had went. She knew better than to call him anymore, he was not here now, or that's what she thought and all at once, her panic came resting and shouting out in deep and heavy breaths of a man who desperately needed air.  
  
"Come on, snap out of it!" She cried out in fury down and there she leaned forward and sent a long smack across his cheek, the only natural reaction she getting was the pain in her hand. Sitting upon his cheek was a slap mark, now normally he would of cried out and asked for an explanation, but now was just the stare. It was horrifying, she felt the need to get as far away from him as she could, but she sulked down and pushed upon his body, seeing how easily he feel down. Yes, there he was as soundly pushed on the ground, and it was like you could with a doll and how easily his strong muscles could be manipulated--not like a doll, any not at all--he was a doll! Crying out in a powerful rage, she began to beat and beat upon his face harder and harder, for the next five minutes that's all she did before grabbing him and pulling him into a beautiful hug, beginning to kiss his face with hot tears and cry silently.  
  
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W-where am I? Link looked around and realized he was no longer in the temple, his hands had been inside his lap, or maybe he had imagined it? That was possibly, though he didn't really think so, he had felt like his entire body was going numb and now he felt worst than that, like he had no body at all! Oh, well, he knew there was not a place in the world that resembled this, so a dream was not possible, unless this was an imaginary land around?  
  
Huh? My voice...it's not here. Testing his theory, he opened his mouth, or what seemed like a mouth, and found that nothing wanted to escape from there and show itself. That was pretty annoying, except when he thought (at least he thought that's what he did) then there was a voice around, like they were a loud. Having a voice of their own, was a better word for it, something he had never been able to understand when people said the phrase, that was until now. He guessed that's what you got used to when you were trapped in dreams, or fainted, whatever was happening was no way could ever happen in the real world--he was asleep now. Proving that this was just some sort of dream, he must've fainted from the smell of the place, a nod was given and examination around the room showed this was one of the most realistic dreams he'd ever had.  
  
Most of his dreams were full of sadness and grief, but now that he was looking around and seeing none of those damned Goddesses, he knew this never came form his mind. Happiness had never been much in his mind, but now as he stared around, his conscious told him this was nothing of happy, it seemed to be portrayed at that from the first glance, but when he nodded the world seemed to blend truly. Above him was some sort of castle, except it was only about five feet tall, he having to duck down to gets inside whenever he decided too. But the funny thing was as his legs made the approach--he wasn't moving, his legs were dragging him--the castle seemed to expand in size to over seven feet, just big enough for him. It was opening up, the door to the black castle had slammed itself open and inside you could see the lights all around were greeted. In some sort of weird way, he knew that they were all for him, everyone was waiting and when he got inside that was when all of them would get to him.  
  
Do you want to go, Link? A voice from a far whispered, it was unknown just who in the world it was, but the voice was small and feminine, a sweet voice he remembered from a long time ago.  
  
Yes, I want to go, but where are we going? It was eerie how the voice with no face knew his mind, could go inside of the audio thoughts and even knew his own name, so strange, but comforting.  
  
Why to see all you're friends of course. Navi, Saria, Malon, Zelda, Ruto, Impa, and even you're mother, the one that you don't remember, but I do. The last part about the mother was just a skipping noise and it seemed to him that he heard it, but didn't acknowledge it, the beautiful voice was so soft that Link couldn't speak without overhearing it. Do you? I think you'll have the time of you're life, and if you don't, then we can change that--yes we can. I will make sure that you have the time of you're life, or mark my words, I will trade my life for yours.  
  
Link just nodded, he didn't even bother to speak and inside the castle, which was dark since the brown doors had slammed shut around him, the candles that were once lit just blew themselves out. Where the voice had sounded, which was the left corner of this area, he saw that a gray aura appeared, this aura he couldn't make out the person, but had no intention too. Before he could even ask to see her face, the nod was acknowledged and there his hand was taken and then pulled forward, away from this place and even away from darkness. Feeling the grip that even the Hero of Time couldn't break, he felt all over his body the gooseflesh beginning to break out, showing its true nature. Being lifted up from his feet at the thing took off, he could feel the rooms slide out and into him, like a ghost going throughout the walls until a long last a deep, thick door appeared, they going through it and when the door slammed shut, it was locked.  
  
The Hero of Time wouldn't be able to show any other thoughts in here, the aura was gone and he was in a room where there was barely a pitch black place to dig around, yet he heard the soft and moaning cries. Cries of what were pain, it seemed, since he had heard other moans in his life, but this definitely was not one of someone being tired, nor were there others. What he felt with his hand (he had one!) was the wall and there was a light switch, about to push it up when a small little slapping sound came out, the moans turning to screams, a bit of fear in his own little face. The slapping sound turned into about six more, equaling seven of them going off at the same time, seven screams echoing of feminine beauty. Knowing that someone was in trouble and he may have been tricked, his right hand went for the sword, finding something and yanking it out while his hand clicked the light-switch on.  
  
Oh, my Goddess! If he could of screamed, he felt his voice box would of jumped out of his mouth and then yelled out in a panic for his dream, now qualified as a nightmare, to end its self. Oh there were seven people around, well that's what seemed at first, but as it turned out, there were seven pig-monsters around and they were lying on top of seven other people. Link knew with a fact when the light came on that their faces would appear and backed as far away from the door, the seven pigs that were on the floor spun around and revealed themselves to Link, the smirking was revealed in their smiles. Knowing that this would hurt him, of course they knew, and the five of the six people made Link grimace and reach to the side, throwing up a considerable amount of puke. Women were laying below the pigs, most of them bloodied and battered up, but one had green hair, another red, another yellow, one was bigger and had silver, another had yellow that he didn't recognize and the last had blue skin.  
  
"Saria?" His voice seemed to have come back, but not in a way that he wished, it was more of a way that you could hear it, but not able to hear it in the real world. Laying in the center, legs spread and bruises leading all over her face, several teeth knocked out and there was something stuck up inside of her, the scream around the young Kokiiri.  
  
Zelda was how he remembered, aside her being battered up, having the same cute hat on and there was also something up in her, Malon in her older form and even Ruto in her adult form. Impa was the one with the silver hair and then there was the last one that puzzled Link, he felt a bond for her, but no pain as he felt in the rest of the people. They all had the pigs hoarding on them--even the monsters naked and their flesh mixed with the beautiful skin of the women, the women all crying out. Tears were streaming down each of their cheeks, Link standing back with the object he held out of the sheath down at the floor, not even looking at it as the shock overwhelmed his body. There was no need to deny what these monsters were doing, something Link dreaded, hadn't even thought about, but in his mind and in this dream, he knew exactly what was happening.  
  
Those monsters are raping them, they are raping Malon, Zelda, Ruto, Impa, and that woman I don't know, but the voice said there was one left. Navi! Where is she? He was looking in all directions around the place for his girl, seeing that the entire room was black except where little white lights were focused on the five people. Actually, now it was four because the woman he didn't know disappeared, the left over pig turned its sites on Saria and to Link's knowledge, something else was sticking inside of Saria's mouth, he too grossed out to look.  
  
Oh Goddess how he wanted to yell out at them, screaming and cursing in tongues that he didn't even knowing, telling them what they were doing was wrong. He sensed the pain that each of them threw out, growling in frustration that he felt his body wasn't even able to move yet, or so he thought. It was like he was frozen in the spot and cursing was not all he wanted to do, even though he couldn't even do that--it was like the boy had been left back in time and now everything else he saw was nothing important. The girls were being raped and there wasn't a damned thing that he could do about it, no matter how much it hurt--the impossible was actually happening. There was no sense in this pain that these women were suffering, there was no way for them to do it and worse yet was that he knew they were real.  
  
This was not a dream, he knew that and staring upon the spot-lit bodies of the naked pigs doing the disgusting things to those five innocent women, he knew it all. There was no way that this could be considered a dream, it was just too realistic, the bodies were too real and there was also the factor that he never dreamt like this. No nightmare could be this possible, because a dream was when you knew something and up until now, Link had never known that for one the monster's of Ganon were gender-based. Also, there was no way to know that rape was even possible, Link had never even heard of rape until this dream, and now it was aquatinted with him like an old neighbor who suddenly visited one of his old friends. That was the way that Link felt and even though he was in darkness, that soon disappeared and he felt the thing in his arm twitch, raising it to charge at the enemies.  
  
What in the hell is this monstrosity? Forming around his hand was not the Master Sword, nor anything he had ever seen in his life, because sitting there was a violet pile of mush. Shivering for what was left of his body, the bile was reforming, though he pushed it back down and looked harshly onward, determined to get rid of the bile when all of a sudden, the thing began to twitch in his hand.  
  
He almost screamed in disgust as he threw down the giant thing that propelled inside of his hand, it was like something he'd seen before, but not in real life. Swirling around where he had thrown it was a black pit, the pit soon opening and letting loose a black snake, this was a cobra, what he had read about, except there was something different. Upon the opening of flap of skin was where there usually were a bunch of inscriptions--not that there weren't any now, just a different kind. Pieces of the Triforce sprang all around, being painted in red and even the head of the monster was assigned with a golden grown, red tuffs of hair splitting out in all directions. There was no indication if this thing had a name, the dark green skin burbled around the red skin, almost like it had a thin line through it where the green appeared, and suddenly Link knew who it was.  
  
There was suddenly no reason to have a voice, because at that moment he would have lost it all, especially since the snake was beginning to form up into a shape. Eyes were stricken back in horror as the yellow eyes of the cobra had been replaced with eyes of yellow, except these were in the sockets of a humanoid. Hulking over a seven feet tall with bulging muscles clad into a pair of black armour, the stripe was gone but had been replaced where the face was, not that it had been a beautiful face to begin with. As the armour cracked all over from the muscles, the green-skinned snake was no longer a reptile, it was more of something else and he had a feeling that wasn't a Hylian or any of the other races. It was disturbing when the tuffs of red hair suddenly filled the creature's entire head, there he sprung up towards and entire person or an entity, but the face was revealed.  
  
Ganondorf just stood with his arms crossed over his chest, one of the arms was holding something tightly, while the other just reflexes in a pressure of movement. There was no expression upon the fiery red head's face, there was a smirk, but from what he could tell--there was no emotion in that smile. Anger of fear are what would have been expected, even mixed with a bit of cockiness, but there was none of that, that was until the hand began to open. The face exploded in maddening anger, the cockiness grew even more and there was no indication of being scared, which had been pushed away when the palm opened itself up all the way. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, except incased in his hand was a beautiful blue light, not very light, but more of a maddening dark blue--like the oceans.  
  
"Navi! Navi, what are you doing their--wake up from that this instant!" His semi-vocal voice appeared and all of the people twitched at the voice, even the man of the name Ganondorf had twitched, surprise in his face, as if something had been broken that shouldn't. Maybe it was thought that the curse of there couldn't be broken, but now it had been shattered and his voice had broken the inside barriers, only a little, but it was better than nothing was.  
  
Now Ganon would of spoken, said some little quote that would piss Link off, but this version of the man--it could have been another shadow--was just smirking with a nod. There was no speech in there, the emotions were there, but before that, you could have sworn that he was just another puppet of the man's. It was very sure that it could have been, Link may of thought so if he had not seen that blue veil disappear and his eyes widening in a bit of small dissatisfaction. This wasn't the man's attitude, for the creatures around had began to chuckle and chortle as they continued to pound their objects down inside the smaller and frailer bodies, especially of the children. It was all shown when the hand had opened all the way and there she was, displayed like a meal on a silver platter, this meal was Ganondorf's, it was not meant for anyone else-- including the Hero of Time.  
  
Frilling in at five inches, the long blue-haired girl was crying sadly, her veil disappeared altogether as she was dressed in a small little skirt upon her body. It was a beautiful little thing that he had recognized, or so it was shown, but not really in a way it was like the thing had been worn in a long while. Yes, unlike the rest she had the privilege of being clothes, but who in the world knew how long since she was in the clutches of Link's arch nemesis. There was no telling what horrors awaited the young girl, especially since the man's fingers had been revealed from their gloves (just a sickly green as the rest of his body) and staring to move forward. With a stroke, they began to move down her finely shaped body, caressing in a way that normally would of made Link blush if he'd been doing it, but now he was fuming with anger, such a broiling that would make water hot.  
  
"Let her go you bastard, let her go!" His voice spit out in a bit of anger; there was such a way that he acted that showed there would be no kidding around in this place. His primitiveness felt like it was exploding out of his mind, screaming and slowly clawing at his mind to be released and let out to fight, but try as he may, those legs were glued upon the ground and there they were going to stay.  
  
Navi's face was released into some sort of horror, the fingers were moving over the body in such a way that would of normally been nice, given the chance that the man was gentle. Of course, this was Ganondorf we are talking about, so no, there was no need to stroke in a nice tone, it was moving in such a roughening tone that seemed almost nasty. Much dry skin and other affects had been pushed on his fingers, so they were gritting back in forth, not really hurting the girl, just making it uncomfortable. The pain was saved for later, or so Link speculated and there was still the anger in there, the way that he knew that Ganon was not going to stop doing it. No matter how many times he was harmed, there was no way that this was just going to end, that was; at least until before a fight was given.  
  
The fingers had been tired of just playing and ripped upon the clothing, the blue materials falling off in a matter of seconds and there she was revealed for the both of them. Undergarments had been fined by herself (they didn't have a fairy's line of fashion) and those were also taken off when the first rip was given. Pale as the rest of her body, it was soon rubbed with the hardened fingers, which did seem to hurt when the dry digits touched certain spots that even Link had not had the chance to feel. It was such a disgrace what was happening to the girl, she was starting the cry, especially when the finger went down below and started to feel in the spot where she was not allowed to be touched. The exact area where girls were raped, though she was much too small to be raped, there was no way in hell that anything could of breached there, it was just too big-- even those small two inches.  
  
Speaking of that, the one named Ganondorf had stripped himself down to practically nothing, and it was shown that he was not just green around he top part of his body. The Triforce of Power had affected other places and as sickly as it was, Link was mesmerized at how destructive that piece of the puzzle was, glad that he had received a part that had no bad parts of it. Of course, it wasn't like the Triforce wasn't a curse, he even able to think about that because the pants dropped down and there the man held the small fairie inside of his hands. The same magical force that he was done with because there was no stopping also must have bound her when she was put on top of that sickly piece of meat. His disgust had risen so much that he bent down, the bile reappearing inside of this throat and when he bent down to throw it out (welcoming it now) those eyes began to stream.  
  
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Navi's eyes were widened, he had been like this for fifteen minutes and it was only getting worse, but at least he was moving, now that had been scary. His gazed look had been about so she thought he was a doll, which had been going on for about five minutes; it was one of the scariest times of her life. So he wasn't moving, that was about it, there wasn't much she could do and no matter how many times she slapped and slapped at him, there was no getting it undone. Hell, had even left the temple, knowing it was risky, and come back with water from Kakariko, traveling at a speed that no normal fairie could of done. Even then, the boy had just looked around lazily and closed his eyes back, that had ended ten minutes ago, but what was happening now was worse.  
  
At first he had been mumbling in his sleep, talking to someone and then that had been where the soft parts stopped, for soon he was screaming. Whimpering and screaming louder, there was nothing she could do but keep her ears from bleeding, so she grabbed a hold of his hat and went at him. Stuffing it inside of his mouth, the screams began to muffle down and that's when the tears came out, the beautiful tears that she had loved before, now they were getting harsher and harsher. Her eyesight was sore, but in her mind she knew that there was something around, there just had to be that was messing with him, screwing up the insides of him. It did no good to search back at the entrance of the temple, she had seen that all the shards was gone, hoping maybe she could see the ghosts and scare them off before they hurt him any worse than he already was.  
  
Wait! He'd said something earlier about them! Nodding inside of her mind, she appeared over through the pocket he had been in and squealed with delight when she appeared with two glass pieces and the glasses. She didn't know why she grabbed the empty goggles, there really was no used for them, it was probably in all the confusion that she had grabbed them also. That was where she sat them down on the ground along with one of the lens and pushed the lens against her face, groaning with anticipation when nothing appeared. It had been inscribed somewhere on the Lens of Truth that a holder was needed to summon up the powers, since the holder was broken, there was no way of assigning the lens. She sulked down towards the ground and just stared at the ground with a small little infuriation inside of her body as her eyes drifted towards the goggles---the empty goggles--an idea sparking!  
  
What if she was to? Yes, that was it and grabbing the lens, measuring them with some perfect and just an eerily accuracy, she pulled them down towards the goggles and also measured. Fitting inside of the perfect circles, the curved ones could be just what were needed to take as a catalyst, because as the legend said--it said a holder. That didn't mean that the holder could not be made or replaced, if the old one was broken or burnt into a thousand ashes, there were loopholes all around. A small giggle was inside of her, seeing that the boy was starting to shake all over and hurrying as each lens slid perfectly inside of the goggles. They were in and secure when the place began to light around the place began to glow brighter than she could imagine, having to shield her eyes!  
  
After a few seconds, the light dimmed down and in its place was a replica of the old goggles, except they were refined beyond the time of reckoning. She guessed that the third element had to have been magic that put them together, the old goggles were yellow and a little dusty and old, not able to hold together for very long, but now was an industrialized pair that suited the Hero of Time. It was just the size of the original, those lens secured inside there were actually not violet, they were a clear white so that the entire world was not in that color--a hard mistake to give off. Violet and shining red, just like the holder of the original lens had been, the goggles had the sharp red spikes on the ends, like on the original and showed off in beauty with a strap that could go around you're neck and secure on from falling off. Such a beautiful pair of glasses, she nodded with a giggle and pushed them over her face, wanting to give a test ride before it was all over, before they went to him.  
  
Eyes of hers gasped in realization and she floated over towards the boy, slapping them upon his body and feeling the rush of air as several particles were washing away. Why wouldn't they be doing that? She was so surprised with the way it had been, over hundreds and hundreds of ghosts were picking away at his body, trying to get inside and possess them, none of them having no such luck. Now that they were all gone, he snuggled against the boy and felt them coming close to her, knowing sooner or later that they might do the same to her, but knowing that they couldn't because their powers were immune to her. Just pushing against the body made her feel the warmth that was coming from him--now he was protected and that meant that this would soon be over--he would be protected.  
  
I will protect him, I know I will. Her mind shot out, afraid that speaking would wake him up, this was the test of the Spirit Temple, she had a feeling that if the glasses hadn't been broke, this still would of happened anyway. There was no denying that he needed to pass, but she would protect him so death did not come for him, there was no way she was going to lose her boy, she wouldn't allow it.  
  
There was no doubt in her mind that he would be okay, but just to be sure she wanted to hum a tune that would take care of him, because the tears were still coming over his wet cheeks. Kissing the tears from the cheeks, there was nothing to do but pray to whatever was up there and hope to them that they let him survive this ordeal. Hugging the boy as tightly as she could, the young girl began not to sing--it was not worth it--she was beginning to sing a song that was lyrical, but the lyrics had come out in a way of a song. It had no words before, but over the months that they had spent together; she had made the lyrics to the song and created just a way to turn it into a wonderful ballad love song. The theme of the Royal Family was what she spoke, sounding more beautiful than Malon could ever muster up, it was such a nice way that she sung, and she'd felt everything go out seconds before.  
  
That's right, the nicely lit room of torches had been blown out, the entire temple was darkened and all around was no light, it kept the ghosts from trekking far away from them. That was great, but when she sang, she noticed that there was something different about the darkness, like an overwhelming had been uplifted and the burden set aside. Of course, there was light everywhere, brightening the entire room from another source that was unknown, it was such a beautiful site from the place. Holding him and forming the beautiful words down inside of her vocal cords, her mind did not notice that the light was coming from an unknown place, it was so close to home that it was not seen. Stroking his brow and kissing the eyes that had stopped leaking tears, she never noticed the two exact places that gave out a light that was even brighter than the Triforce pieces slammed together--their hearts.  
  
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She's going to be raped somehow and I can't put a stop to it, I just don't know what to do, I can't grab her and stop Ganondorf because my legs are bind and I have no weapons. A small sniff was given, the boy just looking off to the side, away from the scene, especially when she was hanging on that evil and vile piece. There was nothing to do, proving that the hero was not the one that one, he had lost this and soon his Navi would be raped so forcefully that it broke her entire body in half, then killed.  
  
Don't you notice something different about her, sweetheart? The voice, probably the one from before had said, except this time it was bigger and much smoothing, one he didn't mind being around. Even though Saria had always had a sweet and soft voice, this one was what he could consider motherly, with its tone that could make any child be great.  
  
What do you mean has her appearance changed? You aren't making any sense to me, its like you are speaking a totally different language. The hero gave out in a scared little tone, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Navi, he surely hoped that this voice wasn't tricking him, or saying something horrible was going to occur. Like the sick individual who had lead him into this little house of horrors, he wanted to strangle the aura so badly, but for some reason knew that he was supposed to come to this place--like it was his destiny.  
  
No, she isn't hurt, just look. Her appearance, hasn't it changed? It gave out that same tone and the way it spoke, he almost smiled sweetly and wanted to reach out and hold the voice, not caring it the one from before was it. There was just a way that it spoke that made him want to shut up and be with those one forever, she was as sweet as Navi, he suspected in the back of his mind.  
  
No, she looks the same as I have ever seen her in my life. Nodding towards the mass, he thought maybe the thing was going a little crazy, if he wasn't already and imagining the entire thing--there was nothing wrong with her.  
  
Okay, tell me about her. From the way it spoke, he wished he could say everything to the woman, about their entire adventure, how they fell in love and everything else around here. But there wasn't enough time, there never was enough time, like some internal clock in his mind said that it was time to put up or shut up.  
  
Well, she is still the same blue-haired girl that I loved, with her short blue hair and her body that is just bigger than my finger--wait a minute, she looks different. I don't know how, but I think she isn't the same--no she is the same person, it just feels like I haven't known her in a long time. Then it sparked to him, not speaking out for the fear of them discovering that and then the dream ending without the purpose done--the purpose was to wind. A nod was given and he knew this was not Navi, this was a past form, right after they had stopped the Forest Ganon, that was the last time that Ganondorf had had a picture of them together, Volvagia and Onii didn't seem very good receptionist.  
  
Before he could adjust his voice and thank the voice, a promotion in his mind left him to know that the voice was no longer in his presence. Drifting just as fast as she had come, he had imagined the body of the blonde-haired woman he had not known in his mind--that was she. Of course there was no real proof, all he had the evidence was this picture of a girl with the blue-hair was not the one that he knew now. If they could travel, the spirit or guardian--whichever she was--had fled and left him to gain his own land with the matter of his power. Tightening his fist tightly, with a revulsion for the creator of this damned little illusion, he couldn't quite hold himself back.  
  
"Do you realize it...do you? You have lost, the one you love is no more!" The voice of Ganondorf sounded as menacing as the day on the bridge, the tone was enough to make anyone wince with a twinge of pain. In that way, he slammed his hips against the young fairie, surprised when the crack of bones came out and yet the Hero had remained motionless, glaring towards the ground, his eyes darkened by those blonde tresses.  
  
The mushy liquid that had resided in the holder and had bared Link's hands a few minutes ago was now left at just a residue upon his gloves. Sliding up around his gloved hands, the thing began to condense into a more solid form, that which was recognizable upon more warriors and all samurai. Yes, a sword was placed there and while a hammering was between his palms, automatically gripping it, no way was there any recognition of the surroundings. Glimmering a bright white, the nasty ink was forming itself around his arm, he not even noticing it as those ears perked with fascination. For Ganondorf, of course, because this was the first sounds that his little ears had picked up since being trapped in this place between reality and a dream.  
  
An answer had not formed out of his lips, and as he lifted his hands, the sword seemed to be informed inside of his glove, replacing his hand all together. Watching the shiny blade in his hands, the Triforce symbol of the Blade of Evil's Bane was lighting itself up for more than a mere swing. Fascination had turned the tables, because it was the shadow, or clone of Ganondorf that awaited the results of this--this had not been a plan in the schedule. As if reading the mind of the man, the older and uglier man with a piece of the triangles to make the heavens shake, those feet took off in a dash. Not just a dash, more of all the agility and stamina inside of his body was thrown forward as he zipped onward, though the sword was not headed for his head or a vital spot.  
  
Replaced in the shape of his hand was dust, there had been a slight second when the boy felt remorse for taking out the beautiful azure-haired fairie, though it subsided. Especially when the head split open and brain matter and blood did not spill out, but in its place was the dust and bones of an old animal. Some voodoo puppetry was in the works here, he had no idea Ganondorf had sunk so low as to steal someone else's beliefs and use them to his own wills. Nevertheless, the puppet had been vanquished, it had been shattered since the last picture of the fairie had been snapped by that clone of Ganon's. It was such an easy enlightenment when he realized his faults, never underestimating the whims of what bad information could do for you.  
  
"What...fuck! How did you know?" But he could not let out another curse, nor another scream because what came about was Link using one more of those super-speeds he had established. This time it was headed for the man himself, last time he had taken off the arm and knew in his mind that since the clone paid no attention--it wasn't powerful. Not at all for soon his blade was sliced in-between the skull and brain that never existed, watching with such fascination when sweet death approached, there were no screams. None at all, only the surprised look that he had been figured out, and as well he sensed there was some satisfaction, maybe even a smile behind all that. A smile from the devil's puppet because the stupid thing had been laid to rest, at long last it was able to let go of its eternal awakening and sink to sleep.  
  
One by one the puppets, all of the women, pigs and even the equipment all around had began to deteriorate, because the puppet was not only a marionette, it was also the puppet master. When one took out the leader, as the old saying goes, the others were bound to succumb when their leader was no more, which inevitably happened in a matter of seconds. None of the deaths were as big as Ganondorf's, the girls smiling at him with sweetness as they were released from the evil prison where their bodies were ravished for only his torment. No real emotions were in there, only raw, though the spirits he conjured up must've been someone's--maybe these were the spirits of lost maidens that wanted to thank him. The pigs didn't even get angry, they just sank off and when the chairs, stools and tables were gone, he was left in a black room, alone for the time being.  
  
"End it all, please." He whispered to no one in particular, the black room seeming to comply when he felt that his own eyes were shutting themselves upon instinct. The hero had no idea what happened next, the room could of shut off and sent him out of this dimension in his own body, or it could have been some sort of dream. Whichever the one was, his eyes were shut when the silence was broken with the horrible scream, it was the scream of defeat from the temple, he imagined it was. It had lost, and that was probably the worst situation for the two of them--him and wherever his true fairie was--this might make things a little more difficult. Smiling was what he did while he waited for his reawakening and when he thought about the hardships, he only smiled--there was nothing better he'd want than to fight by her side.  
  
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Her head had been laying upon his chest when she head the scream of terror, something that would've rocked the temple if it had not been locked down on its foundation. Before the scream, she had given up crying and yelling and decided instead to calm the boy by simple means of rubbing his head, temples, and shoulders. It had worked for soon she heard the muttering of her confident hero, one that she loved her ears to graze upon that voice which sent shivers down her spin. Her own eyes had even started to stand to slope down from his mumbling, the way that he was talking to whoever the villain in the dream was, and going to vanquish it. Never wandering about the test that the temple was giving him--she was sure that he would pass it- -all was well until the scream had rocked her from slipping away.  
  
Sounds of someone screaming were a thing that she was used too, she did have to live with the boy and even sometimes in his sleep were the occurrence of nightmares. Sure they had returned--the dreaded dreams had come back to the both of them and probably were never going to make their way away from them. It was a horrid experience, the dreams and nightmares had been bad before, but now she doubted in his mind that a single dream remained--she knew in her own that a dream he not appeared since the dreams restarted. That was about three weeks ago and each night one or two nightmares came, she awakening in a cold sweat and just waiting for the pain to subside. Now as she listened to the rightful one that bellowed from what she guessed were either the bowels of the temple or Bongo-Bongo himself, she had to admit that fear had crept in.  
  
"God...we haveta get out of here." When the scream had lasted itself off and silence had disappeared, she looked around for the ghosts and slapped herself in the head. Of course, the boy had them on, but when her hands went forward for the goggles with the newly installed Lens of Truth pieces, a hand stopped her dead on.  
  
More of a reflex, the boy slid from the fetal position he had been curled in and moved himself open, his eyes awakening like they had been in a dream. Letting out a deep yawn, he had to have been out for at least twenty minutes, the boy's eyes cleared with the azure sparkles while he glanced around. Before something could be given to Navi, a hello or another greeting, his body was slammed into the ground as he felt a tremendous weight push upon him. Not a bad weight, like someone punching him, it was a tackle that sent him to the ground and sliding a few feet forward, knowing he was only seconds away from the edge. Reacting with a giggle, he reached into his pouch and out came the Longshot, he shooting it backward towards the hanger that would magnetically transport him.  
  
"Hey...I missed you too." He smiled and stroked the shorthaired, well not too short, girl as they were sliding through the air for there was a bit that separated the beginning of the temple and the end. This wall was what had kept the spirits from locking themselves out and dragging his body, he had a peculiar feeling about this as the air traveled. Hands took her, well one hand since the other was gripping the trusty Longshot, and he spun around, imagining he spinning like a bullet did as the trigger was pulled and out came the barrel. As he soared through the air, sitting her on top of his head and feeling her kiss and lick the top of his head, a blush came upon, knowing in his mind he was happier than ever to be back. When the end of the shot came forward, the Longshot stuck and he gripped the bottom of the wall, pulling himself over the top and linking forward.  
  
His eyes glanced forward at the lenses, and saw that the world around him was a little different, that the ghosts were in sight and over at him, just waiting for him. Seeing with his own two orbs that they meant business, the glasses of refinement Navi must've done and he would thank her later, he was now at the top. Noticing that most of them were coming from him from the top, the boy made a slide towards them and slid across the ground, catching the ghoulish monsters by surprise. Before him was a door, a beautiful door with some ancient Shiekah markings, scrolls for those of the dead couldn't pass through this point. With speed at his side, the fairie holding onto him, he leapt through, swinging the door open and sliding through before the masses couldn't get themselves inside--hearing the pounding.  
  
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"Was it hard?" She whispered out at the boy as he sat upon the edge of the new room, his hands were closed down at his sides with the position that he really couldn't say. Her eyes had noticed the glasses and she smiled at her workmanship, caressing them as he smiled and nodded a little bit.  
  
"Thanks for refining them, this'll help, but what about you?" He frowned at her own sight that she wouldn't be able to see them, but that's when a grin came upon her lips, and with a hug given towards her the girl spoke out.  
  
"I dunno how, but when I slipped them upon my eyes, the energy in them must've been absorbed into my fairish sight, since our perception is much better than anyone else's. So that means I won't need them, since I tried the glasses out." With a nod, he shrugged a shoulder and glanced around the room, sighing with a little discomfort--this may have been some sort of safe room, but it didn't look very safe from the looks of it.  
  
"You know I have to actually not think about the spirits, because if I look squarely through them and see a ghost, the lens seem to drain my magic." He shrugged a shoulder softly and looked over towards her, taking the goggles and letting them rest on his eyes, watching her contently with a smile.  
  
"I have a solution, you just click a switch, silly to switch it from clear to magical." She motioned towards the little goggles that had a clicker on the side and when he clicked it, they seemed to transform--not the lenses, they were clear, but what changes was his perception from the advanced manna drainage to the other. The other was that he could see normally, that was thankful towards her, but now she was not watching that and just starting around the room.  
  
The room was very interesting, it was a square room, with one door to his right and the entrance, but that made it almost seem too simple to view. There were bars around the way out into a new room and besides that--the room that he had came out of had shut off, essentially leaving him homeless. The interesting part was what was situated in the center of the place, there was eight points where it formed a hexagon, a torch corresponding with each one of them. Each lamp, unlike the ones where the lights were red, was adorned with the blue fire that Link had discovered back in the Ice Cavern. Wondering what it was doing there, the boy was sitting on top of a small little block that was attached to a giant Pterodactyl in the center, an ancient dinosaur. It was a wonder what the giant bird was doing there, the two of them watching the outskirts with a frown, at what was at the very end.  
  
Resting just over the edge--this room stopped dead in the center, blackness was there was there was a pit that had to be about fifty feet wide across, and to reach it was a mere twenty feet--not that he could manage it. Why would he want to attempt such a dangerous jump in the middle of the blackness was there something over on the other side? He wanted to do this because at the end was another door, this one was barred up as well, a ghastly face staring at them while its mouth opened up to reveal the entrance of the room was bared upon his rock-tongue. The thing was not alive, so there was no way he could he swallowed up, it was just the fact that there seemed to really be no where to go at this time. Everything was either sealed up or kept at a minimum distance away and also locked up incase a person could move out the twenty-feet.  
  
"It was difficult, I mean I am not gonna say it was easy and seem like some sort of hero. I really don't wanna go into detail about it--let's just say something was happening to five people I care about." With a smile, he stroked her hair, which she responded by nuzzling her face against his hand. There was no way he would tell her that he had watched her and others getting raped, one day he might tell her, though at the time he felt no pleasure in it. Not that he would ever feel pleasure, his embarrassment was just so high he couldn't even have gotten throughout the entire story without having to stop several times. Watching her beautiful face--he had no wish to put her through that, and nodded contently as he looked around the room again, his voice responding outward. "This has to be some sort of safe haven, so to speak, doncha think?"  
  
"Yea, I image so, those scrolls were to keep out the ghosts, must've been the last stronghold from the people who used to care for this temple. I imagine the ghosts took over this place and either killed or possessed the leaders of here, maybe this was just a Shiekah temple at first. No one really worships the dead--or if they did, maybe the dead came back for some sort of maniacal revenge." Smiling a little sadly, she shrugged her shoulders and perched herself upon the edge of where he was leaning against, the extra weight seemed to be the blockade.  
  
Letting out a scream as he was thrown forward, the boy rolled a meet two feet, and landed upon his behind, spinning around as a mechanism started up. Worried that it was a trap, he saw with guiding eyes at the blue lights, through the magical glasses had began to unlit and around and around the thing was spinning. He didn't know how, but he knew that the one lit torch was what the bird's beak had to land on, it was either that or there would be some terrible consequences. Tightening his fist as the thing began to slow down and move in a pace that could be seen--before it was hard to recognize where the nose was and now it was moving slower and slower with each passing second. Feeling his tongue lather back and forth across his mouth, a watering of anticipation was beginning to start and the young boy wanted to jump out and stop it, but spikes had formed around it-- keeping them from touching it.  
  
"The inscription reads 'Use the Truth from within to view the flame, if you fail to reach the azure, only you're to blame.' I wonder what this means-- oh! I think it means let it land on the only lit one, that is the north western one." Navi spoke out, reading the Shiekah writing that Link had missed, it was inscribed upon the bottom part of where the bird was resting its own talons.  
  
Keeping his voice down, he just nodded his head and watched with concentrated eyes, wanting desperately to stop it, though the fear of being impaled was too great. Overall, he decided to trust Lady Luck--she had come through on him a lot lately--and let her see if he would win the doors open or die trying. He had no idea what the blame was, though he had the feeling the spikes might come out of no where and decided to feast upon his flesh. No way was he going to let that happen, she would come through for him and as the spinning bird was on the edges of its last few spins, his eyes closed and that was when he felt the warm presence around him. Like a refilling elixir, the boy felt refreshed and when his eyes glanced open, hearing the click as they opened, he saw the bird pointing at the bird and that's when two sets of doors opened up for the both of them.  
  
"It worked, Navi!" He giggled and looked around the place, seeing that twenty feet ahead, the door was open, but also to where the new door was open, also there was a door open. His exit was still sealed, which didn't bother him in the least, maybe the bars were made of a special alloy that kept the ghosts away if they broke the seals somehow.  
  
"Yea, Link it worked, it was a good thing I added my extra weight-- otherwise it might've taken some time to figure it out." She was not hinting that it couldn't have been done, that was a bad thing to do in the situation, so instead of speaking more, she began to flutter over towards the door. A strange door indeed, it reminded him of the kind from the well, the hard doors with the rust crusting upon them and a wondrous clown face of brown stone was carved in the center, almost feeling him talk into your mind. While she watched this wonderland of extravagant, she saw no symbol and hoped to the Goddesses that was the last of the ghosts, the ones they couldn't exterminate. Of course, from the looks of their luck so far, it had probably just ran out and now the two of them were in for a few more surprises. It was good though, she felt his hand link over the door, it was the sliding kind and nodded her head--she could take them if he could.  
  
The room beyond was a familiar one, with a familiar tone to it since the outer exterior felt like the one where they had received the Lens of Truth seven years ago. Indeed, it was wet and grimy, a nasty brown hill that felt like the corpses were just dying to crawl out and pounce upon a newcomer of red flesh. Shivering at the thought, the young boy took a few steps forward and felt the familiar sliding of the bars, a motion that used to scare him. Now, ever in this literal ghost house, he was merely shaken by it and just shook his head a little frustrated that he had been yet again trapped in this place. It was a horror-house, to say the least and as he glanced both ways, there was no puzzle at all, only a simple one-room floor and that had to mean some sort of boss, so he clicked the glasses.  
  
"Did you check? I see nothing." She felt the twinge what he felt when manna was gone and frowned, taking off the switch, by depressing it and smiling sweetly as she spoke. "You just keep them on, I will be your eyes-- if we can't trust each other, what can we do? In this silly little world of ours." Feeling the affection given towards her, she looked around with those perceptive eyes and noticed nothing in the least was watching them.  
  
"Thank you, Nav', I am gonna need my strength for Bongo Bong--" He was cut up as a pale sickly arm stretched out of the ground and separated the space between the two, his eyes automatically glancing first. Flipping back in an instant of acrobatics, the boy's hand went for the sword and sliced the air that remained where the arm had been--blinking when he felt nothing. No slice or anything, he hadn't seen a thing and when the glance was given, he saw that Navi was grinning, the white arm with the red painted fingernails--probably the blood of its victims--was twitching on the ground. Not even waiting for mercy to be called, the sword slammed down in the hand and out came a screech of pain from the ground, several other limbs raising in response for its siblings. Jumping through the air, the hands were getting closer and closer, Link trying to remember where he had seen this and it all came back to him.  
  
"Link! It's the thing from the Dungeon--that Deadhand, he should be easy now, no need for the Dynamite Technique of mine, you can take it." At this Link giggled, his body moving forward and dodging the limbs, while the sword was up in defense incase one of them was smart or quick enough. That was the name of the technique where she had killed the last Deadhand, where they all slid down the fuses (arms) and imploded in the body.  
  
Already the monster had risen above the ground and was trying to clamp on him when Link dropped to the ground and rolled past all the swords, the Master Sword held up in both of his arms. With the sword drawn forward, nothing able to protect the monster that looked like a bloated zombie, he began to slide his blade back and forth furiously into the monster. Cross and slash was what his technique was now, if you could call it that, and while he did it the screams and hands trying to come near him, hearing the cackling of energy. Smelling the burnt flesh of what he assumed was those stupid hands, Navi was taking care of them and already his sword had sunk down into the bone. Before this was where he used himself and leapt into the air, martial arts was in order when a two-foot kick was given to the monster's chest.  
  
That was all of it, he knew that the thing was dying on its chest, but yet the monster would not be dead for a while, so as he landed down upon both feet, a few feet from the head, he nodded. Claiming the sword in both of his hands, he didn't prepare a ceremony, nor did he use any mercy with the killing, this would be a clear execution-style head slice. Not much of a head to slice, the small seven-inch form struggled back and forth, the teeth gnashing right before the sword was released and pounded down. Exposing the brain matter and whatnot, they spewed all over, the hands wiggling with burnt fingers when Navi came over to him and nodded with content. Within a few seconds the thing was over, its horrible life ended and there was a mutual understanding between the boy and his fairie--better him than us.  
  
With the clicking of the room, the boy felt something fall from the ground, he spun around in his tracks and behind before him was something weird. Yes, it was a pair of wings; they were yellow and almost seemed to represent the Greek legend of Mercury, the one with the powerful flight. Of course, that was what they represented, where the Goddesses had to have a messenger in the old paganic legends of when there were Gods and Goddesses their behaviors seeming to favor humans than anyone else. Watching with such extremity, his eyes glanced forward as the wings went forward and felt the click of them as they attached themselves to his boots without his permission. Frowning with disbelief, he reached over to grab them, when he felt himself began to move, yet he remained in place--his body was hovering in the air.  
  
"W-what? Navi!" He screamed out in fright, being about three feet in the air, hovering for a few seconds, he clinging to nothing in the air, watching a giggling Navi. She watched with delight as he grabbed the air and within the few seconds--about fifteen or so, they gave themselves up and he sunk down upon his behind.  
  
"Link--those are Hover Boots, I've read of them--actually they are attachments of the Hover Boots, I guess they were lost back in the ancient times." He smiled a little madly, for not helping her, but nevertheless the boy listened to her as he thought about his regular boots, surprised to see they returned to normal--just like the iron ones. "Depending on your weight, you can be suspended from two to twenty seconds in the air, depends on what the Goddesses see fit for you. I counted about sixteen, so I guess you could make it."  
  
"Make it where, Navi?' He stood up and thought about the boots again, the little wings appearing, thinking about his iron, and then the regular as he switched them out mentally, the boots giving into his needs. "Where do you think I can go in these flying boots, over a cliff or something?" While he spoke it, the boy was walking away from the place, seeing no interest and had appeared back into the safe room, the door shutting behind him, watching the dark pit that lay before them before she answered.  
  
"There, silly! With that sixteen second head-start in the air I bet we can make it over the edge and since the door's open, we'll be able to go." She motioned towards the black bit and pointed at the tongue, if they lined themselves up just enough and got a good head start, he could take off near the edge. That would give him a full sixteen seconds to run as fast as he could and before the end leap for the end and grip on, pulling him over the edge, she assumed.  
  
"You bet? Navi, this is my life we're talking about, if you bet and you lose--then I die." He frowned towards her and set on the very edge, watching down below, his hands sinking about and seeing some of the loose rock upon the hard floors. Grabbing one, the boy threw it down to the ground and within thirty seconds he didn't hear a drop, so he just looked at her and grinned a little, yea, he was being a little bad.  
  
"Well, we can do it, if anything else I'll catch you and propel you over the edge." She knew in her mind she couldn't hold him for long, if five seconds, that would just have to be enough of pressure for him to get the edge. Besides that, if she were able to hold him, he was suspended from the air, so eventually he would catch himself with the wings, since no pressure was put in the air. As strange as it was, they were breaking the laws of physics again, so why would anyone both to question that he had finally achieved the impossible. Together, the Hero of Time was able to fly among the skies, not very long granted, but he was able to glide throughout the air without a problem. Smiling over towards him was the she could do, anything in her power she would do to protect him.  
  
"You sure you can do it?" After her little way that she reacted, he was sure that he might attempt this and so he backed up a few feet, about ten and thought about it. His wings appeared upon those shoes and kicking them softly, he awaited her to answer him--knowing that in his mind she would be able to do it.  
  
"Yes, you're doing it right, get a head start and just before you reach the edge, jump up, so you can run as fast as you can and then at the end, I'll catch you if you haven't made it."  
  
Not even waiting for anymore words, he bent down like a runner that was in track and as if the gun had gone off for him to begin, the teen took off in a run. His hands were pumped back and forth, he had heard that kept you further from slowing down, his legs moving faster and faster as the edge neared. It was moving closer and closer as the seconds came quicker, he knowing deep in his mind that if he thought he could do it--then it would be done. For extra support, he felt her hovering near him, incase he tripped or hurt himself, so she was like the guardian that would protect him from any evil that came his way. In a way, it made him feel better and that was what her position was to do near the beginning, she was to protect him and as those feet leapt up, he knew she would.  
  
Feeling the two-foot jump in the air, his legs landing in the air, he not even taking a second to hang on and take it easy, he was already running through when his feet slammed down. It was a good thing too, because as he was running through, he felt himself begin to glide, it seemed a little bit better this way. To glide gave him faster support, to show this the wings slid under his feet and former padding that couldn't be touched by the friction upon the ground, or the air pressure. Only within ten feet now, he felt himself falter a little, moving down in the air two feet as he began to glide at a lower altitude, that was when he felt the worry in him. Not even bothering to Navi's feelings, the boy sunk down another two feet, he realized with a panic that he was situated under the mechanism and would have to climb if he reached it.  
  
No matter how far he sank, she knew in her mind that he would make it and when he lowered the first two feet, she wasn't worried, the reason she told him to jump higher. She had noticed the first time he floated that he had sunk down before he fell the reason he ended up landing on his behind, the reason was for that. As he sunk down two feet below, wishing he had jumped his full extent instead of half-assing it, she got sort of worried and watched his boots for some concern. When they started to give in, they would glow out and within five seconds that would be the end of it, which would be when the lights came in. She saw with some frown they were they glowing, he had to be at least a few feet away, four or five when they started doing it, but before she could grab on, he leapt.  
  
Leapt with such a passion that it truly was a great way he went, the tingling around his feet made him think this was it so he stopped in mid- air and used his last bit of air-defying power to leap. With his eyes shut, for when he hit the bottom, he knew it would hurt, but nevertheless, he knew there was a slight chance he was going to do this so those hands gripped out. To his luck, he felt the stone before him and those hands gripped tightly, holding his own self up, and letting out a gasp of pain as those muscles were pushed towards their limits. In his limits, the young boy used up what he had left of his powerful strength and flipped forward, swinging at first then flipping himself backwards in the air. Not even bothering to pull himself up, the flip made up raise up and come to the edge of the tongue, those muscles aching hardly when his behind just sat down on the edge, looking up.  
  
"Just about didn't make it there." He grinned, the adrenaline in him had calmed down and as he turned back to his fairie, his face formed into a frown and he spoke easily, smiling towards her, the wings slipping off as he spoke. "Now, now, don't make that face--I did make it and that's the important part, hm? Besides, my life has been put on the line before-- yours also, that's our job."  
  
"I guess...I just thought you'd make it. I guess you're right." She sulked a little, and felt that familiar little strokes that were starting to be given towards him, a small little sigh that came out of her lips while the pleasure came about. Feeling the familiar strokes given, those eyes glanced open and she realized that what he had spoken was right in his little speech that he gave. So what if his life was in danger, it wasn't like it this was the first time that he had risked his life just to grasp a little part of something, or claim a piece to a puzzle. Sure, they may not like their job, but there just was no one else left that could take out Ganondorf, the opposition had been crushed when he got his hands on the Triforce. All the old heroes were dead, the only one surviving was that little boy who had the force engraved into his body and now here he was--it was his job and she knew he would do it.  
  
"Now there we are, I'm okay and you're okay, that's the most important thing." Smiling, he wandered forward and slipped into the clown-faced door that was painted just like the last one--with the sad grin and the rusted pair that seemed to mix all the dark colours together. When the room opened itself up, he found himself standing before a Beamos and with a four- way intersection that could lead in any number of places. The Beamos was centered in the very middle of the room; there was a small little barrier of spikes around it so no one could try to intrude in on its privacy. That could arise a problem, he knew and watched over at his fairie to see what her plan of opposition was, this seemed to be hard--not to mention what those entrances showed--they were walls, but looked like it could be bombed. All the rooms looked the same, but when those goggles were clicked, it was revealed to his surprise that only one room could be bombed- -the others weren't even there.  
  
"Navi--the rooms don't appear to be there." The Beamos was looking the other way, so the two of them were safe for the time being, plus the fact that Link was leaned against a wall, whispering incase it could hear.  
  
"Yea, I see, let me go in for a closer look." He saw her barrier lighten down--this place really didn't have many lights, maybe a little lamp in every room, so with her barrier completely off she was able to move around freely. Plus she knew that the thing was as blind as a bat, she moved past it in no time and checked both of the entrances with her own two eyes. Moving for the center lastly, she felt it with a cool palm and revealed that it indeed could be bombed with one of the Goron's crops. Nothing special here, and she knew it while those wings fluttered silently towards the boy, glad that like the ones in legends, she didn't emit sparkles when she flew through the air. Coming at last to a stop before his hand, it was shown on her face that the two entrances were probably not a good idea--the good news was what she had in her hands, the silver shining in the dark room.  
  
"Ooh, a key--how'd you get it?" He whispered as he took the old rusted key ring out of his pocket--he imagined it got rusted as long as they were underwater, but his guess was a good as anyone else's--linking the key upon it.  
  
"Well, I checked the left-hand side of the room first and all I saw was a bunch of rubble, it was like the place had collapsed under the pressure-- which worries me, this place maybe rotting from the inside. Anyways, I dug through the rubble and saw the key. Then I traveled over towards the other room and this time, I was in for a bigger surprise. Just like an entire room back, this place was a black pit, there was nothing over it, not even anything to use the Hover boots to float towards, just dark blackness--so I didn't bother checking down there. " Nodding her head, she noticed how he linked the ring around his waist, like that of an old watch-guard and smiled without his knowing, those eyes soon turning away.  
  
"Oooh, I am glad you decided to check on your own, otherwise we might be in big trouble." He had clicked the goggles off long ago, so as he walked forward, the thing having completely turned away at the full degrees away from him, hands slid down. Rubbing the pockets softly for good luck, a technique he realized would work on some occasions; he measured with his eyes how exactly he would plan it. This was, of course, a plan on instinct and not thinking--he could hardly find bombs anymore, so might as well make them last longer by using one of them. Reliving the moments inside of the Fire Temple, he decided to get two birds with one stone and as soon as the fuse was lit, he did the unthinkable. Reaching forward, like the sport of baseball, the fuse burning and hissing out loud, he threw himself a fastball, landing the monster straight in the head.  
  
Navi let out a gasp and Link yelled in unison as the head of the monster, and the rest of its body pummeled up against the nearby wall, smashing some of it in. The wall that could be bombed was hit, the bomb sitting right above the monster's shoulder when it decided to get rid of this enemy and shoot the bomb. Link wasn't even thinking of that possibility, but of course it made the explosion faster when the heated energy was provided to the explosive bomb. A simple equation, when the two of them were added together, you had a giant explosion that not only killed the annoying Beamos, but also smashed in the rest of the wall that had been weakened from the slam. The slam was a good thing, it added more leverage, so the entire wall was gone, along with the body of the monster with the evil eyes as the smoke cleared itself and revealed the setting.  
  
"Wow, that was good, Link, didn't think of that." The reason bombs had become so sparse was that used too, the Gorons made so many that in their shipping's, they dropped some loose one in the grasses. Naturally, most people picked them up, that being more or so of Link's own virtues, until the sun had gone out on a vacation from Hyrule. That was a bad thing, the sun was needed to grow the plants and unless they were grown, there was no money going into the business of the Gorons--the prices had jumped up because of this. Now there were less and less bomb carriages and even worse was that when there was a package, there was no way excess was going to leak off--it didn't even come halfway up when they carried them. She understood what Link was trying to do and hugged him somewhat, as he nodded with a smile and went forward into the next room, hoping that whatever lie ahead was as easy as this.  
  
Indeed, if anything could have been easy, the world would have ended its hardships and left up a world of prosperity, not this hellhole that was life. Link started ahead and nothing could come out of his mouth as the beautiful scythe blades swung back and forth in the center of the block- shaped room, he watching the pillars that surrounded the blades that stretched out some forty-feet. About a sixty-foot room width and length, it only gave a sparing twenty-feet to move around and most of that was paraded with pillars that rose above a few feet or so. If that wasn't enough, from inspection of Navi, there was a sealed up room waiting for him with a lock, having to go ahead and used his beautiful key, plus an illusion room that led to no where. Basically, this was going to be hard and without some motion or thought, he ran forward the twenty feet and slammed his back against a pillar--inches from the blade.  
  
Sliding upon the Hover boots, the boy slid forward on the first part of the blades when it wasn't coming and slid all the way over towards one of the exits. Not thinking of which one, he slipped inside the carved out hole-- it was basically a hiding spot from the blades--and glanced around to see there was nothing there at all. A frown shown upon his lips, he clicked the button and quickly turned it off when nothing was there with the vision on--the manna drained even after a few seconds. Soon, he would have to rely upon the fairie for her guidance in vision, though for the time being he was left alone, because she was back there scouting a way out of here-- either that or another key. In these places, what he hated more than the traps was if you were to get to a door and be locked in--plus the rotting of the place had crept him out too.  
  
"Navi, did you find anything?" He yelled out as he stuck his heads from the hole, seeing the sparkle of her as she glided over towards him, her hands were shrugging as she shook her head. Good thing about this trap was there were no enemies to deal with; maybe they had spared him the thought that the blade was an enemy enough.  
  
"Nuh-uh, I see the door with the lock, its too the left, but there doesn't seem to be a puzzle in here, I did see some rubies, the silver kind, they look useless though. Remember in the Water Temple?" He nodded, those rubies were used to open doors, not worth collection at all, but with a lock, maybe the thing had been obsolete and the new master of this temple must've updated it with hidden keys.  
  
Shrugging his shoulders loosely, the boy slipped from the hole, the boots intact as he slid past the reminders of the blades, hating the fact that the four sheaths were inches below him. It was a bad thing, he was afraid of blades, no matter how many monsters he was with, the bladed ones seemed to be the ones he took out the quickest. With claws and such, they were fine with him, but a sword or a dagger had always scared him when facing one in combat--so humans were hard to face. He had never really killed a human--except those guards--and even then he had been scared, not sure he could lose, but still scared enough to get scratch. A part of human nature, he deducted himself and those blades were like a giant was coming after him with two-sided swords, ready for his skin on it.  
  
When he was past the end of the massacre of blades, he sighed with relief towards the ground, feeling the wind shiver up as the blade clinked forward and forward. Before him lay the hole, this one with a key and with just a whimper out, he slid forward, knowing he would make it within seconds, the blades no where near. He was afraid they would slide off their handles, like rusted equipment and head towards him, so the fear was available as the key came out of his ring. That was when the thing was stuck on the rusted bastard, so as hard as he yanked, the thing snapped into two pieces and the key went in his hand, the ring breaking into the severed pieces, falling away. Struggling as hard as he could, a presence overwhelmed him and he felt something wrap around his neck, feeling Navi by him, snuggling him.  
  
"Hey, you're scared." It was not a question, he could feel the worry in her face and she knew he was scared, turning back and seeing that the blades were the cause of the problem. Fluttering over towards the key, she slipped it in and as the door opened, she literally saw him fall through into the next room, coming along with him. There she felt those arms wrap around him and being pulled into a hug, a snuggle was given back as she began to cuddle towards him as soft as she could. It was really sweet how the two of them were together, though the room was unexplained, so soon it would have too end, she cutting it short with a kiss to the lips. A nice kiss though, nevertheless it was just one of those things you didn't want to end--you never wanted it to go away, that was like a sin.  
  
"I'm sorry, Nav', I just get scared around blades--especially since Onii." The blades had come even further since he had been disrupted by the evil Dark Link, it was a curse since that blade had been so powerful. Now that the two had faced each other, a fear of blades was natural, that had to be shown when you were almost struck down by yourself--not an enemy--but someone in every way possible was like your own twin.  
  
"Oh, Goddess. Link please keep you're eyes closed." She whispered out as her head turned, picking the goggles up and pushing the buttons twice, that's when a black fog came around them, so that he could no longer see. The fog was meant for when a person was trying to go to sleep in the sun-- not that it was needed now, looking more like a blindfold than sunglasses. It worked the same however, that you couldn't see anything infront of you-- not even the hand infront of your face, it was all blinded with nothingness.  
  
"Hm? I can't see--Nav', why?" He let out a whimper as he was denied the chance to see, trying to figure out how to click it, but she had done a series of clicks--it only sounded like three of them. There he clicked the three times and nothing happened, her fingers must've moved so fast that it was hard to represent them, either that or she had configured them that way for the time being. He had no idea what she meant when she said not to look, but from the concern in her voice, he felt he really didn't want to know what it was.  
  
Just trust me! Her mind screamed out as she looked forward towards the hall that laid before them, there was a long passage down, which she could see that there were no enemies about. Beyond that was the danger, there were about three guillotines that were situated before him, and there was a long jump that you could spring ahead two feet. Each could be jumped, its just when the blades came down that she was afraid he would stall and then there would be two Hero of Times--or one that had been sliced in half, whichever sounded better. There was this reason she decided she would push him along, there were no enemies, so no fear of doing this past the three little blades that fell down, and then she would take it off. At least when those things were gone, or he got over the fear, that she'd tell him-- it was just now there was no way he was freaking out on her.  
  
It was almost as if she had heard him, there was some response to the way she was speaking from before and her hand motions moving on in. As if he received the mansion, the young boy nodded with a glance towards the darkness and began walking down, down into what, he wasn't sure. No enemies were around, he could sense no auras, so the smooth walks were taken downward was as simple as it could be, the dankness showing itself. Since he had never seen the inside of the room, the girl had, he wasn't sure what this place was like, though a general idea had began to form inside his mind. A weird labyrinth or a dank room was his idea, since he was shivering from the coldness that had brewed out of no where, also water was slogging, little puddles, upon his heels--nevertheless he let her head onward.  
  
There had been some Skullwallutas, though they had been extinguished, she had sensed their death more than an hour ago, knowing that it could've been Impa. It was natural to see that some of the enemies would be dead, so she thought nothing of it, leading him down the end of the long corridor and coming to the start of the guillotines. Each was slinking down and forth, she had not just put a blindfold upon him, there was also earplugs stuffed inside, they had been made like that for sleeping. This kept him from hearing the slice of the blade, so every time they looped over the top of the blade--it would pass easily behind them and not even affect him. It was a good thing too, because near the end she was becoming to get scared herself, especially when she realized that they were only halfway through the room, after six guillotines, they were positioned with two choices-- left and right.  
  
Deciding to make the decision without him, they were still standing upon a platform that was held by chains and tilted upward and downward every few seconds, she went for the right direction. Besides, the door all the way to the left was out of reach and for all she knew there wouldn't even have been one--plus a Beamos was to the left. Nodding, she lifted him up--this would probably be the only time, her power was rising with every training session and the development from every temple. Now as she fluttered forward and on, her hands gripping around his shoulders, she saw he had relaxed and sighed softly--he trusted her and that was the best thing she could go with. The trust stayed as she glided over the larger platforms that stretched about fifteen feet apart and down over four of them she went until finally it met with a landform, she settling him down.  
  
Before slipping the fold off, her own form fluttered over towards the other end and came back, yelling in frustration, since the boy couldn't hear him. Another collapsed form--just her thing, the entrance had been cracked open, so when she slipped in, noticing a great weight was against the door-- that met her surprise. With a frown, her arms picked up the boy, she rushing as she went past those four blocked and stopped down upon the one that was centered upon the chains. All the other ones had been platforms, this one was suspended with the chains that as she saw linked to the roof-- noticing there was a trapdoor, cracked at the time--seeing it was stable since the rust was not there. It wouldn't break anytime soon, that was a good thing, so this was sort of a safe-haven, those blades still out of his view now.  
  
Gripping the blindfold and plugs, she slipped it off of his face, knowing this was the moment to show, there could have been enemies ahead, plus they were past the guillotines--he wasn't afraid of heights--the blades out of the picture for now. "There, we reached the end of it."  
  
"Good, I was getting a little worried there." In confusion he looked around, saw the platforms and smiled a little towards her, hands resting at his sides as he whispered out softly. "I'm not afraid of heights, silly."  
  
"Oh? Well, foolish me." She slapped her forehead, wanting to not mention the blades, she doubted there were more--it was just one of those things that he wanted to think about.  
  
"Anywho, let's see we are in the center, shall we go to the left or to the right?" She looked at him with a dread as he spoke the words, turning her face towards the left and pointing a stern finger, the boy noticing she was out of breath. Not wanting to get in trouble, he nodded his head a little and turned his attention towards that direction, speaking out a little nervously. "Okie, we'll go to the left!"  
  
Just as he was about to take off in that direction, a creak came out of no where, he looking around as something slammed into the ground only a few feet away? He had not been on his guard, so his hand went for his sword a few seconds slower than usual, since there basically had been no enemies in this temple. Now it held the sheath as he stared at the chained figure, this was looking at the ground, not giving in knowledge, curled up inside a bundle of armour and bones. Bones was the essential key, that was they key when the dark pupils of the monster began to resonate a deep orange, or red, it was more of a mix between the two. Already, before the sword came out, a crimson one headed for him, the chains rippling as it happened, his own blade went up in the moment and matched it.  
  
"Oh, Goddess, another Stalfos." Navi yelled out, circling around the creature as it stared at the man, dressed the same as the ones so long ago-- he had faced few in the last few temples, but now it was renewed.  
  
"Seems so, let us take it by hand. I remember how, that's good." He chuckled, both hands upon the double-edged sword as he pushed forward into the grip, feeling the strength as the thing began to push back. No worries, for since the last time the boy had faced one of these, his own power had embellished beyond the belief--probably twice as strong than before. A feeling was flowing through him, the sort of feeling one gets when the power is beyond belief and at that moment, the kid was feeling it when he broke through. Breaking through was not really that hard, his blade had grown along with his power--so it could support him so that's when the thing's weapon of choice was shattered. The sword was grown to keep his own power from being overdone, so when it sliced through, he let out a chuckle of relief, seeing this was the first time that had happened.  
  
A scream did escape when the sword broke, maybe the demonic image was known of its demise for it almost tried to flip back, some of the shattered sword holding it down. By a loose cloth is what it lost by, the ones that hung around their waist was where that wonderful cloth had been, knowing otherwise he would of won. This just kept it from running away, not that there was anywhere to go, he doubted that bucket of bones could manage to leapt over on the platform that seemed about ten feet away. As soon as the Master Sword broke through its body, the closest part of the monster's body was dead, since the head was just an inch past the sword, through the arms and locked forward. When the dreaded thing was out of his way, he pushed his foot backward and threw it forward, the corpse flying through the air and fell down over the edge, sinking into the darkness.  
  
"Takes care of that." He checked around for her and saw her resting lazily upon his shoulder, a smile grazing his lips--it must've been when he had felt himself lightheaded. She was already half asleep, so he took her in his arms and kissed her body gently, reaching up and slipping her under his hat--she would remain there for a while. Readying himself, he turned towards the trapdoor, and looked upward to make sure no more surprised were in wait for him--he was also waiting for the platform to lower so he could get across. When at last the thing was lowered and rising at such a height he could make it, those boots were thought upon his feet, the slackness returning. Running forward for as long as he could, knowing this time he would be able to make it, about the last four feet he leapt forward, the boots reverting back.  
  
Landing with the softness and care of a graceful individual, the next task had to be a little bit harder than usual, especially since the Beamos in the center had a key linked around his neck. That wasn't the worst part--a familiar old friend had made its appearance, one whom he hadn't seen since he had attempted the Dodongo's Cavern. Those spikes that went on motion detection were there, though these small mechanical machines were circling the Beamos, a locked door lying before him as it teasing him. He thought these new ones could be reprogrammed, so they were not together, a five- foot radius separating the duo, so they didn't cling together and break. With this shown in his mind, a plan was formulated within the next few seconds, and taking out a bomb (knowing the machines were fireproof) he ignited it and leapt forward when the Beamos was turned.  
  
Sliding between the two feet between the machines, hoping his legs weren't cut when the motion detectors set off, if they were still there, he was surprised when it didn't happen. His initial plan had been to leap on there tops--those weren't spiky--and throw the bomb, though this seemed to work, so he threw the bomb forward, and waited. Not a very big range on those bombs, he only had to squat when the head of the Beamos blew off of it, a hand rising into the air and gripping something on a chain. What he drew from the head was nothing less than a beautiful shiny key, jumping forward into the very center of the room and watching as the Beamos shot its eye at him-- a death-shot initiated by it. This was what he had planned on, for the beam shot through the first monster, the thing running into that other spike as they both plummeted over the edge--yea an edge was there for them.  
  
"And that's how you deal with modern technology." Grinning, he walked the remaining feet to the lone entrance and watched as the key sunk down inside of the hole, his wonder was showing in curiosity. What was beyond her, he didn't know--he had noticed another entrance about fifty feet away from here, though he paid no attention too it. If he needed it, then that would come in due time, but as the melted lock peeled off and he slipped inside-- he thought in the back of his mind that needing that door wouldn't come, even if it was unlocked.  
  
--------------------  
  
That was a waste of time, oh well at least I got the key. Beyond in the next room, which he had completed in about twenty minutes, there had been quite a difficult puzzle to come by; the room was even weird. When he walked through, the first thing he noticed was a huge spikes, two of them-- well they were connected to some sort of drop-off, like spikes that came down every few seconds, a mechanical device. Hitting nothing in particular, except they slammed to the ground, so no motion detection, he saw that climbing the walls to get past the narrow path--only ten feet wide- -was not gonna work. There were bars, as if something was shut in, but when the boy looked off he saw nothing but empty chests, they had been looted and he was about to turn back except there had to be a way. Besides, he saw that past the spikes was another little chest, this one was sealed up and a few inches bigger than the chests that carried rubies in it- -another key was needed so he would attempt it.  
  
What he did first was think, he resting against the gray-squared wall was when he felt a presence on his back, shivering at the change of scenery. Except when he turned around, he saw nothing and even felt along the wall was when his hand felt a new material, sinking inside of the wall a few inches. As he was freaked out, he hit himself in the forehead--he was such an idiot--and flipped on the switch for the lenses to do their own stuff. Watching with clear focus, it all came into view when he saw that right next to each other were two of those huge maroon-colored blocks with the triangles shaped in the center. That is when it all came into focus, he measuring the distance between them all and seeing the blocks were merely eight feet thick, by ten feet wide--it would work.  
  
Slamming his fist, well putting both fists into each block--he'd never done it before, but what the hell--he jumped back as the two sections of the wall began to shake. Flipping the switch upon his manna-drain, he jumped back upon the surface that was not in the path of the blocks, watching with fascination. Of course the parts he had felt were just illusions so none of the wall was broken when the two sank out of that edge and were heading along the track, just as the spikes were raised above the wall. Nodding, he let out a jump for joy--quieting down as not to wake Navi quickly after the scream--and watched as the bricks were holding the edges down, as they tried to pound more and more into the blocks. How long he had was unknown, so he ran forward, sliding the two feet that were left between the wall and the left block, and jumped over towards the chest.  
  
"Got it!" He flipped the chest open and strung out a key (the chain around the Beamos was now around his neck) and there he linked the key to the chain and stared forward. Seeing that large cracks were beginning to form around the edge, he shook his head and took off in a hurried flow, noticing if the blocks broke, he was trapped. There was no way he could climb that wall that at least stretched up twenty-five feet and going across was really just not going to work out either. If he ran at full speed as the things were rising up, there might be a chance he would get across, though if he tripped---the floor where the blocks were was sunk down an inch or so- -he'd be scalped. That was not a chance the boy was taking so as he slid past the last part, he felt the rumble of a deep crack and leapt forward, hoping.  
  
"It worked...thank Goddess." He muttered when he saw the remains of the rocks, being chipped up into pieces and with a sigh bellowing from his lips, he thanked his lucky stars. It was all in good fortune, he had a key to hold onto and besides that--he'd had a good little adrenaline rush, there was nothing wrong with that. Spikes were not really scary, and he guessed after this ordeal neither would blades be--since when he faced the Stalfos, really was no problem. While he slid from the outside of the room- -his worry was there and he hoped that the door that was fifty or so feet away would be a chance to slide out. He had seen no door on the other side in the spike room--either that or he was stuck inside of this place--from how Navi acted, the other room collapsed--it was a worry but that didn't seem to matter, for he was living the moment and quite frankly--loving it.  
  
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Let's just try these glasses once more, I am worried about the manna, but oh well. He could deal with it; his stamina was higher than ever, so when he clicked the button, he was surprised to see that indeed there was indeed a way to the end. Platforms were standing infront of him, fourteen that stretched out towards the end, it was a good thing, and for these little stepping stones were invisible. As he stepped upon the first one, measuring it for weight since the things were only four feet wide and the length was about five feet or so. With that in mind, he saw that it did work so for the next ten or so minutes he was hopping along each one, at slow rate to keep himself from falling. A misbalance could cost him his life, and since Navi wasn't around, it gave him the extra conversation that was needed to perfect this art of crossing (he had done this as a kid, so often in the streams.)  
  
When his feet at long last reached the end of the stepping stones, he was panting not from the jumping, more of from the frustration of balance; it really was a hard procedure. Those hands of his reached out and clicked open the door, stepping through and what he met was a surprise, it was an empty room, or it would have been as he clicked the glasses off. Since they had been on since he jumped, he noticed that the entire room was weird, there were spikes sticking out of the ground--the unmovable kind--in about five different directions. When the glasses shut off, everything was gone, so just be safe, he let the glasses stay on with the drainage of his manna--unless he wanted to be gutted on accident. Also, there was a door to his right, that had seemed to be rotten down with mold and so he wouldn't be getting in there, while the other was sitting above him.  
  
"Just go up." A voice came out through his ear-shot and turning around, his eyes a bit caught the little fairie that had moved out of his hat and sitting upon his hat lazily.  
  
"Ooh, Nav', you are awake, hee." A glance was given over towards her and there a hand reached up and stroked her hair softly, feeling a purr arise as she was touched. Just like a kitten, he thought, and at that moment he did want to stop here and there, though he didn't--the urge to kiss her was great.  
  
Smiling a little, he nodded and raised the hookshot over towards the level, noticing no enemies around, so he was just going to take the chance and let it rip. Giving one backwards look over his shoulder, he closed those eyes when he felt her eyes upon him, seeing where she pointed right before he shut his lids and decided to get it over with. The hook slammed inside of the edge of the hook-holder, the one that couldn't be seen without the glasses, though he had her own eyes to guide him so the others were off. At long last, the familiar propel was shown as he flew through the air, over the spikes and towards the top, it was about four feet above the door entrance, so the drop was in order. When the magnetic hook stopped at the edge, his fingers pressed a button and down he went towards the entrance that stuck out like a tongue from an ogre.  
  
Soon he was through the door, the ugly inscriptions had been replaced with metallic doors, these were the faces of ancient demons put on them. Most likely to scare trespassers that had come inside of this sacred place, he ignored it and ventured forward inside of that door, feeling the click of the bars as he went through. The funny thing was--most of the time when this happened a boss or another monster was here--there was nothing that could meet him in combat, the room was big an empty. There were a few corners ahead, but basically all he saw was a pale-colored room, a thin little stone bridge about four feet wide stretched out into another section of the room. He couldn't see that section, so huffing a breath, he took off in a run, those normal boots padding across the ground as he broke into a little jog.  
  
Navi really hadn't been speaking much; she was still a bit asleep when he whirled through the door, though she did take the time to look around. A simple room, she sensed no malice in this place, so she let him continue on with the run, not wanting to blockade the inevitable--this place was not that big. No, it wasn't big, it was just that the two of them had wasted so much time in performing the tasks--who knew how long this place could take without falling apart. Not to mention the outside--they had to finish the temples before the darkness of the earth started eating into the people, either affecting them or killing them since the crops would all soon be gone (a few were left and used in scarce rations.) Her thoughts were soon realized when she looked over towards the edge of the bridge he was now running on and saw that two big fans--powered by magic or somehow-- were starting to blow.  
  
"Link! Jump in the air, hover!" She screeched out in panic as the things began to blow harder and harder, at first it wasn't even a breeze that you could see, but now. It had evolved into what she knew was a trap--the fans would blow you off the edge and on the edge was a pit, down into the darkness an intruder would fall.  
  
On instinct he reacted and when she said jump, he did leap into the air, just as a giant breeze swept over him and pushed him out into the air a few feet from the edge. Luckily, he had brought the edges of the boots back on and as he hovered, scrambling over towards the edge, he couldn't help but stare in amazement at the fans. Somehow they were wired by magic or water, a windmill of some sort--either that or the technology back then was more than advanced--it was beyond the belief what history told you. Fingers were wrapped around the edge of the stone wall, feeling the breeze lower down on either motion detection or it was a periodical thing, either way it was some good luck. As he climbed up the edge, his boots took him forward and he slid inside of the next room, well there was a small room in the middle of both rooms (he noticed the next room was full of fans and a rotten door.)  
  
"Damnit, the door's busted, how're we gonna get through?" The question was rhetorical, of course, Navi didn't have an idea either, and there was no way that they were taking the chance of getting inside that door. For one, a fan was right there on the left-hand side and would blow him straight into a wall--then he would sink down and plus the breaking of the door could happen and they could be trapped in this horrid chamber.  
  
"This one's pretty tough, I am confused how they made it through--that other-room is locked besides being rotted over, but I am sure there must be another way. " She was staring forward at the wall for some clues and shook her head simply when she stared back at him, before he turned the lens on. "No deal, I don't see a secret passage."  
  
"Looks like we're gonna haveta attempt it then, huh?" Now it would have been normal to be scared, but this was not a normal person, this was a hero and his name was Link--a rational, yet un-rational boy. He didn't care what happened, if they stayed in one place more than once, then there was the chance the ghosts would break through the barriers and get too them--a chance not worth taking.  
  
"Okay, we'll head to the door, but there are--let's see... two fans on the left-hand side and one fan on the right-hand side, as I can see from their rotations the left-handed ones go first, then the right, and they always move in that order. I say right after the left ones go, we race through since the right fan is next to the entrance, we can slide through easily. Plus the first right and first left are right on opposite sides--if we get pushed between them our weight will remain the same--and we won't fall off in either direction." She nodded her head at the big of geography--a symmetric force was what it was dealing with, it was hard to understand; though both had been taught it, so it was logic.  
  
"So if we screwed up, gravity's on our side--seems like the first time anything has, though." Grinning, the boy's Hover Boots were latched onto his feet, so he could slide past the first two fans quickly, that was more than simple enough. As he stared forward, the left ones brewing off and about to end themselves out, there was a nod when the left ones ended and his feet slid out. An ice-skater was a good word at how he moved, sliding back upon the ice is what it felt like when he came forward--it wasn't a familiar feeling since ice had never sprung in Hyrule before. There were no worries though, he knew about keeping his balance since you could skate on wheels, which he had done before and that's what he did as he came forward. There was a problem, though, that was that the motion detectors had indeed been set, so as he skated past the first fans, another was starting up, the left one, and though as try as he could--the kid couldn't stop in time to hit it.  
  
Letting out a squeal of surprise when the wind swept him up--the Hover boots neglected all of his weight, so there was nothing to do as the wind pushed him forward towards the wall. He was about to hold his hands out infront of him when he heard Navi scream in joy and she yelled out to jump towards the left, to break the current. It was better said than done, though not entirely impossible, so the boy jutted upon the currents, trusting his fairie and when he squiggled enough to be out of the wind--not entirely since it was keeping him afloat--he received praise. That was a great thing, so as he neared closer and closer to the wall--sure that Navi's planning was right, the boy jumped off of the currents as the fans began to stop and with his own moment in those boots, skating was possible. Closer and closer he neared the walls and the closer he got, the more scared he was becoming, so in the end he just leapt those last two feet and closed those eyes, waiting for the impact or for him to slide through.  
  
Grunting out in pain as he hit the ground, not too rough, just a surprise little struggle that the wall felt like this, those eyes opened themselves to see the room around him. It seemed that the place had been an illusion, the wall had, and the other place had just been some sort of trap, probably meant for those without the eyes of truth, as the legends said. In the middle of a graveyard--just like when he faced the Deadhand, the boy was in a little grave, except this time there were cracked coffins all around him. Towards the southwest corner was a pile of trash, and forward was another key-locked door that was solid and waiting for him to get through into whatever laid ahead. No enemies were in clear site-- though he sensed no energy among this room, he retched a little at the offending smell, the smell of dead bodies, though there were none to be around here.  
  
"Navi, what is this place." Letting out a gag for air, he sunk back and leaned against the wall, near the pile of trash and rested his behind upon it, looking forward at the one-lit candle in the room. It was the only source of light here, otherwise there was nothing for them too see-- that was a bad thing, since the light wasn't that big and the shadows could conceal trespassers.  
  
"Seems like a graveyard and judging from the smell." Her nose was even more sensitive than his was, but she left out her comments and flushed with the smell, taking a hand and pinching her nostril. "It must be one."  
  
"Probably where the ghosts hide their dead possessive victims after the body isn't good anymore." Shivering a little, he glanced around the place--most definitely at the coffins for some sort of reassurance form his accusations--not that he wanted the proof.  
  
"Link, come on. I know there are ghosts here, but their trapped, remember, and besides--the elders of this place was long ago dead, and not zombies." While she spoke out this, a creak from one of those little coffins came, the edge hitting the ground, the girl's face becoming blue with fear. If that wasn't enough to confirm it, a big and deep moan escaped something's lips, Link letting out a squeal as he reached for his sword and looked around for anything.  
  
"W-whose there?" Wavering was sensed in the boy's face, as he stared around the room for some sort of confirmation, the dreams he had thought of were now becoming a real reality--that was bad. Staring over towards his fairie, she was blue in the face, which he thought he might be too, and shivered down deeply, as he hunched down upon the pile of dry garbage and scraps. It wasn't hurting him, besides he felt something below, and was about to reach for it when he knew that'd be letting his guard down and the monster from Hell would attack. There, of course was no response because whatever it was not simply going to run into the taste of his steel without some fulfillment. As he was through when he was done thinking, a foot came out of the light and stumbling out from that was some sort of creature shrouded inside of a white cloth--like a mummy.  
  
"A Gibdos, a cousin of the Redead. Shrouded from the rest of humanity and buried in the wraps of ancient Gerudo customs, this one seems to be of that--maybe a trespasser." It was a known fact that the ancient Gerudo had worshiped many gods and goddesses and had entombed their kings when they died. Now as he stared at the creature, his hand reached forward down below the trash--the thing was not scary moving so slow, and threw whatever it was at the thing. It was an easy hit because there what came from the trash--without his knowing--was a brown treasure box and it hit the monster straight in the face, a key slipping out as the thing struggled around.  
  
Jumping forward, he broke into a roll and slid into the man as the thing went flying a few feet from the boy and the key, which Link had discovered back. Gripping it, he slipped the thing quickly around his neck and offered no sword to the monster--it couldn't bite because it was wrapped up in the clothes and there was not enough time for it to bite through. The thing was actually a sad display of pity, and he should show it the mercy of a clean killing, but he wasn't going to do it, because the kid was running on short time. Reaching for his Fairie Bow, taking a chance and grabbing an arrow with a fire signal upon it, he flipped back towards the door with the arrow intact, slipping the key inside while he let the arrow fly. This time the thing didn't ricochet, it simply flew forward and slammed into the paper cloth that was close to the monster's skin, the thing inevitable becoming a human torch while he paid no attention and slipped through the next door.  
  
: "That was quick--we on a time limit?" She giggled out as he began to slip through the door, it shutting automatically behind them, but not locking, which seemed to be a good sign.  
  
"I wanna get out of here as soon as possible, Nav', this place gives me the creeps." A little nervously he chuckled and leaned against the shut door, shrugging a shoulder at her--this place was of death, something he didn't really want to know about that much.  
  
"I know, love, I know." She had to admit this place was as scary as ever, so if getting out faster made him feel better, she would help in that entertainment and love it--pleasing him was good.  
  
He giggled while he turned his head back and stepped into the new room, letting out a gasp of amazement while the room seemed to stretch out before the two of them. A small gate was at the bottom of there, they could climb up and reach some foreign door, but that wasn't his main concern, he was more focused on what was at the right-hand side of the room. A block was pushed against the side, looking like one of those with the moons (guessing it was Impa that had done it) and above that you could climb up on top the next five feet. Of course, that wasn't what was surprising him, what had him in such a fuss was surrounding the sphere of this room was a boat--and what a boat it was. A beautiful brown boat--there was no entrance down, but the wooden thing had a stern, a mount and all the other stuff that boats had, though there was a picture of that familiar little bird from the first room put ahead where the mount-piece was.  
  
"Navi, it must be some sort of transportation device?" He muttered, noticing the boat was positioned on water, that led a long way down, so far that the two of them weren't even able to see it. Nevertheless, he began to climb on top of the huge block, using the little stairs someone had imprinted as they climbed--a very strong person indeed.  
  
"Yea, I guess it'll take us to the final regions of the temple-- though I am not sure--the map and the compass were never found, must've been in one of those rotten rooms." She nodded her head and helped him move onto the blocks until he was scaling the ladder that led to the top, she watching the boat with watchful eyes. It could be a trap, then again it could be a way out, of course it could be a way out that was also a trap that only ancient people knew the secrets too, that was another possibility.  
  
At long last he reached the top of the place, looking down the measly twenty-five feet he climbed and staring forward at how the boat's path was going to go, still noticing no end too it. Not that it mattered, what mattered was how he was going to power the boat--there were oars but there was only him and the six of those couldn't be done at the same time. Four would be left if Navi helped, still that wasn't going to do it, though he dropped it when he saw that in the center of the boat was none other than a Triforce symbol, like the one painted inside of the Well. Looking as golden and new as the ones he had always seen, the boy clutched down and reached for his ocarina, staring down towards it and giving himself a nodding gesture. He would play it, but not now--now he was walking down the bridge that led upon the boat, and when he reached the surface of the boat--kicked the bridge away so it wasn't in the way when they took off.  
  
"Ooh, a Triforce, I think it maybe powered by that, Link." She whispered out her own conclusions as she fluttered over towards it and nodded somewhat in agreement of herself, which just had to be it. The Lullaby of Zelda could do such mysterious stuff; maybe it moved the currents of the water down below and gave this lifeless ship the ability to go onward.  
  
"Great idea, Navi. That just could be it." He nodded with some tone in his step and watched the symbol one last time, wishing it good luck before he got started with what he came to do.  
  
His mood sobered up a little and with a giggle given of enjoyment, the boy slipped out the ocarina from his lips and began to play the lullaby. The soft sound encased his lips and blew out of the instrument performing the transformation on the song that he probably could play the easiest of them all. Indeed, since he had played this one the most often, he could do it and his just rewards were given when the ships oars--all six of them with three on each side--began to pump back and forth as if on a Viking ship. The invisible slaves of the notorious Vikings was pumping back and forth, until finally the ship began to move forward, down the lifeless river and giving a chance for some fortune to come. It could be a great chance for them to rest, so the boy rested upon the center, where the Triforce and felt himself begin regenerated.  
  
"Mm, Nav' come in he center." He whispered out soothingly, lying on the center of the Triforce and feeling his fairie come to rest on him, letting out a gasp as she watched and experienced.  
  
"Link, its healing us--the Triforce is somehow readying us for battle--no that's not exactly right, it can't heal us because the Wisdom piece isn't here, now this is peculiar." She murmured off to herself as she sat in the center and felt at piece as the beginnings of herself felt relaxed, not a pain or crick was inside of her.  
  
"I think maybe its that we are closer and closer to the end, so in advance this thing is preparing us by giving us boots of adrenaline, not really healing us, just preparing us." His voice whispered out in a matter of fact tone, his eyes catching hers and letting out a sigh of pleasure, the Ying and Yang of him were in perfect harmony.  
  
"Ohh, hee, I guess I'll join you then." When he nodded in response, she fluttered even closer towards him, she felt so long away, but as she got herself together with him--this ride in the death center almost seemed romantic.  
  
He nodded as he snuggled down into the Triforce, his arms linking around her tightly as he held her within those arms and began to softly hug her. Nothing really hit the spot as when he was with her--the others flaunted and showed themselves off and he had too admit it was nice--though nothing like when he was with her, it was like the world meant nothing. All of Hell could of opened up and the demons could come after him with pitchforks, though he would of just stayed with her and protected her. It was a wonderful experience being with her, he knew she felt the same way and to show it, the boy leant forward and shared some energy in through his mouth. How he shared the energy was to put it through his mouth and blow it into her mouth--in a sense that was how the two of them kisses--the "energy" was really him blowing inside of her mouth.  
  
Navi didn't care if she kissed him at all, the energy was loved as her smaller mouth was pushed against the larger one of his and loved upon it in a soft harmony. It was like the two of them were playing musical instruments at the same time, it showed that the way their worked their lips together--soon the tongues would follow--was in a magical moment. As the tongues did follow, the arms held each other while both of their eyes shut, not caring if this ship sailed off the end of a waterfall and kept the two from ever reaching the dreaded Bongo-Bongo. Navi just kept herself contented with him more and more as their tongue grazed upon one another, the blonde hair locking against the short blue locks while eyes had opened up and stared at each other. Evidence showed the love between them and while the pupils shut down, the pink muscles in their mouths wanted to get started further and further.  
  
This moment might've gone on forward; it could have until the boat came to a complete start, though in times of love, there was always a third party. Some stupid moron that couldn't help but intrude on whatever was going on and at this moment, there was a trap-door that the boat was passing over (the ride had been about twenty minutes or so, the kissing lasting about fifteen.) Now as the door was passed, two familiar little balls that were curled up in chains made their way down towards the hard and solid surface that was the boat--landing right on the edge. If it had been hallow, they would have sank them in the middle of the ocean--luckily, though all they did was alert the attention from the two teenage lovers--well maybe unluckily. Hormones were things skeletons did not know about, the two of them had just broken the chains when those orange eyes stared deeply into the bright pissed off ones of both Link and Navi.  
  
Those hands gripped into fists as the two of them were readying themselves for battle; no decency was displayed for the two soldiers. They had the nerve to barge in on such a special moment without any reconciliation displayed towards the boy or his one and only. It was assumed that two warriors could barge in and demand a fight anytime they wanted, but then again, that was what they assumed. In reality, it just wasn't done, there was no honor in the two of these, they were coming in for a sneak attack, or would've if they had fallen down earlier. That was a worry for the hero and his fairie, the others had had honor--and besides that, there were two of those monsters with each a sword and shield prepared for usage.  
  
"Stupid monsters, ruining a moment like that." Navi growled from between her teeth, staring over towards them, her aura brightening more and more with each breath she took in.  
  
"Yea, but don't worry, I'll teach them." Already the blade had been pulled from its teeth and a smiled grazed upon his lips as he was swept up in the moment of battle, noticing the readiness of the two. They were still struggling around with their swords, getting them untangled from the broken chains and preparing the armour for the impact of when a blow would come. Neither was in no way ready for a sword strike, that it mattered, and the boy ran forward, the blade held down just like the samurais used to perform. In such a way he swept himself as in such a manner that the only thing that could be told was the boy was as graceful as a ballerina, could be best. Moving past the left one, seeing as the right one was further away from the other, the boy's blade slit out and went for the area right at the neck--nailing it on the spot, with rising praise gained.  
  
"Hee, Linky, you do it!" She squealed out, watching as the skull of the skeleton fell towards the ground, clinking upon the ground, the body soon following after it. The other one looked at its ally--the beheaded one-- and crossed those arms around his chest, glancing up towards Link and gave an intelligent nod.  
  
Before Link could speak out, the boy was horrified to see that the orange eyes--which dulled usually when these monsters died--was remained and there was no terror in its face. No shock or anything (actually, a grin was implicated in its place) just the good old-fashioned expression that would be left on if the thing was still alive--or whatever skeletons could be considered. At that moment, his mind was shouting out warnings, and the monster must've read them for the fallen body picked up the head and snapped it upon his body, the materialization of bone beginning to heal. Not in the old fashioned way that it happened, the spinal bone was mending itself, like the sands of quicksand wrapping up the last pleas of a crying man. If that was not worse, the recently fallen Stalfos turned his attention towards Link, the fallen sword regained and grinned evilly towards him.  
  
Well, that tore it. The young boy let out a scream of fury and leapt forward for the left one, leaving the right unguarded against, and there he pushed the sword into the man's chest, yelling. With the fierceness, he slashed back and forth, throwing the withering body upon the ground and smashing in the skull, while the sword beat down. Slicing the legs up, along with the arms, his fury was not inhibited with this, because there was no blood to spray in these ancient warriors' wounds. Nothing at all was split; nevertheless, he didn't stop until there were only ashes left of the sunken warrior, only ashes and a few brittle bones remaining. His shoe smashed down the remaining parts, feeling them gust up from the wind--then he realized they were underground and there was no wind!  
  
No speech was given, but the Master Sword did drop to the ground, he staring in exclamation as the wind began to form around the ashes of the monster. The ashes were lifted, or whatever bones made when they were so brittle and refined down to no recognition, forming around as a whirlwind appeared. A small tornado was in the place of where the man stood not enough to blow or hurt him, though his clothes were rippling in the breeze while he stared forward, the goggles protecting his eyes. Even if the goggles had been off, there is no way the wind would of hurt them, nor the sand, the sand was configuring in one spot--seeming to form something. At long last, it fell down in a breeze and replacing the whirlwind was a figure, the same as before, the sword gripped in his hand, a smirk lining his lips again.  
  
"Goddess damnit, this thing won't die! Navi!" He had his head turned away from the monster and didn't feel the breeze of the sword coming closer, until it would have been too late anyway. Before he could be beheaded, a small spark appeared out of no where, well from his left direction, and blew the monster's head into ashes--the monster stopping.  
  
"Its okay, Link. I think I have a solution. The two of them are called the Twins of Death, they are a special kind of Stalfos, notice it?" She was fluttering about five feet in the air, more towards the boy and watching him, she had been watching the other warrior, but the honor had seem to come in as it watched the battle.  
  
"Y-yea, I do!" He didn't at first, but with a further glance, the monsters were a bit shorter than the rest of the skeleton warriors, they measured in about his own height. Actually, their clothes were a dark blue, plus they had bigger shields where as the others carried miniature ones that were used more for offense than defense.  
  
"Well, those two can be killed if they are killed at the same time--" Her words were cut off when a palm came out of no where and smashed her down onto the ground, she letting out a cry of pain from the mark. Those eyes seemed to un-focus a little, though she knew in her mind that some of the other monster had decided to take her out, probably or her explanation. Even without it, it wasn't like the two of them were breaking their code of honour, she was her own partner and it was like the odds were two-on-two, more than when she was a child. It felt good to be treated with this respect, something that she would feel better about when this was over--now the pain came and she wanted to rest herself, for the big battle--not for death. She had no idea if Link heard her, though she did let out a small gasp of breath and then those eyes shut, hoping that he head gotten the message.  
  
"Navi? Navi!" He spun around in panic from the scream and when he saw that there was blood leaking from where she had been clawed by the monster, some spraying down her back and licking the floor, his eyes widened. What had happened was that the thing must've sneaked upon her while she was focusing her attention upon him, or so this was Link's theory. Taking her out was easy when her guard was down, they must've known that from watching the battles of them--the stupid spy had alerted them of everything they did. Of course, it was hard to have a theory when you were exploding with anger; he could feel it swelling through his body as the hand tightened around the sword. So tightly he gripped it; if he had looked down then his entire fist would have been purple from the lack of oxygen, moving towards white when the pressure deepened anymore.  
  
You bastards, you fucking bastards--how could you do this? To take away the only thing precious too me! Eyes were down and forming with tears, the tears of pain and hurt, though coiled in them all was one of fury, the blinding kind that he couldn't control. One that simply had to be abolished or there would be vile consequences for both the good and bad, this was the kind he had to exterminate.  
  
"I will extract revenge." He muttered under his breath and looked upon the two of them, he had backed up somewhat so he could get both of them inside of his vision.  
  
Being pushed back was even more frightening, though he glanced down and saw her, knowing he had to grab her and take care of her before he was hurt himself. Picking up the small little girl with the wings--he slipped her under his hat-- as he pushed himself back towards the edge of the boat, watching ahead and still not seeing an exit, it seemed bad. She had spoke of before she was thrown down that he had to beat and kill them both at the same time, a task which didn't prove too well, it would be a lot harder to do this. Plus the fact that the two of them were following him, one of them holding the sword up in its hand, while the other crossed its arms and simply waited out the remainder of the battle--wanting the victor. That could be an option, they may have been tougher and fought even more dirtily, but the honor was a stench of hatred inbred inside of their rotting minds--the downfall.  
  
Rolling forward upon his heels, he tumbled through the legs of the one that was coming after him, barely dodging the blade, while he jumped for his own. When the incident had happened with Navi, well actually before, the kid had dropped his sword on the other side of the ship; he had to get it back if his plan was too work. With a tumble, he had the thing piled down inside of his hands and raised it up into the air, when the thing spun around and came for his body. Fast reflexes this thing had more than the precious ones, it could hold on the pressure and might be a bit more difficult to handle than the previous ones. It was a good thing to put this thing into an attack position quickly, which left it open for an attack that wasn't restricted inside of the honour code.  
  
"Hyah!" Letting out a scream of fury, the boy leapt into the air, planting both of his feet inside of the monster's ribs, and pushing himself off as he flipped backward. On response, the ribs didn't crack, but the monster cried out in pain, letting out a moan of anger while the boy landed upon his feet and responded on how to finish it off. A perfect association with the attack, it was one learned from Shiek and with good accordance shown, the first time he had pulled it off, or attempted it for that matter. The thing was open for an attack; the sword of the Stalfos had fallen over on the other end of the place now, though it would never get the chance to get it back. Of course he had used both of his feet so the blow had not only made the thing tumble, it had also began to sway back and forth and not long after that fell quickly towards the ground, on its back.  
  
Since the honour code was there, the other monster just watched helplessly as Link reached into his side-pack and produced a dagger of some sort, walking towards the fallen monster and throwing it down. The Farore Blade, which was otherwise named the Kokiiri Dagger, slammed into the rib cage of the monster, though it never touched any of the bones, and this was the reason. Link had already had that Medallion of Forest out, so as it began to resonate with the flow of the dagger, the boy opened up his arms and yelled out a quick chant in the old language, watching beautifully as a barrier began. Yes, this thing wrapped around the entire body of the Stalfos, though it was not hurting it, except when it moved and even then it wasn't enough to kill it. All the barrier really did was push it down such enough so that the monster was indisposed at the moment; essentially, the battle had ended with that one.  
  
"A perfect success, and there is one more down, now isn't there?" As he spun around, his little grin was met with a frown and a yelp of terror as the other Stalfos had decided to throw some of the rules out of the window. Magic was being used and in the old honour system, magic was never to be used, as while the boy was readying the spell and not watching it, the thing had gotten smarter. Now while Link glanced back and forth nervously at the thing, it had its arms held up and in them were the two blades of the monsters. The shield had been thrown aside, kicking it while the two blue swords were in one hand; the two of them together created the dual- swords technique. A very dangerous one to attempt without experience, this thing seemed to have it as it wavered the blades in the air and sliced in complete circles, quite to the surprise of the Hero of Time.  
  
Smiling a little bit, he simply reached behind up and grabbed the Master Sword in one hand, the other one was the new little case he had received from Ruto. Surely, the last gift of the sages, the beautiful replacements for his old sheath that seemed to have been broken a long time ago. Luckily, this was reinforced with the power of the Sages, so as the place held in one hand, the sheath was prepared in the same position as the other. A grin was circling his lips--it was getting much more fun as this had happened, these probably the main minions of Bongo-Bongo, it explained why they were so greatly trained. A minor general was a better term, but now was not the time to be thinking about that--now he just watched to see what the first move from the monster would be.  
  
It was an interesting turn of events, the monster stared deeply over towards the Hero of Time, both of their dual swords held up (well, a sheath and a sword in Link's case) readying for it. Since Link was not going to make the first move, for the first thirty seconds there was nothing that happened, the skeleton was standing there with an emotionless look upon its face. After the half-minute mark, there was the time for the motions to begin as the skeleton-warrior swung both the swords forward and leapt inward in a charge. The emotionless figure had turned angry, the first time in his life that one of these monsters showed some real emotion, it was quite a phenomenal thing. Though, Link was not scared, his hands led out gracefully and he waited the moment when the twin swords would meet their brothers.  
  
The two blades of pure steel were swept forward and struck down upon Link's own defense; the Hero of Time had his out in the defensive position. Defense was the only option, Link was great at attacking someone, though his defense was more of better, since the rolling and dodging he knew were masters of his own style. It was like he was made for defense, though an even balance of attack was used so that he wasn't some sort of weakling--a good thing too! This time, there would be no room for dirty tricks, if the hero were to take his hands or any of his strength away, he would be finished in a matter of moments. This fight wouldn't be over, hell no, and when they were met together, boy felt the weight upon him and grunted deeply in pain as the tightness of his bruises began to ache.  
  
Oh, no, my bruises! He whimpered as the aching began and felt the pressure upon him become greater, the boy was looking eye-to-eye into the monster's focused pupils. There was such a wave of determination inside of the monster, which he knew in an instant that the sheath was either going to crack, or he would be done for. As if that moment was destined, the boy fell towards his knees, the pressure becoming greater and greater inside of him; those eyes were starting to waver. It hurt so much, where he had gotten punched and bruised, even the bruises that had healed were starting to ache, as if this person could look into his mind and find all the hurt marks. Before long it would be all over, though he wouldn't give up, the kid knew that Navi was hurt and he was on his on, so on his knees he stood, beginning to push--despite the hurting.  
  
I've always depended upon others. First Saria, now Navi and when the Goddesses empower me, I think its time for me to start doing this on my own. The boy pushed up all the way, despite the hurt and tears forming upon his eyes and looked straight into the eyes of the jackal--the ferocious beast. Even though this wasn't one, he felt like the old legends of the jackal that had decided to make the plump little deer its own meal, an innocent bystander. Link felt this in his mind, though he would not be eaten--he knew no legend of where the weaker one, but he would now be able to push it back and throw it forward. It was a gruesome thing to look at, but nevertheless he did with a fierce determination beginning to sprawl upon his lips, the teeth pulling back in a grin. There was no explanation to why he was grinning; he had no idea, though the feelings were met when he slammed forward, the sheath pushing one of the blades back.  
  
He had yanked the left blade out with the sheath, that one slamming into the head of the monster, making it groan in confusion, though it was just enough for his assault. Indeed, that was what pushed him past his limits, the sheath dropping down in the air, and both hands readying the sword as he slammed the butt deep inside of the thing's skull. It wasn't the blade he was doing, the end of the sword placed inside of the head of the monster, caused the functions of the monster to cease, the blade keeping it from regenerating. Link's thought process saw that the thing regenerated whenever he cut the area, after his blade left, so he thought if the blade stayed there that the tissue wouldn't form around it. Seeming he was right, he watched the monster fall too his knees, struggling to get up with the walking capacity of a two-year old trying to learn how to move right.  
  
"You two are pathetic." He ached like yell, though it didn't matter as he rolled the monster over towards its brother, a smirk coming upon his face, those hands stretched outward. "I really do feel sad for you two, but you know what they say, I gotta end this, its how we go--survival of the fittest, y'know. And you two are overdue for death."  
  
Arms were stretched out as far as he could; knowing the blades wouldn't get harmed in the assault as he backed up a few feet, a giggle escaping his mouth. If one were too notice it, he would seem almost like a Mad Hatter, one on a killing spree and it indeed to come as the flames began to lick from his hands. The empowerment of his magic was embedded inside of his body and stretched out towards those images of the frightened skeletons, knowing the inevitable. Each of them was laid upon at the same time, the bones began to burn harder and harder, though this time they weren't going to come back. There was nothing that could save those menaces now, and when the ashes were done all the way, he leaned back and spit down inside of it, a sort of ridiculous little thing, though the spit seemed to settle and satisfy him.  
  
--------------------  
  
He didn't know how long the ride lasted; though as he sat down at the center of the triangles, holding the beautiful girl in his arms, it didn't matter. Time didn't either; the slight wind from below that was pulling the boat magically had seemed to cool off, meaning they were nearing the edge of it. He had torn his green tunic and made a small little bandage around her back, she wrapping inside of it like some sort of kit, he knowing a scar would show. She still wore her clothes, though they were torn and would have to be replaced, though he didn't care--he'd gotten the blood too stop and thank Farore she was beginning to come around. Her breathing had been panicked in the beginning, though now it was more stable, his eyes leaving her for a few seconds, to glance about when the ship abrupt to a halt--beginning to lower itself down at an immediate rate.  
  
Watching the ship with worried eyes, he saw that the fires he had summoned were singing down below must've traveled down and caught where the edge was. That was a bad thing, though the good news that standing before them was a place, some sort of platform that was surrounded in the deep fog. All he saw was the place where you could stand, the land was there and so he curled her up in his arms (she tucked inside of the hat) and ran forward. His footfalls got closer and closer, as the ship sunk deeper and deeper, by the end his feet felt a little wet, though he ignored it and kept on at it. When that was done, the air soared through and with some step in him; he landed upon the surface, the deep fog beginning to clear, now that a presence had been in its place--which was he.  
  
Those willful eyes saw as the fog through that a room was bore before him, he was standing on the middle of a seven-foot wide stretch of hard brick that stretched from wall to the left, all the way towards the end--a door stood there. Of course, that wasn't the end of it, it couldn't be, this thing had to go even further and beyond the plank, was water that must've stretched out about seventy feet away, the fog already revealing the other side. Of course as far out as it was, all he saw was a huge door bellowed before him, it lined with a golden lock that matched that of the Boss Key from the familiar other places. The only other thing over there was another one of those giant bird statues that was probably ninety-five feet tall, he guessed it was some sort of god for the ancient Shiekah. Somehow he was supposed to retrieve the key from somewhere else, go ahead and swim the seventy feet, making his way over there to receive the 'honor' of fighting Bongo Bongo.  
  
Well, let's go. He had no idea how many keys he had now, and groping down, the chain was gone, though hooked to his shirt was one of the last ones. Link had stopped paying attention too the keys, so that meant he either lost a few, or this was the last one--he hoping for the latter more than the other. A chuckle was deep in his throat, feeling the fairie that rested on top of his head, and ran along the long path, towards the right direction. In his own mind, he had seen the lock beforehand, but now it was here, he felt glad while that lock was peeling the key inside of its innards. Sucking the thing in, as they always did, the lock melted off, his hands going up and grabbing a hold of the young girl, noticing her condition was getting even better.  
  
"You just sleep, beautiful. You can sleep the entire boss, I need you, but I also need you be well. I will take care of him, you can be with me in spirit." Smiling, he leaned down and kissed her lips softly, feeling the tingle between them whenever he was close to her, it was an expression of love. It was true that he loved her, and as much as he wanted to do it right now--hold her closer and kiss her tightly--he knew he couldn't since the door had opened itself for him and with a nod he put her back, slipping in the door.  
  
It was a good thing that he slipped her inside of his hat and slipped through, because as soon as he entered the place, the doors barred shut upon him. Growling a little, probably a fight for the final switch to open the door, his eyes vetted around and saw that he was only in a normal room, except there was one little problem. The door he entered came into the center of the room, and on both sides of him were spikes, these shaped and carved from wood, jagged and pointed right in his direction. Each holder-- it was connected to the walls on some mechanism--had about twenty jagged spikes ready for him, the deadliness of them was there, even if it was wood. If that wasn't the worst of it, the mechanism was triggered when the door shut itself on the hinges; each of them was headed for him at a slow rate.  
  
When they smashed together, they would connect and hold the wall together, though his guts and intestines would be smashed along with it. Somehow, he doubted that the Master Sword was going to take care of this and as much manna as he had drained, the boy shrugged a shoulder and took a chance. The hell with it, he had suffered enough, he would live through this, and he would participate in that fight as long as he could and give it his all. Right now, his hands forming up and curling as those legs spread, he wanted to kill every life force in his way and as Farore as his witness, he would be doing that to Bongo Bongo. Slamming those fists deep into the ground, an abrupt set of flames surrounded his body, not touching him, and spreading out in all directions for the spikes.  
  
"Thank God." Flames were beginning to burn around him, those eyes watching gracefully as if it were some sort of ceremony, though he had to admit this puzzle was stupid. Even a person with gasoline would have been able to burn this place up; the trap would have been better suited if there had been a line of metal spikes instead of the old-fashioned wooden ones.  
  
He whispered in a sigh of relief, that mechanism had been burnt up along with the spikes that seemed to turn into burnt wood before him. Breaking down along the rails of about ten inches from him, he surveyed the area and saw that there were no more doors, there was nothing else for him to do. He was about too leave when those eyes caught upon a box, leaping towards it with a little spring in his step, the familiar glow of the gold was making his mouth water in joy. The chest was flipped up and retrieving out of that box came the bull-shaped key with the red jewel in the center, a magnificent key that he stored inside of his side pack. Sure he had the key, he muttered to himself as he slipped out of the room and back inside of the next one, his next thoughts were how the hell he was going to get into the other side.  
  
Coming to a rest right where the boat crashed, the giant bird directly infront of him if he swam the seventy feet, the boy pulled upon a rock. The loose stone came out of the ground and with a frown upon his face, he skipped it through the water, watching it skim a few inches and sink into the water. What he did next was listen, the blurb of the stone had come when it emerged into the water, and those sensitive ears of his listening for some sort of plink. A few minutes passed and he was rewarded with nothing, he finally noticing that the water over on that side of the boss's room was the same as the water that the boat glided upon. Of course, that meant that the water must've been a bottomless pit, giving the hope of swimming would only suffice in him making it about fifty feet and being sucked in by some strange force.  
  
"Great. No way across, what do I do now?" The soft voice of his wasn't speaking to anyone, resting his head in his hands as he watched the great bird upon the other side, the flowers under it. Giant flowers, he could hardly make the green petals out, or the black surfaces, though in some gazing he saw that they were underneath it. Even though he had been speaking to the temple of the Goddesses, it was a sparkle that gave him the answer; it was actually one that he welcomed with open arms.  
  
"Shoot the bombs, silly." A voice softer than his own, it was one that made you want too listen; the gracefulness in it was also a benefiting factor. He had no idea who it was and at the same time was expecting the call soon enough, she was one to never give up and now wasn't the time to do so.  
  
Those eyes glanced upward and saw the fluttering of those large and beautiful wings, and when those blue eyes met the girl's, a smile was upon them. There stood the wonderful girl, Navi, she had the wrap still around her head and was glancing at him sweetly, watching closely at what his expression was. It was fairly obvious that he was excited, she knew that when she was held in those arms of hers, the muscles that had been hurt weren't really aching much with the loving embrace. A great way, it felt better than those moments of unconsciousness, it felt a lot better than that, so she welcomed it with her arms open into the hug, then the kisses started. Not as passionate as upon the boat--which was kind of romantic-- it seemed to dwell a sweeter and more innocent look upon the surface.  
  
"Navi.... Navi..." His voice lightened out sweetly, he nuzzling his face into her and just loving upon her as he fell down upon his side and watched her contently. A small giggle came from his lips, and they puckered, kissing them deeper than ever, cuddling more and more against his future lover. "I missed you so much, I was so scared."  
  
"Now, now. I missed you too, but you know a little smack can't get me out." Of course she knew he had changed her, so he had seen the scrape- marks upon her back, it was a little more a little scratch, as she had explained. Never the matter, the young girl glanced up towards his face, when the kisses came and took them back, the little love marks were something she always looked forward too.  
  
"Hee, Navi, I love you much." There wasn't an inch of anger in his face anymore, he watched her contently and just smiled a deep little smile of his, watching those eyes of hers. Of course he kept his arms upon her as he sat his body up, wanting to lie down, though a cold breeze was rocking throughout this place.  
  
"I love you too, Linky, but we gotta shoot those flowers." As much as she wanted too sit her and cuddle with him, there was no time, the temple needed to be taken care of, then there would be times for the loving that they both needed and deserved.  
  
"The flowers, why would I do that?" He blinked and looked over towards where the birds where and studied the black surfaces, his eyes gleaming as he caught a hold of what she meant. "They're bomb flowers."  
  
"Yup, now let's go away with it, I'll do the honors." Holding her hands outward, wanting to preserve any waking energy inside of the boy's body for the battle ahead--she assumed he had the Boss Key--her hands began to glow. It wouldn't take that much too do it, so within a few minutes she was more than ready, aiming herself at just the right angle with perception. There was sense in wasting precious energy to hit the bombs if she was off the mark and missed, having to charge up some more of her power. When it was released, the aiming seemed to have helped it since the ball of energy condensed itself into a thin beam and bellowing through the water, aimed for the top fuse upon the uppermost bomb flower. A direct hit came and she yelled out with a giggle, making Link back away from the place they were standing, the fuse beginning to explode the first bomb.  
  
A chain reaction is what happened, the first bomb exploded upon the second bomb, the second onto the third and so on and so on. This went on until the very foundation of the statue was cracking, the base cracked so essentially the rest was going to follow through. Eventually, the crack was big enough, just as the last bomb gave it that beautiful push and away the crack sent the statue beginning to tilt. With such enthusiasm displayed inside of it, the thing smashed against the wall, bounced off of there and began to tilt the other way for compensation. Down and down it went, lining the water and throwing itself even more forward until the top of the bird's beak was in the surface where Link had stood, a good thing that she had decided too move him.  
  
"Awesome!" Link yelled out and with a nod, he reached into his bag and took out the final key, holding the gold key with the ruby mark in-between his hands (both for safekeeping.) Standing upon the beak, the bird lying with its back there and wings spread, the young boy took off in a hurry, feeling the surface for some sort of crack and seeing only the foundation had been hurt. It was a good thing because the thing was about seventy feet apart, so as he reached the end of it, only walking since running might disrupt something, it took about ten minutes for him to cover the ground. A good thing that he decided to do it, since otherwise he might fall off if the thing broke in half, a bad thing too happen after such luck had smiled upon them. Actually, it wasn't luck--he knew it was his beautiful girl--he had been helped by his one and only and when the end came, he hopped off and watched back for her.  
  
"Hee, yea, see I guess I do get it right." Shrugging a shoulder as she stared at him, her eyes saw the bear room and nodded--there seemed to be the last stronghold between them and Bongo.  
  
He nodded somewhat, and walked over upon the empty room, seeing that they're really was nothing else to do except go ahead and get this right. His hands had still holding upon the key as he took a few steps forward and saw that the beautiful keyhole was standing right before him. Resting right there, his hands shuddered a little as he walked the distance, the keyhole getting closer and closer until only about ten feet remained. He had to admit that he was a little scared, a monster that could do this with the Stalfos and command an army of ghosts just had to be a very fantastic warrior. Of course, he shouldn't be scared since Ganondorf was the same way, maybe a smaller version was what this Bongo was, so he would go ahead and finish this.  
  
"So are you ready?" He whispered the familiar quote through his lips, a cute smile upon his face shown that he did remember, of course he was going to remember. While the words echoed through his lips, the boy had sunk the final key down into the keyhole and was watching as it began to melt away at the lock.  
  
"Of course I am, are you?" She answered back with it, the key beginning to melt as her words came out, they had finished within a few seconds and there they were left. It was inevitable what was going to happen now, that is how it seemed anyhow, and while she wanted to go ahead and get it over with, a part of her was scared.  
  
"Yea, I just wanna get it over." Smiling, his eyes shined a little bit with the shrug given as he walked forward towards the blackness that had awaited the two of them. The urge to get ready was coming on him, he felt it and so with nothing else further, he pushed forward and saw that the darkness was there for him.  
  
The funny thing was that as soon as the door shut, it was revealed that this was not the main room of the general of this temple. Not at all, the two of them were standing in a room with a hole leading down in the center, a blue candle was lit in the corner which seemed to light the entire room. Weird as it was, the blue fire did light up the Ice Cavern, so maybe the azure flames were also used as a source of extreme light, more than their crimson cousins. Not that was the problem, the difficulty seemed to be how he was going to get past all of this stuff and realize his conclusion on if the boss was down and how long was the jump. Since his triangle was covered up, the only other light was the dark blue tint of Navi; it seeming another colour all together compared to the light blue one.  
  
"Its just like with the Dodongo King, isn't it?" Whispered a frightened Navi, her breath seeming to freeze in the air as she shuddered from the coldness, another possibility that they hadn't seen. It was colder in this room; a small draft had been in the other room, though here she felt like she was encased in a freeze or something like that. Of course, only her breath was really cold; there was a scarf, or the piece of Link's tunic, wrapped around her back, keeping her warm from the rest of the cold. With a notice given towards Link, she noticed he was fine, the under suit and all of his armour was probably keeping him cold, though his face did show. Yup, she saw that his face looked a little blushed, and when he spoke out there was the breath in the air motion that came along with cold weather.  
  
"Oh! Yea, it is, the hole down below and we weren't hurt then." Of course, that was because of a shield, though he didn't really remember that part, so he smiled and leapt down from his place, seeing nothing further to attempt here, this place was sort of boring. His feet felt the air as he soared down through the air, he looking down and seeing that there were a few other candles, though not noticing much. At least he tried to watch around, though the candles were all he saw since the rest of the room was black, not daring to see what in the world he was gonna land upon. His rate of speed wasn't that fast, though enough to make him yell out with the exhilaration that seemed to flow throughout his entire body. It was quite a rush and when he hit the ground, the ground seemed to bounce as if he was standing on rubber, the boy tumbling forward and falling on his behind, giggling.  
  
"Wait, Link!" She just shrugged a shoulder and smiled as she fluttered down towards the end of the path that he fell down, noticing with a bit of curiosity of this place. Navi couldn't tell what she shape of the room was, but at each corner were candles lit with the light from the previous room, though these seemed dimmer and able to make the room less bright. Some sort of trick, she guessed and when she fluttered down towards him, she saw him stumble and watched the ground with fascination as the candles revealed it was a surface composed of some sort of rubber. Maybe a trampoline or something, was her first thought, though this was not black, it seemed to be composed of a white material. When her feet touched the ground, it as soft as a pillow, the confusion was really plastered upon her face, thinking maybe that Link could offer some help. "You know what this is?"  
  
"Yea, I think this maybe a drum. I know it sounds silly, but let's check." He could hardly stand up, so the boy sat down on his behind and hit his hand against the surface of what they were standing on. All he was rewarded with was the sound that bongo drums make when they are hit, the hollow musical tone echoed out at his small beat.  
  
"Y-you're right. These are drums--not just drums, though. These are bongo drums." She recognized them from the Gorons; they were used to playing the instruments like these and had used them back when the two of them were kids. Kokiiri preferred the string instruments, the Hylians used such ones as the ocarina (although they shared the traits with the Hylians) Gerudos she had no idea used, and the Zoras could make string guitars with their very own handy tools and fish bones. It was strange how she had known this, but each time they visited a place, they saw it, though the Shiekah they had never really visited, so it was hard too see it. There was no way to recognize what they played, though now as she stood upon the giant drum-- it was about thirty feet wide--and no way to tell how tall it was, she was baffled. Bongo drums was where they were called, which in a weird way made her thing of the boss with the double Bongos in his name--her eyes widening. "Bongo Bongo."  
  
"You're right, he has two bongos in his name." Frowning a little, the goggles looking in his eyes, he stared around and saw nothing, clicking the beauties off when in the last second a roar came. He had no idea where it came from, though as his eyes looked around, something seemed to submerge from the darkness with terrifying results. A monster was sitting before them, though not the entire monster was revealed from the boy, he saw that two huge hands were stretching themselves out. Not just any normal hands, these five-fingered appendages were violet in a dark colour, muscles stretching out of each of the finger and arms. The darkness hit it just before the elbow, the slim and muscular arms were held forward as the roar came again--this time from its direction  
  
What is that? Link's mind screamed as he began to swerve back and forth, the drums were becoming violent as that monster with the roar beat its hands upon it. The one with the big arms was still invisible for him, though he didn't need to see the face, since there really wasn't anything worth seeing up there. Besides, it was entombed in the dark, the hands were the only threat, knowing they may have been the downfall for him, those huge hands would take care of him in a second. Either a slap that would send him falling in the darkness or a curled up fist would splatter all of his guts all over the edge of the bongo drum. It just wasn't worth seeing, so as he flipped back, catching in the air when the hand slammed down, the giant seemed to be angered of his missing.  
  
"Link, why don't you hit the eye?" Navi yelled out, the roaring had stopped; though the beating on the drum was enough to make you're head spin, plus the monster just wasn't stopping. While he stumbled and tried to regain his balance, jumping whenever a pound came down, she was just flying above him and watching.  
  
"Eye? Navi, what in the world are you talking about?" He frowned and looked over towards her, leaping out of the way as a slap came towards him, grunting as he collapsed into the soft features of the drum. Feeling the warmness come over his body, he had no time to take it in when the faint whistle of a huge building was coming crashing towards him. Of course, it was not a monument as large as Hyrule Castle; it was a giant that whose face he couldn't see, his defensive motion moving into a rolling action. The action was that he rolled forward, moving the quick distance when the hand slapped down, continuing on as another came his way. All he did now was roll and roll upon the drum, when he reached the other side, switched tactics and leapt forward as far as he could.  
  
"The eye! Oh, of course, you don't have you're goggles turned on, it must be hidden!" The truth was, Navi's vision was always cleared this way, she really couldn't tell when the pictures displayed from her eyes were those of the illusion in action or not. Sometimes she was able too, though since she hadn't suspected any illusions to be here, her conscious had seeped on her, in the end failing. At least it wasn't too late, she would've of hated to respond upon this later than now, at least he hadn't been smashed by the gigantic monster. It was quite difficult to explain; though she had taken some notice now, as he wasn't looking for an entry point, not even a way to examine that face. All he was doing was watching the hands; those hands were very dangerous, though not the weirdest part upon the monster, a shiver was given in the company of it.  
  
Goggles? Oh yea! Link had almost forgotten about those things, they were upon his head, though in the heat of the moment, it really wasn't something he thought about. Moving backwards, in a flip so he caught himself upon the edge of the drum, he waited one moment and leapt at the last moment while the monster's palm came down. It was a good strategy because the rim was a little bit harder than the rest of the drum, the monster crying out in pain as one of the hands went through the darkness and he heard a suckling sound as he rolled forward. The boy had no perception at this moment, though the sound meant that the hand was not coming for him, or so he guessed with that intuition. With that in mind, the fingers of Link's fumbled forward and clicked the switch, staring up between he hands with an odd fascination.  
  
As it turned out, the hands weren't attached to the body of the beast, it had been entombed in the dark--he guessed the Lens of Truth was also capable with night vision-- but not connected to the monster. There were violet stubs where the arms could reattach and detach off, the boy looking down disgustingly, though turning back and inspecting the rest of the monster. Rippling arms led all the way up onto the shoulders, where laying forward a huge pumped up beast was looking at the two of them. Link couldn't see its feet; as if the thing might be attached to the wall, though he didn't know since the goggles didn't see back that far, its waist was hidden also. The suckling looked like the monster's finger was in its eye, though he couldn't tell when at last the hand drew back and the orb opened up for him.  
  
A cyclops, from the old legends of the past, he watched the behemoth with the piercing crimson eye, petals were entangled around the eye, like a flower. Indeed, it did resemble a rose, or the inside one, the yellow specks shown in the gruesome eye made one think of the pollination of flowers. There was no mouth on this beast, and the purple had stopped showing itself, the rest of the monster's face and body was a sickly gray. A socket was attached to the monster's eye, running all the way down its back, as if it were a cord plugged into some sort of outlet. This creature was an ugly looking one, Link had to give it that, the giant's size was undetermined, and though huge was more or less on the scale.  
  
"Oh, Navi, what is that?" Holding back the urge to throw up, the hand came forward as the boy leapt from the way of the hand, his jumps becoming easier since Bongo Bongo was no longer beating. The hand in up the corner had been hurt, so he was only trying to smack the boy, proving that the injured hand had been a good idea.  
  
"The Phantom Shadow Beast, Bongo Bongo. I think that thing we saw outside was the true form, though to fight you, it needed to take on a physical form." Or one that could be struck, the fight outside had been a little unfair, maybe the thing was giving them the chance to get back at it. Either that or the day of Hallows Eve had ended and the superior form had been ridiculed back to its normal state--what stood before them.  
  
"Such an ugly form, too." The monster must've understood his speech because it let out another roar, the boy feeling that the sound waves were coming from the eye. Such a strange remark, he also noted that the eye was about fifty feet in the air and no matter how high he leapt, he wasn't going to get a hold of that eye. The weak-point, he guessed had to be the eye since it seemed softer than the rest of his rippled body, the sword probably wouldn't even pierce the exoskeleton--or that's what it looked like--of the shadow beast. That was an even odder point, why the eye was unprotected, though he had to guess that if a person could reach up there, those hands were in the way of deflecting any sort of armory. Now his mind was guessing what could hit the hand when a cackle of energy erupted from his left, he turning his head to see a huge beam was coming his way.  
  
Not hearing the yell of the girl, he felt himself sink down to his knees when the mark cleared across him, moving through the darkness and hitting the wall. As if the monster had done the fire-arrow incident, he saw the light bounce back--it emitted a glow, so it pierced the darkness-- and shot off in another direction. Who knew what this energy was made of, whatever the case, it had the ability to bounce off of a surface and go anywhere that it pleased. From the look of when he stared at Bongo, the monster was not controlling the beam, that red eye looking around in both directions for where it would come. Hitting that wall, it curled forward and slammed forward towards the direction of where Link stood, his eyes opening in the nod of approval.  
  
Throwing himself back a few feet, the boy's arrow was tucked inside of his hand while a regular arrow came up and shot the beam right before it was about to hit him. The arrow, surrounded in the energy from the red blast, took off in frenzy and headed itself right where towards the monster, though not where you would think. Anyone else would have gone for the eye and had the arrow of energy deflected before you could even muster up enough courage to yell, so it did not. What the energy did (the arrow had burnt up, it was used to control it) was head towards the left hand of the monster, the one that was curled up in pain from earlier. Of course, the energy sunk inside of the hot flesh of the monster, a cry of pain escaping the shadow's mouth when the arm hit the ground, melting into the drum.  
  
"Way to go, Navi!" He screamed out and looked around for his fairie, she hovering a few feet above him and nodding in approval for her own success. At first he had been worried where she was, then he found her with a bit of sweat around her--she had used up quite a bit of energy to get him down.  
  
"Hee, it was nothing. Just like Gohma, almost." With a bit of bashfulness, she shrugged a shoulder and looked over towards the monster, feeling the pain that had etched between its single eye. Having you're hand melted off was no easy matter to get over, but it didn't seem to matter to her--maybe Onii had been the strongest of them.  
  
Link took it over in his mind, as the energy had slid past him helplessly a few minutes ago, and put it into his mind that this was his girl's energy. If it had hit, there would have been severe damage to him (it seemed she didn't doubt his abilities anymore) but there wasn't a chance that it would of. Using the same strategy that had been used before they even got inside of the temple, he had shot an arrow and aimed within those few seconds for the man's left hand. The energy hadn't sunk in the middle--more off to the left of the ring finger--though it was energy so it had begun to spread and melt it open. Moving across the fingers, the circulation had been lost once half the hand was gone and so it easily hit the ground, sinking through the drum (forming a hole in it now) putting one out of commission  
  
"One down, one to go!" His eyes watched towards the monster and saw the pain had not subsided, on the contrary had developed even more in bigger portions, though it didn't show it. Anger was what plastered Bongo Bongo's face, a growl coming out of that eye; the stump that had been dry was now bleeding and shaking in fury.  
  
Bowing towards the monster, his bow and arrows held up into his hands, he reached for the quiver and attached the bow to it, throwing it over at Navi. Before she could protest, the boy had taken off in a hurry, his hands held out before him, running across the huge drum in a matter of seconds. Mustering up most of his speed in this attack, the boy sidestepped the hand that came at him with another yell of anger coming out when it missed. He had not really sidestepped, more like rolled ahead, though he was up in seconds his hands held out before him and crossed ahead, reaching behind him. When they gripped the surface of the blade, the one that had been used so many times to dispatch enemies; there was sheen to it, the grin remaining.  
  
The monster hadn't a clue what the sword could do; it was one of the stupider generals that had been appointed--only because it could control shadow, though it didn't matter now as it charged ahead instead of regrouping. Maybe if the monster had run, it could have taken the blow and not left it defenseless, though when it lowered its entire body (and remaining hand) towards him in a punch, Link took action. First thing he did was leap past the monster, overbearing the giant in speed and slicing through the air as its sword had leapt forward. Only the energy had died more or so this was his own sword-skill that he used next, the illuminating fairie was her energy glowing. The blade sunk inside of the hand, moving all the way through until it was inside of a half, his hands dropping the sword and gripping onto it.  
  
With a yell, she threw out the bit of power that remained inside of her body; the condensation techniques they had learned shaped it lightly into a ball. The ball seemed to expand as the excess part of the monster's hand flew towards the ground, it engulfing it in a set of flames, making the ashes sift onto the drum. Though that wasn't its initial plan, the girl's hands were held out and keeping the cackling energy at bay while Link stood on top of the monster, the sword having dropped a while ago. This hadn't been a plan of theirs, it was just the glances between each other had taken care of this, the rest had been winged, so she had no idea what he was up too. From his face, losing the sword could have been part of the plan, or he was playing it cool--she simply watched, holding the energy ready until he either jumped off or signal her to shoot somewhere.  
  
"You ready, you ugly freak?' He whispered to the monster, the goggles turned off since now he was emerged in the darkness and the excess of manna was not something he needed to be using. The monster was trying desperately to shake him off onto either the drum or down below, he just standing upon the half-cut hand with a smile. His sword had done more than he imagined, the half was cut right in half, all the way down to the middle finger, where half remained, along with the index and thumb. As for the ring for pinky, along with the other half of the middle, they had been cut in half and with the help from his love, were now mere ashes. Bongo, he wasn't sure if it understood his language, though when he spoke the words, a roar came out and he nodded, his head, doing the last of his plan.  
  
"Link! Where do I shoot!" She screamed out in anticipation, it had been a full thirty seconds he had been standing on the hand, lasting the shakes that had come. Her fear had been he would fall and wouldn't last the fall or break his head when he hit the rim of the drums, she reminding him of the wait when she screamed.  
  
"Just aim for the eye, count to ten and aim for his eye!" He yelled back and smiled, his hands held above him in the stance of both about to chop themselves, now each of them beginning to glow brightly. The hand had ceased shaking, it had no mouth to breathe fire or anything, so no protection to get him off, roars of pain entering its mouth, the shock had gone away mostly and now it was feeling the pain of being cut.  
  
While Navi began to count down to ten at a slow rate and aim her giant energy ball for the eye, the boy had his hands held up in the air and smiled somewhat. It was one of the old techniques that the Fairy Queen had told him to learn, to condense the power so far that you could literally no longer need you're weapon. With good practice, the horrible training with Shiek, and pure determination, he was ready to kill it without the power of the Blade of Evil's bane. Relying upon a sword so much could get you in trouble, he knew that and while the spark that had been on his sword was now illuminating his hands, there was nothing to do but wait. At the last moment, he wanted this to come on, that way the protection barrier could not be set up--this Bongo had to have a security system.  
  
Those long ten seconds echoed through her lips in a silent whisper, incase the monster could understand and planed to fire some hidden beam to intersect her own ball. As nine came around, she could clearly view that the marks inside of his hands were brighter than before, realizing with shock what he was about to do. The Hero of Time was someone who relied upon the power of the Master Sword to take out the evil, which was all, it would ever be was a Hero of Time. Link wanted to strive past that and achieve being a hero to a new level; he wanted to not rely on his sword, but have that blade rely upon him for it. He would do it, she knew and when the final ten echoed down, she saw the eye was uncovered and yelled out the final number, releasing the ball of manna.  
  
"This is for killing the villagers, you bastard!" He screamed out when she yelled ten and his hands were slamming down on the designated marks when the ball shot through the sky. A scream came from the monster, not much of one, though one nevertheless as the hands of energy were sliced down and through the skin. Each hand formed like a huge blade, maybe a guillotine for example; a dry chuckle coming through when each mark of the hand he was standing upon was cut up. The hands swayed back and forth, back and forth until tiny pieces were displayed for the taking, them barely small enough to hold one of his regular hands back. Of course, since he took out the skin, there was no where to go, so his hands reached down--the energy having died a second ago, and clicked the boots, them revealing the wings as he fluttered upon the ground.  
  
As he hit the ground with a soft thud, the scream of the monster echoed louder, his eyes turning to see that the giant energy ball was smashing against the eye of the beast. Red blood and eye-puss was flowing in every direction as it could as the membrane of the monster's eye was being eaten by the energy. Of course this wouldn't stop there, the girl cried out harder, realizing more energy upon herself and that seemed to be the last amount because soon the energy hit harder than ever. It slammed through the eye and since the monster was hunched over (maybe, the monster was naturally laid like that) what lay beyond the eye was revealed for the both of them. This was especially shown when brain matter began to spew all over the drum, in all directions, covering the blood that had spewed out of there.  
  
Link leapt up when the first amount of blood hit the surface, he feeling the boots turn on as he hovered above the air when the brain had stopped sloshing about. Watching with fascination, the giant body slumped down upon the drum and seemed to sink through as the masses of material on the drum were being pulled down with the heavy beast. Gasping out, he jumped down from his position in the air and landed softly upon the circular rim around the bongo and watched with fascination as the all of the monster was down there. Hearing a cracking noise--possibly the beast's body being pulled form the wall--what came next was some muscular feet and huge tail showing themselves to him. Each slunk down towards the ground, and slid inside of the drum, his eyes watching as a familiar light came about the drum, seeing that the part torn was beginning to patch itself up with the light.  
  
"Nav', you okay?" He giggled out a little, picking up his sword and looked towards his partner, who was nodding a little sleepily, sinking down towards where he was, and shrugging a shoulder. Her little body had taken so much pressure, though she seemed to be willed to stay up and see who the Sage of Death had been.  
  
She tried to speak, then nodded her head a little, the young boy smiling softly as he watched the rest of the place stitch up, the blood and guts had run off of the drum and into the inside. Now as his feet padded across the smooth surface inside of those normal boots, a sigh entered his mouth; the room before him had gotten just a little bit lighter. Those candles her reverted to their blue selves and standing before him was a portal, the same azure crystal-like one that had been there so long ago in each one. A nod was given, he knew he had one more and when that was done--Ganondorf was going to pay, oh dear Goddess he would pay dearly. He swore that as he stepped inside of the portal--the darkened light of the room disappearing and before them displayed the familiar room of Sages.  
  
--------------------  
  
"I knew the day you snuck into young Zelda's castle that you would be something, but I had no idea it would be the Man of the Ages--the Hero of Time." Impa's arms were around her large chest as she stared down at the two of them, the two of them standing in the center of the room, her feet positioned on the mark of Death. "But, then again...neither did I perceive to have been an ancestor or reincarnation of the old Sage of Death, quite a wonderful position."  
  
"Yea, when we beat Bongo, we thought you might be it. I was hoping you weren't dead." Link smiled out a little as he leaned against the force field that separated the two of them from the rest of the sages, one that meant they could not touch. He was against the back portion of it, so he could lean against it and view her, arms around his chest, the newly reclaimed sword was sunk into its sheath.  
  
"You two are quite amazing, I don't want to take up too much of you're time. As you can see, I am the Sage of Death, so I am able to tell what dies. I have seen many people die since the dreaded Ganondorf has set his spite on the sun, the crops are gone and every part of the land is going to die eventually--except one place." Her smile was grim and she nodded her head a little, giving the two of them the chance to see if they knew what she was speaking of.  
  
"Gerudo Valley." Navi piped up, sitting upon the boy's shoulder and watching the two of them speak, she hadn't been asleep--that would come when they got out of here. Now she was more focused on what the woman was speaking about, the ancient Gerudo's place would not die because the sun was beating over it. That wasn't because it was just a desert, it was because there had been a particular individual who had made his way from out of there and risen to power. Ganondorf Dragmire's home, that was where the sun was still shining, even though no crops grew there, the wicked powers of the King of Evil's troops probably fed them. There was no telling what killings had been done, but those Gerudo women were probably able to live off of food for tons of generations.  
  
"Yup, you guessed right, we need to take out the situation there, but first let me add my power to yours in the form of a medallion. But before that, Navi you remember how you've been growing?" Navi was surprised how she knew that she had been growing at an alarming rate, nevertheless, she nodded her head and let her continue. "Well, the cases were not misunderstandings or little powders, those were cover ups of the sages, the power of the Triforce is affecting you and making you grow. So when I add my power to yours, you will get a little bigger, is that okay?"  
  
"Y-yes, of course! I want to get bigger." She smiled and looked over at Link, the boy flushing and watching Impa, a smile upon his face when the question was asked for him if she wanted him to grow. Of course he nodded his head and looked back down, those cheeks beginning to form in a light pink of embarrassment, the boy keeping his arms laid at his sides to rub the fingers together.  
  
"Then so it shall be." She threw her hands together and from within her palms came the medallion that had been made beforehand, the woman sliding it forward towards Link. Always he received the power, though it was split among them, the reason the medallions were used, otherwise the power could just be granted towards him. They both needed power to win, this was going to be a hard fight and the best thing was a two-against-one odds when dealing with the King of corrupted Hyrule. Feeling his hands grasp it, the other situation was that Navi was growing as he reached it, the power sinking into him as it had done for her also. The medallion was put inside of his pack, along with the others except Saria's which was once again around his neck, when the growing had finished it off.  
  
"Navi--you're big!" He looked upon her body and nodded, her hair was the same length, though she had pushed herself out a few more inches, the legs and all of her reached out. If she had been measured, the girl would have gone in at about ten inches--three more than the last time that he had checked her out. Even though she had been beautiful before, it seemed her beauty had grown more, feeling a small blush creep across her face as Link examined. Now the girl was big enough for that their lips met, he couldn't accidentally push them against her nose or eyes--like when she had been five or six inches tall. Never had a fairie even imagined this height and here she was, reaching it and probably even more when they received the very last one.  
  
"You like?" Navi's eyes were drawn down and she giggled when she was complimented for her appearance, he seemed to be very approved with it.  
  
"Yes, you are very beautiful." Smiling, he left her to rest upon his shoulder and glanced up at the smiling Impa, his cheeks were red a little and he shrugged his shoulder somewhat. It was quite all right, in fact it was a very beautiful thing that was happening, one of the best that could be imagined--the hero was falling in love and would not lose it.  
  
"Do not be ashamed hero, there is nothing wrong with true love--it is a magical thing." She knew she was embarrassing, so she lightened the mood and smiled towards him, the barrier breaking as she rubbed his head and decided on another pace of subject. "I guess I shall be going then, or is they're something else?"  
  
"Well, there kind of is. The other sages granted he tokens of their appreciation--like Saria gave her another ocarina, Daruina offered me a chain-mail, which I might say really helps out. And Ruto offered me a sheath when it was broken under certain circumstances. Anywho, do you have one?" He didn't mean to be greedy, he didn't know if the Sage made them or if it was something offered towards him from the Goddesses above. Since the Sage of Death didn't represent a Goddess, it represented what was beyond the Goddesses, death; there was a little hesitation in his actions.  
  
"Oh, that. Well, yes I do have a gift for you, it shall accompany you upon you're travels. I watched you're last fight and noticed that you hold the arrows of fire, you did not use them, but they are in you're possession. I want to give you a hint about the arrows of ice--they are enchanted in fire that is all I can say. These fire arrows you have are special arrows--but that's beside the point, my gift too you is protection--it would be offered by the Fairie of Courage, in the Land of Zora's--alas when the icy winds came, she perished, but she has come to pass some time ago. I offer to you Farore's Wind." Holding out her hands, the nostalgic about magic bottled up came to him when the power of an orange aura was embellished inside of his right hand. Long ago the jar of fire had disappeared also, though he could still perform it, which made him think as he grew up, he no longer needed the catalyst to cast it.  
  
Giving no time to spare, the boy nodded, his hands readying themselves in an automatic motion as he pointed towards her and swept his hands forward, forming a whirlwind with his fingers. As silly as it seemed, the motion did form and there a small little mini-tornado formed in his hands and began to spin around, as he held it tightly. He had no idea what he could do with it, possibly throw enemies about, though it was good enough for him and letting out a small little squeal of delight, he smiled. Looking over towards her, the thing disappeared as soon as he took his hands off of it and ceased back into nothingness, he did indeed show it approval. A wonderful gift, it was not really necessary, like the fire and water had been; though a lot better than nothing except a wave and a medallion.  
  
"I see you like it. The reason I didn't grant you any armour or anything is because I saw from this battle that you no longer need it--hell, you don't even need a sword. I believe you can do it--you have one more in the Gerudo home and then you shall come back to it--a rematch between you and Ganondorf. I believe you can do it, but don't fret...Zelda is alive, she is even close to you--you can't feel it, but the next time you see someone, check a little closer." The Shiekah were like the Shinobi, you had to look between the words to understand what in the world they were talking about. Not making sense, the woman was gone before the boy could speak another word of protest; his own form disappearing from the land and reappearing right outside--the site of the fire.  
  
Neither of them spoke, they just looked at the blown-down windmill, it had happened so long ago that it was a wonder that either of them could believe it. It was all a wonder that this entire world didn't come sinking down, this fragile planet where such a hard ruler would eventually extend his claws out and pull it away. Link wasn't going to let that happen, he knew his fairie was not either, and while the two of them stared, a hand of the hero's tightened around the other, gripping them tightly. Before he could stop though, he felt those new lips push against his, eyes opening him and revealing the beauty that was staring into his own. While they kissed--the clouds seemed to brighten a little--not much, but more than enough to please those two--they had done it--half of the curse on the dark clouds was broken.  
  
Of course it was still dark, there wasn't any denying that, it would probably always be a little dark even after the spell was broke, for a few years anyhow. The evil clouds had been parted a little; a few single beams of moonlight from different directions were showing themselves off to the land. Piercing in only a few secluded spots around only Kakariko, it might be an attraction in a few weeks, though there would be enough for the sun to shine. Kakariko might become a good farmer now that all of the land was black except this and that place of Gerudo--plus the soil here could beat that of the women's any day or time. Now that the clouds had been beat, maybe the fate in the Hero of Time would come, they would start believing and eventually--the wanted posters would be torn down.  
  
It was a pity, no one at the moment seemed to notice how the land changed, except the two of them that had settled down in the ruins, arms bound around each other. This was no different than the other times they had kissed, except this time it felt more real--like the two of them were closer in height than ever. Of course that was real, and after a while the kiss broke and they rested down in the soothed ash, staring up at the moonbeams that bounced off into the grass. Neither of them spoke--there was any words for this kind of moment in nature--for this was the healing of a land, the hardships were over and nothing remained. A few lasting moments for the villager's maybe, but these two had the hardest part of all and by Goddess as anyone's witness, the two would do it. A loan land remained--one area that had to be penetrated, the birth of Ganon's place was their destination, after that was going to be the Death of Ganondorf Dragmire's place Hyrule Castle. 


End file.
